Category Archives: Edgecombe-Martin EMC

Week #5’ish- Kenan Fellows PD and back at the Co-op!

This week was the second of three professional development institute that was held by Kenan Fellows Program. I spent Thursday in the field with Monica and Dale seeing all of the steps involved in staking new services. There was a board meeting that afternoon and I had the opportunity to share my experiences and academic plan with the Board of Directors for EM-EMC.

Telling the board a little bit about my summer…

Oh no– are we really going to talk POLITICS?!

In the first part of the week during our professional development, my fellow fellows and I spent some time learning about the importance of making connections with the folks that make the most important decisions– our lawmakers. Many teachers join organizations like NCAE and PENC for their lobbying power. While there isn’t anything wrong with joining those organizations (most of them have quite a few ‘perks’ like professional insurance-very valuable!), we learned that teachers and leaders are most effective in the political arena when we create and nurture relationships with our local representatives. This can be a daunting task, and time consuming, but is worth doing in order to be an advocate for our students and our profession. These relationships can be forged outside of any association with a professional organization by a little bit of planning and some homework before meeting any representatives. My takeaway from this: Sticking my head in the sand and ignoring politics does absolutely nothing for my profession. I must begin taking baby steps to become an activist for current and future teachers and students. This may be one of the most important responsibilities I have as a teacher leader. I plan on inviting my representatives to my classroom this year, stay tuned for details on that!

Whew, back in my comfort zone- SCIENCE!

We spent time Tuesday morning with staff from the NC Science Museum learning about and practicing citizen science. We also scored some AMAZING new field guides for birds (Sibley) bugs (Kaufman), and trees.

We also used some apps for our citizen science project that centered around Lake Raleigh. The fun and cool thing about citizen science is that can be done ANYWHERE, by ANYONE. It doesn’t take a lot of time, and the impact is huge as more people become interested in and engage with citizen science. Below are the apps we used:

eBird is used for sharing information about bird sightings

iNaturalist and Natures Notebook are both more general sites for sharing citizen science observations. Natures Notebook is great for sharing phenology information for flora and fauna right in your backyard– citizen science from home!

Plover approved.

Almost the end…

It was wonderful to be reunited with my Kenan family. We were able to share information and receive feedback on our curriculum products, reconnect and hear ALL ABOUT each others fellowships, and enjoy being in the company of like-minded professionals. SO REFRESHING. I have one more week– 5 days– left of internship. It is so hard to believe it is almost over. It has been a whirl-wind summer and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Again, thank you to KFP, NCEMC, EMEMC for supporting my work this summer. It has been transformative, informative, and simply amazing! Also thanks to my family– my husband and children, my parents, and my in-laws who have been so generous in their assistance with my children. I couldn’t have done any of this without them!

Week #4- Line Crew, Accounting, and Cameras- OH MY!

This week has been a mixture of field time, office time, and HOLLYWOOD time!
Monday we were out with the crew and we were at the hog farm–they were running new lines to have more houses. It was a stinky, but informative, experience. I was able to see the linemen pull line and hang line to prepare it for service.

We didn’t actually SEE any hogs, but we smelled them, and they didn’t smell as cute as this one looks.

Here are some highlights from my time in the field Monday:

Before any job is started there is ‘tail gate meeting’ that ensures everyone on the crew knows exactly what will be happening– which lines will be ‘hot’ and appropriate safety reminders for the specific job at hand. Everyone on the job site has to sign or initial the work order acknowledging they are aware of the plan and potential dangers.

At the hog farm there were new lines hung up. This required line to be pulled off of the spool and put on the ground, before they were hung at one end and pulled up and attached at the other end. It is a lengthy process– but one that went fairly quick once it started happening.

Working ‘in the field’. Literally. In the corn field!

Safety first– When the crews are working on ‘hot’ lines there is extensive safety measures taken to ensure the line men go home to their families each night. Here they have line insulators, rubber sleeves, and multiple layers of protection that AREN’T pictured here– including a grounded line and their harnesses are attached to the bucket.

Tuesday we were back in the office. Monica and I reviewed the Volunteer Action Committee minutes from the last meeting and she prepared for the next meeting that will be the last week of the month. I also spent some time working on curriculum and polishing up the ‘ol blog.

