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C A N A D I A N DECEMBER 2012


V A L


ELECTRALITE Video Challenge to Focus on Geothermal Technology


SUPPLEMENT TO OKLAHOMA LIVING


Through the use of video and so- cial media, junior and senior high school students have a unique op- portunity to show- case their creativi- ty and compete for close to $60,000 in scholarship dollars and grants.


The Go Go Geo Scholarship Video Challenge will offi cially be launched to schools on Jan. 7, 2013; however, information will be available on Dec. 1 via the contest website – http:// www.GoGoGeoChallenge.com/. The Touchstone Energy® Coop- eratives are the title sponsor for this event, with geothermal manufactur- ers, including ClimateMaster, Bosch and WaterFurnace, as co-sponsors. Canadian Valley Electric Coopera- tive is a member of this Touchstone Energy Cooperative alliance.


Eligible students will be challenged to use their creativity in the produc- tion of a one to three minute video. Seven message themes have been created for the contest, with each having a geothermal signifi cance. Information on the contest website will offer participants a general un- derstanding of each theme.


The Challenge will consist of a Regional Competition, which will divide contestants into fi ve regions, based on zip code. The top winner from each region will advance to the Final Competition to compete for even more scholarship dollars. In the fi nal level of competition, the fi ve winners will meet with judges in Oklahoma City for the fi nal scoring and winner announcement.


Any high school junior or se- nior residing in Oklahoma or within the service territory of the four New Mexico coopera- tives served by Western Farmers Electric Coop- erative (WFEC)


is eligible to participate. A list of eligible zip codes will be posted on the contest website. For team entries, scholarship funds will be distributed equally, if their entry is designated as the winner. Teams are limited to three members.


“We hope students in our area will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. It will also provide our students with a chance to learn about geothermal technology and how it is becoming valuable to our industry,” Bob Weaver, CVEC’s manager of marketing and economic develop- ment, said.


“The Touchstone Energy Coopera- tives are excited to be partnering on this exciting project for high school juniors and seniors,” commented Mark Faulkenberry, WFEC’s man- ager, marketing and communication. “This contest could not come at a better time, due to potential pres- sures of rising utility costs in the near future. The advancement of geother- mal technology is quickly making this option very viable for many homeowners, who may be interested in making a change before rates do increase,” he added.


WFEC serves as the regional part- ner for the state’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives.


L


E Y


By George


“Lord forgive me when I whine.” Having worked for electric cooperative utilities in Oklahoma for more than forty years, I know that the worst “physical assault” that can happen to an electric utility and its customers is a major ice storm. An inch of ice or less and a little wind and poles, wires and trees will be on the ground everywhere. And in the past forty years we have experienced several of those “major” ice storms that left some of the more remote customers without electric power for two weeks or more. And I know fi rsthand that it takes less than two weeks without electric- ity for some customers to become more than just a little “testy.” With an ice storm it can take just a few hours under the right conditions for a “proud” electric utility distribution system that took seventy years or more to build to be reduced to a pile of rubble of broken poles and twisted conductors. In the beginning, while the customers are still understanding of the magnitude of what has happened, you know that the time it is going to take to restore electric service is going to be longer than their patience as they start to see some of their neighbors power come back on or they don’t see someone working on their line. You know that the restoration process is going to be like “eating an elephant, one bite at a time.” While we have been through this several times, we have always realized that with just a little more ice or a little more wind while the ice was on the lines, the damage could have been worse by several magnitudes. But why couldn’t it just have happened a little further north or a little further south or not at all. And of course after that there is the cost of the restoration to be paid. We compare ice storms and tornadoes. The ice storm, on average, is the more destructive. But after seeing the after-


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