GREENWOOD — The Delaware Electric Cooperative announced Wednesday that 2021 was the company’s most reliable year.

DEC members experienced fewer outages last year, and for those who did experience power disruptions, DEC reported record response times.

The average duration of outages was as low as 53 minutes in 2021, company officials said, which is down 16 minutes from 2019, the second-most reliable year.

DEC attributes the improvement to their employees, who are ready to fix potential outages 24 hours a day.

“There’s a lot that we are currently doing to ensure excellent service to members. We’re making sure DEC has the manpower, financial resources and advanced technology for our team to continue down the path of reliability and improvement,” said DEC CEO Greg Starheim in a press release.

Many preventive efforts have been made over the past year to ensure a quick turnaround for members when outages occur, including removal of vegetation around power lines; testing and replacement of existing lines, equipment and poles; and the maintenance of electrical equipment, DEC said.

The coop serves over 108,000 homes, businesses and farms in Kent and Sussex counties.