BrightRidge updates county on grid upgrades, solar projects and broadband buildout

Representatives of BrightRidge told the Washington County Board of Commissioners that the utility is accelerating infrastructure work and broadband expansion to match rapid growth in the service area.

Jeff (BrightRidge) said the utility inspects about 10% of its poles per year and is replacing many poles and upgrading substations and automatic recloser technology to improve reliability. "We inspect 10% of our poles every year," he said, and noted work on substation breakers and automatic devices that can route load after an outage.

BrightRidge also described solar projects under construction, including a 12‑megawatt site expected to power the equivalent of about 1,800 homes when online, and a portfolio of additional small projects that the utility expects will save customers an estimated $2,000,000 a year once all are in service under long‑term contracts.

On broadband, BrightRidge reported deployment numbers and grant activity: a middle‑mile grant paid part of earlier expansion, the utility has applied for further federal broadband grants to reach unserved addresses, and the system is shifting toward fiber rather than wireless in heavily treed terrain. The presenter said the company expects to pass about 75% of customers with fiber by the end of 2026 and more (up to about 82–88%) in subsequent years.

BrightRidge also noted SmartHub adoption and new symmetric residential speed tiers that were recently increased at no additional cost to customers.

Provenance: Presentation began at 00:39:37 and continued through the meeting's midsection (approximate end 01:00:11).