Phelps Control Center

The F. E. Phelps Control Center is the Grand Island Utilities Department' s power and water dispatch center. The engineering and surveying departments of GIUD located at this location as well. The center is named after past utilities director Frank E. Phelps.

The Phelps Control Center is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays. Primary electrical circuits that distribute power throughout Grand Island's service area is monitored and controlled from this location along with power that is sold to other utilities. In the event of a power outage within the Grand Island Utilities Department service area, customers call the Phelps control center to report the outage. Water customers are encouraged to call the Phelps Control Center after normal daytime working hours if they experience loss of water pressure up to their house or a water main break.

Electrical energy that is used in your home or business follows a complex system starting with an electric power generating plant or "power plant" located in Grand Island and another place here in Nebraska. The power plant sends power to high voltage power lines. These lines are controlled with large switches called circuit breakers. The power is then reduced to a lower voltage with large transformers, then passes through more circuit breakers. Before the power is distributed to your home or business, another transformer is used to reduce the voltage down to a usable level.

The Phelps Control Center co-ordinates this process from beginning to end and monitors power at various points throughout the GIUD system via computer. Operation of system circuit breakers are operated by computer from Phelps Control as well. At the left is pictured the Cherry Street substation, located at Bischeld and South Cherry Streets.

Substation supervision and engineering, electrical distribution engineering and design, and water distribution engineering and design for GIUD share offices with the dispatching center at the Phelps Control Center.

Phelps Control Center Statistics

GIUD System Peak Hourly Demand 2004 (Used by GIUD Customers)	152.4 mwh on July 20, 2004 at 5 PM
GIUD System Distribution 2003 (Total used by GIUD Customers)	655,470 mwh
Average Number of Electric Customers	23,100

F. E. Phelps Control Center Contacts

Mailing address: P.O. Box 1968, Grand Island, Nebraska 68802-1968

Location: Phelps Control Center is located in east-central Grand Island at the intersection of South Cherry and East Bischeld Street. Street address is 700 E. Bischeld Street. The Phelps Control Center is open to the public during our regular business hours of Monday through Friday (except holidays) from 8 AM to 5 PM. All visitors must check into the office located on the south side of building immediately upon entering. Anyone planning to visit the control center after regular business hours should make prior arrangements.

Contacts -

For electrical problems such as a power outage, flickering lights, downed power lines, or other problems related to electrical power service to your home or business, call the Phelps Control Center at 385-5461 anytime. Email: Phelps Control
For problems with water service such as a broken water main, loss of water pressure, or questions about water quality, call the Water shop at 385-5436 during the day from 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. After hours and holidays contact the Phelps Control Center at 385-5461.
General Information including substation supervision and engineering, electrical distribution engineering and design, and water distribution engineering and design, call 308-385-5460, Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Fax 380-385-5449. Email: Utility Engineering.
To contact the Phelps Control Center dispatch center call 308-385-5465. Email: Phelps Control