Marietta Power's new automated switches are projected to cut outage minutes by more than half. The $3.96 million project is mostly federally funded.

Marietta Power has installed automated switches that are projected to cut outage minutes on its electric system by more than half.

The city-owned utility showed the equipment Friday to Katie Jereza, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity. The city announced the visit in a news release on Oct. 2.

What was installed

The work is part of the Marietta Power Grid Renewal and Modernization Project. The city said it uses switches controlled by SCADA, the remote monitoring system utilities use to run their networks. The switches are designed to support what the industry calls fault detection, isolation and recovery.

In practice, when a line fails, the system finds the fault, cuts that section off and sends power around it automatically.

“When a disruptive event occurs, our systems will now automatically reroute power around the hazard, keeping lights on for our citizens and local businesses,” said Ron Mull, general manager of the Marietta Board of Lights and Waterworks.

The city said Marietta Power is the first utility in the country to use this particular version of the system.

Who paid for it

The project costs $3,962,519 in total. The city said the money breaks down as:

Source Amount
Federal award, administered by the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority $2,659,031
Local match $1,303,488
Total $3,962,519

Source: City of Marietta news release, Oct. 2, 2026.

That makes the federal share about two-thirds of the cost. The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, known as GEFA, is the state agency that handled the grant.

“By reducing outage times by 50 percent with this new automation system, we’re helping strengthen electric service, keep affordability central to the work, and protect both residential families and economic drivers,” Jereza said.

Mayor Steve Tumlin said the project “strengthens the reliability of Marietta Power while making smart use of federal, state and local resources.”

What it means for you

  • Only Marietta Power customers are affected. Some homes and businesses with a Marietta address get power from Georgia Power or Cobb EMC instead. Your bill shows which.
  • Outages still happen. The switches are meant to shorten them and limit how many customers lose power, not to stop storms or crashes from taking lines down. The 50% figure is the city’s projection, not a measured result yet.
  • To report an outage, Marietta Power customers can call 770-794-5160, the utility’s emergency number for power. Our power outages page has the numbers and outage maps for all three providers.