Archive

Mechanical Maintenance Crew

The mechanical maintenance crew is tasked with maintaining equipment to increase reliability, ensuring that any piece of equipment is available for operation when needed. This work can include greasing equipment, completing oil changes, and pulling oil samples, which allows them to find any contaminants and predict impending failures. This crew is also responsible for repairing mechanical failu… More

Electrical I&C Maintenance Crew

Our power plant’s maintenance crews perform critical work to ensure operational reliability. The electrical instrumentation and controls (I&C) maintenance crew is responsible for all aspects of electrical equipment in preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance. Electrical I&C maintenance technicians also ensure that process instrumentation for indications such as temperature, … More

Cybersecurity at Work and at Home

Technology constantly changes, and with that comes the need to focus on cybersecurity for our devices and software. This defense is vital to the operation of Prairie State. “As shown by the media, hacks and data breaches occur at firms of all sizes. Often these incidents make front page news and cause irreparable damage to reputations,” said Garren Thurau, Senior Network Administrator. “T… More

NERC Compliance & Cybersecurity

At our power plant, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) requires controls be put in place to maintain cybersecurity. NERC has 13 Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) standards that range from physical protections to electronic protections. According to Mark Jones, Engineering Supervisor, Prairie State’s power plant goes above and beyond most of these requirements. �… More

Mine Rescue Team

Pictured above, left to right: Mike Alms, Dan Meier, Loretta Fondaw, Raul Guillermo, Jacob Montgomery, Travis Schaeffer, Marcus Tso, Dan Wiedwilt, Mark Baue, and Paul Dunk. The mine rescue team plays an important role in disaster preparedness at Prairie State’s Lively Grove Mine. According to Mark Baue, “The main goal of this team is to act quickly and safely, protecting our people and asse… More