2021 August NAECI The Messenger

AUGUST 2021

THE MESSENGER A Publication for North Arkansas Electric Cooperative Members

Operation Round Up scholarships awarded to 20 NAEC’s Operation Round Up® program awarded a $1,000 scholarship to each of 20 recent high school graduates for the 2021-2022 school year.

Members can help fund future scholarships by enrolling their account or accounts in Operation Round Up. Participants agree to have their monthly electric bill “rounded up” to the nearest dollar. For example, a bill of $85.60 would become $86.

Donations are placed in a trust and administered by a five-member independent board of community leaders. The volunteer board evaluates all requests and determines how Operation Round Up funds are distributed.

Since its inception, more than $190,000 in college scholarships, grants to community organizations and disaster relief has been awarded.

In June, the board awarded $1,000 to United Way of North Central Arkansas. The donation will help get books to children from birth to age five in Izard, Sharp and Stone counties who participate in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program.

The board also awarded $550 to the Salem Fire Department. The donation will help purchase an automated external defibrillator, which is used when someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest.

The application for a donation is available to download at naeci.com/ operation-round-up.

SMALL CHANGE, BIG IMPACT — Help your community by joining Operation Round Up! Enroll by filling out the form at naeci.com/ operation-round-up, calling NAEC at 870-895-3221 or mentioning it while in the drive-through. The donation averages $6 a year.

Kally Benedict Cotter High School

Lindsey Browning Viola High School

Conner Bullard Salem High School

Madison Cooper Melbourne H.S.

Haley Czeschin Mountain Home H.S.

Jenna Ford Highland High School

Gage Hershberger Mountain Home H.S.

Daxton Hickman Mountain Home H.S.

Addison McIntosh Highland High School

Chase Orf Izard County H.S.

Corey Palella Mountain Home H.S.

Macey Perryman Viola High School

Sophie Quick Mountain Home H.S.

Jessica Rula Mountain Home H.S.

Jonathan Schaufler Salem High School

Gage Slaughter Mountain Home H.S.

Mandelyn Smeltzer Mountain Home H.S.

Olivia Wham Mountain Home H.S.

Addison Yates Mountain Home H.S.

Kelli Young Mammoth Spring H.S.

Learn difference between power blinks, surges Have you ever noticed your lights blink during a thunderstorm? Or perhaps you’ve noticed a blinking clock when you arrive home.

When this happens, you’ve likely experienced a brief disruption to your electric service, which could result from a power surge or blink. The symptoms of surges and blinks can appear similar, but what’s happening behind the scenes can be different.

the cause is internal, contact a qualified electrician to inspect your electric system.

What’s a power blink?

Power blinks are also brief service interruptions, but they’re typically caused by a fault (short circuit) on a power line or a protective device that’s working in reaction to the fault. Faults can occur through a variety of instances, such as squirrels, birds or other small animals contacting an energized power line; tree branches touchWhat’s a power surge? ing a power line; or lightning and other similar events.

Power surges are brief overvoltage spikes or disturAny of the events noted above can cause your power bances of a power waveform that can damage, degrade to blink, but you also may experience a brief interrupor destroy electronic equipment within your home or tion when protective devices that act like circuit breakers business. Most electronics are designed to handle small are working to detect the fault. These brief power blinks variations in voltage; however, power surges can reach caused by protective devices are actually good because amplitudes of tens of thousands of volts. This can be that means the equipment is working as it should to predamaging to your electronic equipment. vent a prolonged outage.

Surges can be caused by internal sources, such as Regardless of the cause, NAEC crews will be on their HVAC systems with variable frequency drives, or external sources, such as lightning and damage to power lines way to inspect the damage and make necessary repairs after a power outage. You can help, too. Any time you and transformers.

NAEC encourages members to install surge protection experience repeated disruptions to your electric service, please let NAEC know by calling 870-895-3221 or emaildevices, such as surge protector power strips, to safeguard computers, televisions and other sensitive electron- ing info@naeci.com.

— Abby Berry/NRECA ics. If you’re experiencing frequent surges and you believe

ENERGY EFFICIENCY TIP OF THE MONTH

HAPPY LABOR DAY — NAEC’s offices will be closed Sept. 6. Crews will be on call in case of an outage. Report an outage to dispatch by using the NAEC app or by calling 870-895-3221.

When buying light bulbs, know the difference between lumens and watts. Lumens measure the amount of light produced by the bulb. Watts measure energy consumption.

Energy-saving LEDs come in many colors and brightness levels and last 15-25 times longer than incandescent bulbs.

— energy.gov

DAILY HIGHS & LOWS — JUNE 2021 Average Daily High: 86.67° compared to 85.17° in 2020

TEMPERATURE

Average Daily Low: 65.62° compared to 64.2° in 2020 Total Rainfall Amount: 3.14” compared to 4.42” in 2020 Warmest Day: June 17, 95.7° at 2 p.m.

Coolest Day: June 22, 50.1° at 5 a.m.

DAYS

CONTACT NAEC 870-895-3221 info@naeci.com naeci.com

IMAGES: SUBMITTED; SERGEY RYZHOV/ADOBE

RIGHT-OF-WAY Clarkridge and Walker Road areas of Mountain Home; Wirth area north of Hardy

ON THE FRONT Kayla Overman, left, and Chasity Carter share information on NAEC and NEXT with those at the Sharp County Fair on July 6.