A Remarkable Career

Fannin EC wishes Tim Kidwell a happy retirement

AFTER 18 YEARS OF dedicated service to Fannin Electric Cooperative, Tim Kidwell retired in May. During his time at the co-op, he played a significant role in strengthening and modernizing the distribution system while supporting major infrastructure projects across the region, most recently as a project manager.

During his career, Kidwell managed numerous large-scale projects associated with Bois d’Arc Lake and Lake Ralph Hall. His work included upgrading and rerouting distribution lines, removing facilities within inundation areas, raising distribution lines for sailboat clearance, constructing new substations, and providing electric service for pump stations, water treatment facilities and metering infrastructure.

Kidwell developed and implemented the cooperative’s 10-year pole inspection program and oversaw annual pole inspections and replacement efforts that improved system safety and reliability. He also led reliability improvements through new large conductor distribution ties between substations, additional substation transformers and upgraded circuit protection.

Kidwell managed the inventory and electronic modeling of the distribution system, creating the foundation for major technology advancements including outage management, electronic staking, and supervisory control and data acquisition integration. He also improved member communication and after-hours dispatch capabilities through phone system enhancements and Cooperative Response Center utilization.

Additional accomplishments included managing projects to comply with Texas House Bill 4150 sailboat clearance requirements, overseeing communication pole attachment licensing and system inventory updates and helping launch a fiber attachment project funded by Texas Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment II for Fannin County.

He was also actively involved in the planning, design and construction management of the cooperative’s new headquarters facilities.

As Kidwell begins retirement, he looks forward to spending more time with his wife, children and multiple grandchildren. The cooperative sincerely appreciates his years of service, leadership and lasting contributions to the membership and community.