Maintaining reliability despite Mother Nature’s forces

South Mississippi’s spring and summer weather – particularly thunderstorms and lightning – is a continual challenge to Mississippi Power’s ability to deliver reliable electric service to its customers. For all of the efforts the company makes to minimize the number and extent of outages, sometimes Mother Nature is impossible to overcome.

This year, there have been more lightning flashes recorded between January and June in the company’s service area than during the same period for each of the last five years. Each flash increases the risk of a strike to Mississippi Power distribution equipment.

“Lightning is a major cause of damage for any electrical system,” said company spokesman Kurt Brautigam. “About 22 percent of outage minutes per year for our customers can be attributed to lightning.”

But because of employees’ work to prevent outages and minimize the effect of power outages when they do occur, the company still remains on track to meet its reliability goals.

“This year, our distribution crews have worked to address reliability on feeder lines and devices that have the most weather-related problems,” said Brautigam. “In addition to installing arrestors and adding grounding for lightning protection, this work includes adding wildlife protection, replacing deteriorating conductors, relocating inaccessible lines and general maintenance.”

Each of the company’s three divisions also uses recurring trouble reports, which identify areas that have experienced three or more outages in the past six months, to determine the cause of the outages and then recommend a solution to prevent future outages for these areas.

“Reliable service is important to our customers and it’s important to us,” Brautigam said. “Our employees go the extra mile when it comes to preventing outages as well as restoring service. Mississippi Power’s reliability record has long been among the industry’s best, in spite of the challenges posed by serving one of the most lightning-prone areas of the country.”

If electrical service is interrupted, customers should call the Customer Service Center at 1-800-ITS-DARK (800-487-3275). This automated phone number is dedicated to reporting power outages and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s the fastest and easiest way to notify Mississippi Power of an outage.

Wet, cool summer lowers customer usage

Above-average rain levels for the past few months have kept Mississippi Power’s summer peak demand below projections. In fact, the current summer peak is still well below the winter peak for 2003.

The current summer peak is 2,412,000 kilowatts, which occurred July 17. However, the year-to-date peak, set during a record cold snap in January, is 2,523,000 kilowatts, which was 10 percent higher than the company’s previous winter peak.

“We’ve had some short stretches of hot weather this year, but no extended hot and dry periods,” said Kurt Brautigam, company spokesman. “This year, we seem to be back in a more traditional pattern with lots of afternoon showers, which reduces the time of heaviest customer demand on our system. We’ve also had some industrial customers who have closed down or reduced their usage, which has affected our overall usage levels.”

A number of factors are figured into load projections, including weather and load growth.

“Looking at the rest of the summer, we’ve reduced our peak forecast slightly, but we could still get some hot, dry weather in August that would cause peak usage to rise,” Brautigam said. “If that occurs, we’ll have no problem meeting the demand. We have plenty of reserve generating capacity and our power plant employees work very hard in the off season to ensure the units are available during the summer.”

Mississippi Power set its last summer peak record of 2,593,000 kilowatts in August 2000.

Mississippi Power Community Connection Employees begin new charitable fundraising group

In April, Mississippi Power employees raised more than $4,600 for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life in Gulfport. They then submitted a brief form asking the company’s charitable foundation to match about 40% of that amount and presented another check to the Cancer Society as well.

So began the fundraising and charitable giving efforts of the Mississippi Power Community Connection (MPCC), a new organization that seeks to maximize the charitable efforts of the company’s employees, retirees, and their spouses. It also provides a means for requesting matching funds from the Mississippi Power Foundation to boost the amount of those donations.

“A big part of the culture at Mississippi Power is charitable giving,” said Kurt Brautigam, company spokesman. “Our employees have always played active roles in their communities, putting their hearts and energy into charitable fundraisers and community events throughout the year. We wanted to find a way to enhance those efforts even more.”

Six MPCC chapters have been established so far and overall membership is already about 600. Since April, employees have raised more than $42,000 for charities throughout the company’s 23-county service area and added nearly $15,000 in matching funds. Meridian-area employees contributed almost $17,000 to the Lauderdale County Relay for Life. In Jackson and George counties, donations of more than $10,000 have been divided among several charities.

Community service projects undertaken by the local chapters can also involve time rather than money. Employees on the Coast have partnered with the Harrison County Habitat for Humanity and are building a home for a local family. Other chapters may volunteer to spruce up a neighborhood playground or participate in mentoring or other volunteer programs at their local schools.

“This organization will enhance the results of the charitable and community events that have been ongoing for years and we hope it will spur other involvement as well,” Brautigam said. “It will also give us an idea of the combined efforts our employees make across our system and allow us to recognize and appreciate their contributions.”

Plant Watson receives two environmental awards

Mississippi Power’s Plant Watson in Gulfport has been recognized by two different organizations for its sponsorship and support of the Harrison County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day.

This is the fifth straight year that that the Collection Day, hosted annually for the past eight years at Plant Watson, has been recognized by the Keep Mississippi Beautiful/People Against Litter organization. In addition, the event has received the prestigious Gulf Guardian Award awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Program.

The Gulf of Mexico Program created the Gulf Guardian Awards in 2000 to recognize environmental excellence along the Gulf Coast. Nominations for the awards came from Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, as well Mississippi.

“The Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day is a wonderful example of how numerous groups and individuals can work together to do something meaningful for our community,” said Kurt Brautigam, Mississippi Power spokesman. “Keeping toxic materials out of the environment is essential. We’re indebted to Harrison County and our other partners for all their support and to all the volunteers who show up each year to make the day a success.”

Last year, about 650 vehicles dropped off 1,625 gallons of motor oil; 309 batteries; 116 refrigerators; about 1,000 tires; 24,000 pounds of paint; and 5,000 pounds of other hazardous materials such as chemicals, pesticides and poisons. About 130 volunteers staffed the event.