Wednesday …. oh Wednesday. Lindsey from NCEMC (‘statewide’) came with a camera crew from Amazing Studios and they were… well…. amazing. We were filmed while we were out with the crew, and even though I was a tad uncomfortable with the cameras that close and constantly on me, I know that the video they create from the footage the shot will be great. We actually did stuff while out with the linemen- I became and expert outrigger putter-downer and picker-upper (those are technical terms, by the way) and we watched the linemen (Allen and Bobby) switch service from one phase to a different phase. We were also interviewed by the guys at Amazing Studios and got a glimpse into the challenges of outdoor shooting (noise/heat/bugs/lack of power).

Thursday we were back in the office for awhile in the morning– I talked to Gary and Thomas about outages and metering. I never knew there were so many different types of meters!

Monica and I also went to an event hosted by the Edgecombe County Library where local children came out to see trucks including firetrucks, police cars, bucket trucks, and even a Pepsi Truck.

Thursday afternoon I spent time in accounting– this department was friendly and welcoming just like the other departments and I learned more than I ever even knew existed in the world of business– from accounts payable to taxes to payroll– the amount of number crunching that goes on is unreal. I’ll be updating with a link to a post about capital credits and some of the other business benefits of co-ops in the next week or so– I learned enough for a whole post on that!

Friday we were visited by Tia and Amneris from Kenan Fellows Project. I am so happy that they had the opportunity to see some really cool stuff out in the field. The crew we were with had to ‘retire’ two poles and set two new poles. One line was hot while the other was not, so it was interesting to see the different approach for different scenarios. Today I was able to nail the copper ground onto a wire, help fill the hole, help with pole attachments, and turn the pole once it was set in the ground. So again, picture heavy below, but if you have questions please feel free to ask 🙂

A shady spot for the tailgate meeting

“So you’ll nail these funny shaped nails into the pole…”

A pole turner tool! The holes in the pole have to line up just right to make all of the connections properly.

I became an expert at nailing, so they let me supervise.

It has been another GREAT week at Edgecombe-Martin EMC. I am so thankful for the hospitality that has been shown. I will be working diligently in the next few weeks to bring together the lessons I’ve learned and create curriculum that will be able to be shared with other teachers that will hopefully inspire our young people to pursue careers in the energy industry. This will benefit teachers by providing engaging, exciting, and relevant lessons. Edgecombe-Martin EMC will benefit from having a member base that is exposed at a younger age to cooperative principles and energy education.

Week #3… Line Crew!

This week we spent a lot of time ‘on the road’ with the line crew. These guys were SUPER nice and welcoming. They answered all of my questions and told me exactly what they were doing and why they were doing it. This post will be ‘picture heavy’, because I took LOTS of pictures! On Tuesday I was able to attend a safety committee meeting and we were in the office. Also on Tuesday I learned more about solar energy and renewables. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday I was able to see the linemen doing a variety of tasks that included:

~investigating reports of blinking lights to find and fix the issue (birds pecking at the wire– this didn’t work out well for the birds!)

~Installing a security light and service to meter box at a new residence

~retiring a pole

~repairing an underground line that had blown out

~installing new lines and setting a new pole for service

~they even let me use a ditch digger to fill a hole!

Solar Energy

Can you think of any reason why people wouldn’t want to use FREE solar energy to provide electricity to do the things we have grown accustomed to, including charge our phone, heat up our dinner, and wash our clothes? Well, when you think about how energy gets from the sun to your power outlet, it becomes far more complicated and much more costly than ‘free’.

QUESTION: How would a member go about getting solar panels installed on their house?

The member would need to contact Edgecombe-Martin EMC to have the engineers determine if existing lines can handle the voltage that would be put back on the lines. The member also must sign a Standard Interconnection Agreement that details the members responsibilities that include information about types of acceptable equipment, safety, and installation and interconnection costs that must be covered by the member.

QUESTION: How much will this lower a members electricity bill?

