Dear Otus,
During the recent sub-freezing cold snap, Entergy Arkansas sent out a request for customers to conserve power by, like, not showering in the morning. Then, just as quickly, they canceled it. Ever since, I've noticed my electricity fluctuating -- or so it seems. Is there any way for us to tell?
-- Michael Farraday,
Maumelle
Dear Michael,
It was wholly a pleasure to hear from you and to confirm that you haven't been the only one to suspect something is going on.
Entergy's 700,000 Arkansas customers received the initial call for conservation late on Jan. 17 after snow and bitter arctic cold resulted in unusually heavy power demands. It got down to 7 degrees in Little Rock, the coldest in two decades.
However, the request to conserve was called off a couple of hours early, about 9:30 a.m. on the 18th. That decision came from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the umbrella outfit to which Entergy belongs. The system had evidently returned to normal operations as temperatures moderated. Threatened periodic blackouts were not required.
The return to normal was too late, however, to prevent untold thousands of Arkansans from stinking throughout the day from having skipped their showers.
Before the resumption of normalcy, it was noted that Entergy's southern region set a record for winter electricity usage at 32.1 gigawatts (GW). The summer record is 32.6 GW, so it was close.
To put all that in perspective, 1 GW is equal to 1,000 megawatts or 1 billion watts -- enough to light 10 million 100 watt light bulbs. The recent draw on power could have lit 321 million light bulbs, or 4.5 erstwhile Osborne Family Christmas displays.
What's a watt? One watt (a derived unit of 1 joule per second) is the rate at which electrical work is performed when a current of one ampere (A) flows across an electrical potential difference of one volt.
As a precautionary follow-up, Lewis Latimer, vice president of Electricity Vacillation for Entergy Arkansas, said the company will conduct its first electricity leakage test since 2011 to ensure the system is functioning properly. The public's participation is critical for the test to be successful.
Entergy is in the process of notifying customers via mail and email of the proper procedure, but we'll include them here as a public service.
This will be only the third time the company has conducted a systemwide test for electricity leakage. After the soul-sucking ice storms of the winter of 2000-2001, Entergy feared that as much as 14 percent of its electrical output was leaking from damaged, improperly installed or outmoded outlets.
Electricity is colorless, tasteless and virtually odorless. In fact, it takes the most sensitive of noses to even detect the higher ozone levels present around leaking outlets.
Therefore, as it did in 2001 and 2011, Entergy will conduct a nationally standardized Rhinal Electrical Continuity Test (RECT). This time it will be during the Super Bowl, which is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Feb 4 on NBC. Entergy will be pumping an industry scent labeled "Gardenia Potpourri 117" along the grid throughout the game.
Entergy suggests that during the Justin Timberlake halftime show, customers should pick a convenient electrical outlet (outside the kitchen) and sniff for 20 seconds within two inches for the distinctive odor of gardenias. If electrical leakage is present, you will easily detect the aroma.
The proper method of sniffing is to exhibit a felids flehmen response. First, use your index finger to push in and up on the end of your nose, then sniff with your mouth open. This engages your Jacobson's (or vomeronasal) organ in the roof of your mouth in front of the palatopharyngeal arch to help detect the scent.
Customers who smell gardenias should go online at Entergy.com and check the box under "Operations Information" that indicates the strength of the aroma from 1 to 10, with 10 being overpowering.
Or, call the Entergy RECT Hotline at (501) 376-8111 and follow the reporting instructions.
Until next time, Kalaka reminds you that if you enjoy the scent of Gardenia Potpourri 117, you can make your own phthalate-free reed diffuser base oil at home to be used in paraffin, potpourri, sachets or incense. Info is at RusticEscentuals.com.
Disclaimer
Fayetteville-born Otus the Head Cat's award-winning column of
Z humorous fabrication X
appears every Saturday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Disclaimer: Fayetteville-born Otus the Head Cat's award-winning column of 👉 humorous fabrication 👈 appears every Saturday.
HomeStyle on 01/27/2018