The recent move of AEP Texas’ technical facility from Burlington Avenue in Spur to a new building 24 miles away in Jayton marks an improvement in the electrical service provider’s efficiency, according to the company that handles electrical transmission for its customers.
But it also marks the first time in Spur’s history that no local power company has kept an office on the city’s main street. Spur’s city-owned municipal power and light plant was first located on South Burlington Avenue in what is now the headquarters of the volunteer fire department. The power company’s public office later moved to the 400 block of Burlington, north of City Hall, and eventually was bought out by West Texas Utilities.
The new center in Jayton, about a block from the Kent County courthouse, comprises a building of 1,600 feet and a fenced laydown yard. The building was completed in December 2021, and AEP moved its crews in January 2022, and it serves power customers in Jayton, Spur, Dickens and McAdoo.
As with its Spur center, there are no public customer services, said AEP Texas corporate communications manager Larry Jones; it’s a facility that is “focused on responding to outage calls and local improvements with local electrical facilities.”
Jones said there will be a crew of two service technicians based in Jayton, and that larger facility will be able to store more equipment and be able to act more efficientlyon any service calls that are reported, as always, via phone or Internet.
Greg Blair is the Abilenebased manager of customer service for the region, which includes Spur.
Jones said that the Spur office will continue to serve as a satellite hub until its lease runs out, when it plans to vacate the space.
The other tenant in the building, Dickens County Farm Bureau, is currently considering its options for Spur office space, as it currently subleases from AEP.
The move is “another indication of our commitment by AEP Texas for continued service throughout the communities we serve,” said Jones.
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