I’d really like to share some ‘hard facts and figures’, but the reality is that it isn’t that straightforward. You can do some quick googling and find that some projects pay off in 5 (or fewer) years because of hefty tax credits at the federal and some state levels. Solar panels are expensive to install, and the future of solar is not ‘set in stone’– as tax credits expire and the cost becomes even more prohibitive, you may see less solar ~or~ as technology abilities increase and panels become more cost effective, you may see more solar. If you install panels in the EMEMC district you’ll be credited on your bill according the ‘avoided cost’ that co-op calculates– which is how much you would’ve paid for power had they supplied the power to you instead of you supplying it via panels. The bottom line is that right now there is no way to store the energy, so Edgecombe-Martin is there to ‘pick up the slack’ and keep your lights on cloudy days and cold winter nights.

It is important to note there are currently various methods that have been tested and even used to ‘capture’ this energy and store it for times when the sun ISN’T shining, but it is equally as important to note that these technologies are not widely available and thus have high costs associated with installation, use, and maintenance of the systems.

Edgecombe-Martin EMC has a few solar projects that are connected to their system. There is a fairly high cost associated with connecting residential and industrial solar to existing lines, and extnesive paperwork that must be filed. The engineers must verify that the existing lines can handle the load that will be back fed onto the lines during daylight hours. This means that the substations have to be able to adjust the power they are supplying every second– even a cloud can cause a drop in voltage from the solar panels, and the co-op must provide continuous services to all of the members. As you can imagine, this is a modern marvel and requires engineers to be on-staff and monitoring the grid for any potential problems.

Week #1 at the Co-Op…

Whew! What a whirl wind week it has been! I have worked with various areas and learned about member services, toured the co-ops facilities and an industry member, and ordered my very own pink hard hat! I break down the week day by day…

I have visited almost every substation and have the pictures to prove it! Mike Johnson (An engineer with EMEMC) and Eddie Stocks (Member and Industrial development) have patiently all of my questions about how all of the lines, substations, and power switches work together!

Monday was spent with Monica as she showed me the ‘ins and outs’ of the co-op office, introduced me to co-op staff, and shared the plan for the summer. I learned copious amounts of information on the history of the co-op, the cooperative difference, and logistics from CEO Winston Howell.

Tuesday morning was a REAP and ACRE meeting. Monica and I also went on a system tour with Eddie Stocks where we visited about half of the service area. Monica and I decided that we needed cuter hard hats and safety glasses for all of our adventures in the field, and we ordered those on Tuesday. Our monograms will be made them and they’ll be ready for when I return from NCCAT.

Wednesday we visited the landfill to learn about the gas project– I’ll have a separate post on that. We also toured the other half of the service territory to view the substations and infrastructure that the co-op has in place to deliver power to the members. I also got an up-close view of the co-ops new bucket truck that was recently delivered. This bucket truck has the longest reach in their fleet will enable EMEMC to service and repair their tallest lines for maintenance and repair after storms.

Thursday was very exciting as I toured QVC. I was blown away by the logistical technology that they have at the facility. I also got to see their solar equipment ‘up close’ and learn more about the alternative energy initiatives that they have going on. I’ll have another post about the numerous things I learned there later on. In the afternoon Monica and I toured the remaining substations.

Friday morning I spent some time in member services where I learned how to take payments over the phone and in person at the front desk, I assisted in signing up new members, and learned more about the care that the cooperative takes to make sure that each member is completely satisfied with the service they receive. I also went to a ribbon cutting ceremony and lunch for the Gas Landfill Project I referenced above. The financial partners and community support members were invited to attend and celebrate the new facility.

I knew this week would be overwhelming because of all the new people I’d meet and new knowledge I’d gain. I also knew it would be a lot of fun- for me, learning and trying new things is fun. What I didn’t know was how much I’d learn– I could type in blogs for days and never get it all recorded. This speaks volumes to the fact that experiences can’t be taught with textbooks– the more experiences people have, the more they learn. I am particularly thankful for these experiences and the people who have supported me this week and will continue to support me through the summer. I look forward to lots of new experiences!

Next week I won’t be at the co-op– I’ll be in Cullowhee, NC for a week at NCCAT with the Kenan Fellows program. I am also excited about the new people I’ll meet and the new experiences I’ll gain from that adventure. Stay tuned for pictures of our white water rafting trip!

