|
 Vacation.
April. Up at 6:00 a.m., listening to the news and the weather report on the
radio. 6:35, radio and lights go off. Here I am, not knowing the electric
company that covers my rental unit. What to do. Phone book. Who is open at this
time of the morning? Nobody! Not to find the utility that serviced my rental
unit, I waited until after 8:00 a.m., when the current came back on and I was
able to discover my provider.
I found the number, one of seventeen 800 numbers
listed in the phone book, a choice I had to make to find out what caused my
outage. Luckily, I did find a great lady who helped me. I asked her where she
was; she was in Long Beach, California. I was in Palm Desert, California, a
half a state away. She was able, by computer, to let me know that my problem
was caused by an underground cable dysfunction. Formerly California Edison, now
Edison International, it is a large company serving many areas worldwide. It
was my service company.
Deregulation for the utility industry makes me
uncomfortable. It hasn't been too smooth for the airlines or for telephone
companies. As a member of Salem Electric, it is so special to be able to dial
one number and reach the person to whom I wish to speak. Guess I'm just a small
town gal.
Vacation continued, and another special experience.
For many years I've watched those windmills whirling around in the wind in the
California desert. When I first saw them, I felt they were a blight to the
landscape. I have been educated. I had a special day with Fredrick Noble, the
owner and CEO of Wintec, the wind power energy company in the Palm Desert area.
Salem Electric purchased wind power from Foote Creek
Rim in Wyoming. Though I did not participate in the visit to Wyoming, I was
well informed by the directors who were on-site. With Mr. Noble in California,
I was able to ask questions such as: age and life expectancy of the towers
(twenty years I was told) are they bird-friendly, and to whom do you sell the
power? Guess who... Edison.
Mr. Noble gave me a wealth of information. When wind
power began in the 1980s, there were problems with gear box failures. Modern
technology has changed all that, and those wind turbines you see on the hills
here in the U.S. and in Europe, the world leaders of wind energy development,
will continue to assure us that we will have enough generation to assist us for
the next decade and beyond.
Alicia Bonesteele
Director
TOP
|