Encore area manager tells Grand Prairie council how the company prioritizes storm restoration and tree trimming

Sean Reddy, area manager for Encore, told the Grand Prairie City Council that Encore does not sell electricity but operates the transmission and distribution system that delivers power to customers.

Reddy said Encore is a “transmission distribution company” and likened the firm to a delivery service: “we're just FedEx. We pick up the package, we drop it to the house.” He told council members Encore collects a delivery charge for each customer it serves and does not generate power.

The presentation and follow-up questions focused on outage priorities, vegetation trimming, equipment that can reduce truck rolls and how the company coordinates with city emergency operations. Reddy said during a storm Encore prioritizes repairs to equipment that will restore the most customers: “during a storm, we operate on the piece of equipment first that will turn on the most people.” He said some pieces of equipment can affect 2,500 customers and are therefore serviced before smaller, single-customer outages.

Reddy described several operational tools. Smart meters can flag outages before residents call, allowing Encore to “roll a truck” with an informed initial diagnosis. Encore also uses a device Reddy called a “trip saver,” a digital fuse that attempts to clear transient faults and can automatically re-engage up to three times so crews do not have to dispatch for temporary animal or vegetation faults.

On vegetation management, Reddy said Encore uses three trimming levels and that a “make ready” trimming is available when heavy vegetation interferes with lines; Encore trims for clearance rather than aesthetics, and residents are responsible for debris removal. He asked residents to trim trees before they become problematic and said Encore asks cities to report locations of trees that may cause future outages.

Council members pressed on coordination for critical facilities. Reddy confirmed Encore maintains a process to register critical loads but said the company has not always had access to the city’s critical-address lists, citing a past instance in which Encore declined to provide addresses to city emergency staff for proprietary reasons. He added, however, that in a recent storm he personally worked with the city’s emergency operations liaison to report power status for addresses on the list.

Reddy offered a direct point of contact for city staff and council via email and said Cheryl (transportation and mobility staff) had distributed his business card to council members.

The council and Encore representatives also discussed customer expectations after outages and how Encore sequences repairs to restore the largest number of customers quickly and safely. Council members raised concerns about older neighborhoods with more trees and wildlife and asked how Encore could proactively address potential trouble spots.

No formal action or vote was recorded during the presentation; Encore was on the agenda to introduce its area manager and answer operational questions.