SECO News
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APRIL 201 7
DUNCAN’S DIGEST
SUBSTATION BUZZ When I first started working in the energy industry, I was convinced that the linemen had their own language and it wasn’t English. As a financial guy, industry terms like “feeder,” “backfeed,” and “stepup and step-down,” frankly didn’t make much sense. But, as my career continued and I became engrossed in energy, I now use these terms and more on a regular basis. I thought it might be interesting for you to have more insight into the energy industry at Jim Duncan, CEO SECO. Substations are a visible and integral part of our nation’s electric grid. If you think of a generating plant as the brains of the operation, then substations are the heart. Substations serve many functions, transforming high-voltage to low-voltage or vice versa as power flows through them – almost instantaneously.
Substations are an essential component of the grid’s connection as the link between the transmission and distribution portions of an electric system. Substations are key to performing electric system maintenance and balancing the flow of power during irregular operations.
How do the components of the grid work together? As a SECO member, the electricity you use is created at Seminole Electric (a generation and transmission cooperative) power plant and then supplied to a transmission substation near the plant. The transmission substation increases or “stepsup” the voltage in order for the generated power to travel hundreds of miles via large transmission lines to a SECO substation. Upon arrival, voltage is decreased or stepped-down and sent on its way in multiple directions through SECO’s distribution lines. Along the distribution lines, additional transformers decrease the voltage again before it is ready to energize the homes and businesses SECO serves. 220014 The SECO and Seminole connected electric grid can be thought of as a highway system. Generating DIGEST cont. on page 3… “HIDDEN” ACCOUNT NUMBERS
Don’t forget to look for the last six digits of your account number in this month’s SECO News. You can email us at customerservice@ secoenergy.com or call if your number appears. Six winners will be drawn at random from all submissions. Winners receive a $25 restaurant gift card.