During the first full week of October each year, Heber Light & Power (HL&P) joins hundreds of other public power utilities across the country to celebrate Public Power Week. We celebrate having local control over rates, having more diverse energy portfolios, shorter outages and more community involvement. This year, that community involvement also included inviting local senior citizens to join the celebration. They had the chance to tour our facilities, visit with employees, and learn about how public power keeps the lights on for everyone in the valley.
At HL&P, our favorite part of Public Power Week has become doing field trips for the valley’s 4th graders. It allows us to showcase the utility and the amazing and knowledgeable employees that serve the community. By doing these field trips it gives the students a jumpstart for the electricity module they will learn later in the school year.
Along with hosting the 4th graders, we were also excited to welcome members of the senior community this year. They enjoyed seeing the power plant up close and hearing from our crews about how electricity has changed over the years. It was a great way to connect generations and share what makes public power so special.
During the field trip the students go to four stations to learn safety, where energy comes from, how electricity works, and what a circuit is. Of course, they have a lot of fun doing it!
Safety
When it comes to electricity, safety is always first. To demonstrate the dangers of electricity, our line crews use the “hotdog trailer”, which is the nickname for our demonstration trailer. The students are told about the dangers associated with electricity and then get to see the power come to life as the linemen pull arcs off a dummy that has hotdog guts. The students are then shown the hotdogs to see that the inside is cooked while the outside remains normal. They then are shown the safety equipment used to prevent accidents.
Energy
To learn where power comes from, the students are given a tour of the power plant. It is explained that to produce power there has to be an energy source. In this case it is the natural gas fired generators. Then they get to ride a bicycle generator. This demonstrates the difficulty in generating electricity. They leave with a message to conserve energy.
How Electricity Works
At this station the students get hands on activities. They learn about the flow of electricity using wires and flashlights, learn about conductors and insulators, make citrus and potato batteries, and try working with lineman equipment. The highlight of the station is the “shiny ball of death”. This is a Van de Graff static electricity generator. The students can try getting a shock and then create chains of students to see how many can feel the shock.
Circuits
At this station students get the opportunity to create an electric circuit. Each student is given a popsicle stick, a couple of strips of copper tape, a binder clip, an LED bulb, and a battery. The tape is attached to both sides of the stick with the LED bulb at one end and the binder clip and battery at the other. When lined up properly with the positive and negative of the bulb and battery, the student has a functioning “flashlight”.
We thank each of the schools for participating each year. We have fun and hope the students and teachers do as well.