By Staff ReportWest Florida Electric is in the process of transitioning to centralized dispatching, warehousing, construction, maintenance, and repair. These transitions will reduce overall operating costs associated with duplication of services and increase efficiencies in the aforementioned areas.
WFEC members can learn more about these changes during the member meeting, set to be held at 2 p.m. at the Graceville office on Thursday, May 9.
Moving forward, Bonifay employees working on line crews, in the warehouse, and in the mechanic shop will report to the Graceville office.
The Bonifay office is not closing. It will remain open to walk-in and drive-thru business, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Services currently available and provided to members by our member services representatives will continue seamlessly. Members will not notice a difference in the overall member experience or level of service provided.
“West Florida Electric is making these changes to meet our goal of providing safe, reliable, and affordable service to our members,” stated the cooperative in a press release.
WFEC went on to say the primary reasons and benefits to West Florida Electric Cooperative’s members are:
1. Safety – this will allow one department to keep track of all construction crews’ locations and which lines are energized at any given time while crews are working. This will help prevent accidents and be a safer and more efficient way to work.
2. Efficiency and consistency of service – these changes will improve the efficiency of departments through centralized management of work flow and procedures and allow for a consistent member experience throughout the cooperative.
3. Reliability – this will help improve reliability through centralized management of the co-op’s ongoing upgrades, construction, maintenance, and repair as well as outage dispatching and response. This will also provide a better way to measure response and outage times.
4. Cost savings – having one centralized department (instead of multiple) will save money on overhead and operating costs. This will also help hold the line on potential rate increases. The savings to WFEC members is approximately $850,000 per year.
Hannah Collins 
KINSLEY COOK