Jacob Direct

Good afternoon. Please introduce yourself and spell your last name.

My name is Morgan Jacob, J-A-C-O-B

What is your occupation?

I am currently an Operations Support Supervisor for Midlands Gas and Electric at the regional headquarters in Rapid River Valley. I have worked at MG&E for nearly 15 years.

How did you start your career at MG&E?

I started back in 2011 on the gas side of the utility, reading meters and handling service turn-ons.

What has your experience been with the company?

I’ve always strived to be reliable, and that reputation has been very helpful to me. I moved up the rungs by getting my job done and not making waves.

When did you transition to the Electric Operations division?

In 2022, MG&E moved me over to Electric Operations to fill staffing shortages. Prior to 2022, I had never climbed a utility pole or performed field work on energized equipment in my life.

Why did you say yes if you had no experience

You have to say yes at MG&E.

What kind of training did you receive?

My training consisted of a two-week orientation and an operations binder.

And what were your primary responsibilities as an Operations Support Supervisor?

I coordinated field crews, scheduled inspections, managed compliance paperwork, and covered the operations desk during evening and holiday shifts.

What guided your responsibilities in this role?

Yes, we use the Distribution Operations & Maintenance Manual, but I just call it “the manual”

What did MG&E’s policies look like when you started there?

When I first started, it was very detailed. It had very specific protocols for incident responses involving contact or damage to a pole. Old-timers treated the manual like gospel and followed every word.

Did these policies change in any way?

Yes, around 2020-2021, leadership introduced the Operational Efficiency Initiative, or as I like to say, OEI. Apparently the electric side was not making the kind of money the company wanted.

How did these changes affect day-to-day responsibilities at MG&E?

There were 3 major changes. First, routine patrols were scheduled way less frequently. Second, inspections were done “as needed” instead of on a fixed calendar. And third, it leaned heavily on remote monitoring, including our SCADA sstem, instead of a person physically laying eyes on equipment.

How did MG&E management treat employees who raised concerns about these changes?

Employees who pushed back were frankly not treated well, They didn’t get promoted, they got moved to roles nobody wanted, and they ultimately left.

What did your performance look like during this time?

I hit my metrics and closed my tickets. As I said, I keep my head down. I knew that if I didn’t generate overtime, didn’t greenlight unnecessary field dispatches and didn’t make efficiency metrics look bad, I would do just fine.

Before the fire on January 1, 2026, had you ever personally visited Utility Pole #4742 on Dip Road?

Yes, I did a site visit along Dip Road in August 2025

What did you observe regarding Pole #4742 during that visit?

The pole was showing its age; the transformer hardware at the top appeared corroded, and overgrown brush was encroaching around the base of the pole and along the right of way span.

What action did MG&E take regarding those hardware and vegetation concerns?

Both the hardware condition and the encroaching vegetation at Pole #4742 were placed on MG&E’s deferred maintenance list.

Let’s turn to November that same year. What concerns did you bring to MG&E executive leadership?

Yes, I sent an email to Aggie Stackhouse about field contractor training.

What concerns did you convey to Stackhouse?

I was concerned that MG&E’s abbreviated two week contractor training program was insufficient for technicians to properly identify and escalate right-of-way vegetation hazards before an incident occurred.

How did Stackhouse respond to your safety concern?

She kinda blew me off and said “you have a concern, not a problem…we’re not creating another training program based on unfounded concerns. Circle back with me after the New Year”

Now turning your attention to the night of the wildfire, where were you working on the early morning of January 1, 2026?

I was the sole operations coordinator running the MG&E control desk overnight on New Year’s Eve.

What report did you receive at approximately 2:10 AM?

Officer Charlie Weaver of the Trumble County Police Dept. called to report that a vehicle had struck Pole #4742 on Dip Road

What concerns did Officer Weaver have about the pole?

Officer Weaver reported that the pole was leaning 10 to 15 degrees, the conductor was under abnormal tension, and the transformer appeared precarious.

Directing your attention to Section 4.2.1, could you read the policy in the manual?

“Where the report indicates displacement of a pole or equipment, a leaning pole, or a compromised conductor or attachment, the Coordinator shall dispatch a field resource for verification.

Did you dispatch a technician the night of the fire?

No. I checked the SCADA electrical board, and it said there was no electrical fault registered. I scheduled a next-business-day inspection instead.

What does the SCADA board detect?

SCADA only detects active electrical ground faults or line breaks. A leaning pole undergoing mechanical stress carries current normally untile the hardware physically fails.

Were any technicians available that night?

Yes. Finley Gray was available to inspect the scene, but I told Gray to stand down.

What occurred at 3:30 AM on the same circuit segment?

An alert fired on MG&E’s Environmental Monitoring System (EMS) panel at the substation between Pole #4742 and Transmission Tower #112.

How does the MG&E D&M Manual require an EMS alarm to be handled when a post-incident crash report is already open on that same segment?

The Manual specifies that an EMS alarm on a segment with an open post-incident item shall be evaluated in conjunction with that item, and not in isolation.

How did you log that escalating alarm at 3:34 AM?

I logged it as Monitor/No Dispatch

Was a technician available at that time?

Yes. Finley Gray was still available, but I did not dispatch them,

Was Aggie Stackhouse aware of this incident on the night of Jan 1?

Yes, I emailed her to notify her of the event.

Aggie Response

“Sounds like the right call to me. If the power is on and the board is clean, keep monitoring and let the morning crew handle it. Save the triple overtime for a real emergency".

When did MG&E receive confirmation that a wildfire had broken out near Pole #4742 and Transmission Tower #112?

At approximately 4:30 AM, after a resident called 911 reporting smoke.

After receiving confirmation of an active fire at 4:30 AM, did you de-energize the circuit?

Not until about an hour later, at 5:20 AM.