$4.5 million flood recovery complete at Alliant ops center

The restoration of Alliant Energy's big Cedar Rapids operations center from the June 2008 flood didn't happen quickly, but it happened in time.

The center at 1001 Shaver Rd. NE is home base for about 130 Alliant Energy employees who were preparing for the worst from a massive winter storm hitting today. As the storm rolled in, there was little trace of the five feet of Cedar River water that swamped the facility north of Cedar Lake during the flood.

“It's 100 percent operational and better than before the flood,” said Kent Sodawasser, senior manager of customer operations for Alliant.

The 45-year-old operations center looks almost new, although it doesn't look like $4.5 million was spent on it. That's because much of the money was used to replace costly equipment inside the building that was destroyed by the floodwaters.

Just replacing test equipment used on the rubber gear that insulates Alliant's line crews from shock cost about $500,000, Sodawasser said.

In the wake of the flood, Alliant redeployed its operations personnel from the center to the former Ketelsen's RV Center location on Highway 13, the Kirkwood Training and Outreach Services Center in Marion, and the Van Meter Industrial location on 33rd Avenue SE. About 50 line crew workers and managers were brought back to the Operations Center six weeks later, mainly so they could be close to the materials they need to do their jobs.

The floods destroyed thousands of inventory items stockpiled for repairs and replacements of Alliant's energy system. With the exception of some wire and transformers, nearly all of it had to be replaced because it would have been too costly to clean and test.

Among the many functions of the operations center is the maintenance of Alliant Energy's fleet of vehicles and the warehousing of parts.

The utility nearly doubled the capacity of its vehicle fleet services center, adding a section with an extra-high ceiling so that the lift apparatus on bucket trucks can be tested.

A new distribution center building was constructed to warehouse supplies and equipment that must be protected from the elements and theft, and to free up space in the 95,000-square-foot main building.

Linemen were also provided with a new “crew room” that includes their own desk space for the first time.