How We Serve: Auxilary Operating Team

“It takes a village” is a phrase that aptly fits when referring to electricity generation at Basin Electric. Employees from across the cooperative play unique and important roles in producing reliable electricity for our members. Some of these unsung heroes are the auxiliary operators.

Auxiliary equipment includes pumps, fans, cooling systems, and environmental control systems, which play an important role in supporting the operation of the generation equipment. This equipment requires 24/7 monitoring by a team of dedicated individuals.

Luke Parker began working as an auxiliary operator at Laramie River Station in Wheatland, Wyoming, in 2018.

“As auxiliary operators, we are responsible for the absorber towers, mercury cleaning systems and precipitators, reactor processes, fly ash loading and sales, and all support equipment for those areas,” Parker says. “We work in teams of four and each take responsibility for one of the four areas during our block of 12-hour day or night shifts.”

Troubleshooting is key to ensuring all auxiliary equipment is running properly. This can range from determining why a certain valve is not opening, discovering that a gear isn’t operating properly, or realizing that equipment isn’t starting due to a tripped breaker.

There are a myriad of situations and troubleshooting that can take place in any given area in the scrubbers, and auxiliary operators must be ready to act appropriately.

“Hands-on experience is paramount to our jobs,” Parker says. “It is one thing to read about the operation of equipment in a manual, but where we really learn is by doing. Unfortunately, the best lessons are learned when things are not working as they should. Having a good grasp on how the equipment works helps to troubleshoot problems that arise.”

When difficulties arise, communication and teamwork are vital.

“Teamwork is an important part of our day-to-day operations,” says Parker. “There are many tasks that may not require more than one set of hands, but extra help from your team can make that task much easier to carry out. In addition, having a good working relationship with the maintenance departments is important for communication and the swift execution of whatever maintenance task is required.”

Parker and the team of auxiliary operators across Basin Electric play an important behind-the-scenes role in providing reliable electricity to cooperative members. They help ensure that environmental control systems operate effectively, ultimately reducing emissions and helping Basin Electric adhere to the current environmental regulations. They also help mitigate risks to equipment at the plant, helping to alleviate any disruptions in the production of reliable electricity across the cooperative.

“Our jobs in the energy sector and what they entail are largely unknown to the general public,” says Parker. “I take pride in the fact that while most of the world is sleeping or going about their daily business, the work we do in our division, in addition to others throughout the plant, provides clean, efficient energy to the masses. People should not have to worry about whether the lights are going to turn on; that’s our job.”