Residents in several parts of the county will soon receivequicker and better electric service due to a variety ofimprovements, according to electric company officials.

Magnolia Electric Power Association is in the final stages ofupgrading power lines from single phase lines to three phase lines,which will give the lines more power capacity, said David Campbell,member services director.

“We figure it will help serve the needs of our customers for thenext 20 years,” said Campbell.

The upgrade process has already been completed in the Heuck’sRetreat area. Other areas that will soon receive an upgrade includethe Bogue Chitto, Norfield, Arlington, Auburn, Montgomery and EastLincoln communities.

Some customers will also receive quicker service when they begindrawing energy from nearby substations, rather than ones milesaway.

“The Auburn, Arlington and Montgomery areas will soon use theArlington substation, whereas they are now being served out of ourSmithdale substation,” said Campbell.

This will provide quicker service to the customers who arecurrently in one of the end areas receiving electricity from theSmithdale substation, which is several miles away in FranklinCounty.

The Arlington substation, located at the intersection ofJackson-Liberty Drive and Bogue Chitto Road, better known asWoodall’s Crossing, will also be connected to substations inNorfield, Pisgah and Smithdale to insure better service duringsituations such as power outages.

“They’ll be tied together so in an emergency we can swap some ofthe load around,” said Campbell.

New feeder lines are also being installed in order to allow thesubstations to serve more areas.