The End and The Beginning

As we close in on the last few days of school, most teachers have visions of sandy beaches, lazy days, and maybe a few good (fun!) books dancing through their head. I have a different vision bouncing around in my head that I am very excited about! I’ll be spending most of June and July working with Edgecombe-Martin Electric Membership Cooperation as a Kenan Fellow. When I tell people my plans for summer there are a few questions they ask almost immediately. I’ll share the answers to some of those questions here:

#1. So this internship thing this summer, what’s that about?

The internship is offered through the Kenan Fellows Project. I encourage you to check out their website, but here is the summary listed on their website under ‘About Us’:

The Kenan Fellows Program empowers educators, students and businesses through strategic partnerships.

“Solutions-driven K-12 teachers selected as Kenan Fellows engage in a year-long fellowship in partnership with university researchers and industry experts. The program provides opportunities for development and advancement, inspiring educators to drive innovation in North Carolina public schools.
Key components of the fellowships are a five-week summer research experience with a mentor in a local workplace and two weeks of professional development. From this experience, Fellows create innovative lessons for students and professional development workshops for their colleagues.”

My project title is “It’s Electric!” and I’ll be learning all about the different ways electricity is generated, transmitted and supplied while learning about the cooperative business model and all aspects of member services in the co-op.

I don’t think we’ll be dancing, but anytime I say “It’s Electric!”, this is what goes through my head…

Electric Boogie (Aka The Electric Slide)

#2. So you’ll spend your WHOLE SUMMER working?
Yes and no. I will spend 5 weeks at Edgecombe-Martin Electric Membership Cooperation, 1 week at NCCAT (more on that in a later post) and 3 days in Raleigh, NC for Professional Development associated with the program. I’ll also have two days in the fall for professional development. I will have two weeks off action packed summer fun in August before I go back to school (stay tuned for more on that). So yes, I’ll work most of my summer. Which leads to the next quesion I’ve been asked…

#3. WHY are you doing this?
Many people cannot fathom why in the world a teacher would want to ‘give up’ a big part of their summer off in order to do something like this. What most people who are not teachers do not understand is that most teachers spend at least part of the summer at professional development anyway, and they spend a lot of their summer working on their plans for the next school year as well. These are just a few of the personal reasons I applied to be a Kenan Fellow:
a. I love learning and growing as a professional– I know this will provide me with a great deal of experience that I can share with my students. Since I started teaching I have always participated in some sort of extensive training during the summer- it’s just what I do.
b. I like new challenges. This will be something new and different for me. When I graduated college I went straight into teaching. I don’t know what people in other businesses, and I’ll get to interact with a wide variety of professionals and my own learning will be stretched. I’ve been ‘eyeing’ Kenan Fellows for quite some time now, and due to different reasons I never applied (more about that in a later post). I decided this was the year I needed to step out of my comfort zone and just do it.
c. Kenan Fellows provides leadership opportunity within my school, county, and state. This is important to me because it means that I am active contributor to the success and growth of my profession. Teachers that are involved and lead the profession often help mold and shape our profession and initiate and implement change. These changes impact student learning at the classroom level– which is why we do what we do anyway.

#4. Ok, so WHAT will you be doing every day?
I’ll be following around a bunch of folks from Edgecombe- Martin EMC as they do their daily jobs. Each day will have a different adventure for me. I’ve already seen the calendar and let me just say I am THRILLED at all of the opportunity that will be packed into these short 5 weeks. My adventure will include days with the line crew, touring businesses and generation stations, learning about the member side of electric cooperatives in NC from billing to connections, renewables, maintenance, safety, economic developments and partnerships, and tours of other cooperatives.

It is my intention to share my experiences via this blog on a regular basis. Some posts will be text heavy, while others may be more pictorial. I have a supply of my favorite notebooks and pens ready for my first day, which is Monday, June 15. Before then I’ll share a little more about who I am and my journey to becoming a Kenan Fellow. This is interactive, so please ask questions and/or make comments below!

Leigh Ann Hudson's Blog

It's Electric!