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a <br />RP3 <br />ERMU SCHOLARSHIP <br />NOW OPEN <br />Students are encouraged to <br />apply for the 2024 Elk River <br />Municipal Utilties Scholarship, <br />which offers a chance to earn <br />$1,000 for post -secondary <br />education. All local high <br />school seniors who are <br />customers or have a legal <br />guardian who is a customer of <br />ERMU are eligible. <br />To learn more, please visit our <br />website at ERMUMN.COM. <br />8� <br />SPRING PROJECTS? <br />CALL BEFORE YOU DIG <br />Whether it's a small project or <br />a large home improvement, <br />every digging project should <br />begin with a call to 811, the <br />national call -before -you -dig <br />phone number. <br />Every six minutes, an <br />underground utility line is <br />damaged because someone <br />decided to dig without first <br />calling 811. The risk of injury <br />or even death is serious, as <br />are the costs for repairs or <br />fines. Whether you're putting <br />in a fence, planting a tree, or <br />building a deck, locating your <br />Lines before you dig can really <br />save you! <br />Making Sense of the Electrical Grid <br />Electricity powers the World around us, but in order for <br />that to happen the electricity has to be made, moved, <br />and delivered to where it's needed. To achieve that, most <br />of us rely on power from a grid. An electrical grid is an <br />interconnected system that works together to generate, <br />transmit, and distribute electrical energy for use in <br />homes and businesses. <br />Generation <br />First, the power must be generated. This happens in power plants of all kinds, from coal, natural <br />gas, and nuclear to hydro, wind, and solar. Grids rely on different sources of power generation <br />for redundancy and to improve resilience. <br />Transmission and Distribution <br />That power is then transmitted at very high voltage to cities and towns up to 300 miles away. <br />When it gets close to its final destination, local utilities like ERMU use transformers, substations, <br />and subsequent infrastructure to reduce the voltage and distribute the electricity through <br />power lines to homes and businesses. <br />Because power, for the most part, has to be used as it's made, all these different pieces have to <br />work together correctly to ensure that the power stays on. <br />Interconnections <br />Although it's often referred to as "the grid;' the U.S. power system is actually made up of three <br />mostly independent grids called interconnections. <br />► The Eastern Interconnection operates in states east of the Rocky Mountains. <br />► The Western Interconnection powers everything west of that. <br />► The Texas Interconnection serves most of Texas. <br />Within any electric grid are interconnected local grids. These local grids provide redundancies <br />that improve resilience against weather and other events that could cause power interruptions. <br />The more interconnections and redundancies, the more resilient the system. That's why future <br />advancements that could bring the three interconnections together could help improve <br />efficiency and resilience for the entire United States. <br />Understanding what an electrical grid is and how it functions can help you appreciate the <br />complexity involved in bringing power to an outlet near you. <br />Lineworker Appreciation Day <br />Thursday, April 18, 2024, is National Lineworker Appreciation Day, a <br />time to honor the brave and dedicated men and women who work <br />tirelessly to keep our communities powered up and connected. Day or <br />night and in all weather conditions, lineworkers ensure that electricity <br />reaches our homes, schools, and businesses. Their unwavering <br />commitment and courage often go unnoticed, but their impact is <br />immeasurable. #ThankALineworker <br />WE WELCOME YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS: ERMUMN.COM 1 763.441.2020 <br />193 <br />