The Job of a Troubleshooter

During outages, you may hear us say, “a Troubleshooter" (or Trouble Man) has been dispatched.  Troubleshooters are linemen who are first on the scene when there’s an outage. When there aren’t outages, their day-to-day work involves dropping service lines for tree trimmers, checking connections for customers with blinking lights, re-fusing poles after disruption from squirrels, etc.

Basically, whenever there is an electric problem, we send a Trouble Man first. (For the record, we currently do not have any women working as Troubleshooter Linemen.)

We caught up with Trouble Man Billy Dunlap, who has been with MLGW for almost 19 years, to talk about his role in a storm. “Let’s say a whole neighborhood is out. I ride down the streets and look for our primary wires until I locate the problem,” he says. “If a pole is broken at the end of the line, often I can cut a jumper and close the switch and get a percentage of the neighborhood back on.”

So, he restores what he can, often in just a few minutes, and then reports the larger issue so that the proper crew can be assigned. In the case above, replacing the pole would take several hours.

Billy continues, “A lot of times, if the line switch is blown and I don’t find anything wrong, then I can switch it back on. Squirrels, coons, birds, all kinds of things regularly blow the switches.”

He says working storms is hard work, but satisfying. “During a storm you feel like you’re really helping people.” The job does have its dangers – live wires, dogs, etc. “Because you are by yourself, you have to be really aware of your surroundings and make sure you’ve done all the required safety measures.”

All in all, Billy believes being a Trouble Man is the best. “You do have to be mentally tough when it storms. However, on pretty days it’s a lot easier than being on the line truck working with hot primary wires,” he says.

To learn more about what a Troubleshooter does, watch the latest episode of “Power Up Memphis.” Gale Jones Carson conducts an in-depth interview with another one of our Troubleshooters, Freddie Mendius. Find the show here: https://youtu.be/JgzS4qAPyr8. 

#MLGW #ServingYouIsWhatWeDo

MLGW Heroes Honored

L to R: Derrick Smith, Reginald Rouser, Antonon Morgan and Felix Freeman.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division honored four true heroes during its Board of Commissioners Meeting Wednesday. Derrick Smith, Reginald Rouser, Antonon Morgan and Felix Freeman helped to save a woman's life in December 2015.

All are members of a Gas Distribution crew that responded to a hit gas meter call at a residence in December. When they arrived, the crew was alerted by the homeowner that his wife may be suffering a heart attack and asked for help. They sprung into action, performing CPR for 16 minutes until an ambulance arrived.

Every day, MLGW employees go above and beyond to help customers in need. We salute and thank them for the difference they are making in our community.

Man on a Wire

I recently had the chance to sit down with one of my fellow employees, Mark Jones, who's day job is a lot different than mine...



Mark Jones is a line foreman, which is one of the most dangerous jobs at the company, not to mention in the whole world. “We’re usually #3 on those Top 10 lists of the World’s Most Dangerous Jobs,” says Jones. The lists are based on deaths per 100,000 people. Thankfully, Jones has only seen one fatality at MLGW in his 22 years on the job, which he says is a testament to our strict safety guidelines.

Although the towers he climbs are about 250 feet high, Jones says he wishes they were higher. “I wish we had some 1000 feet tall,” the thrill-seeker says. His idea of fun would be to wash the windows at the Omni Hotel out east. As a teenager, he climbed a 1400 foot tower just for the challenge. But in reality, Jones likes to spend his off time at home with his family.

Not all of the linemen truly enjoy the job like Jones does. “A lot of guys come in scared, but they think they can get through it because the pay is good,” he says. “It takes a while, but you get used to it.”

Jones explains that the tower work he does with his crew ties into reliability. Electricity comes from TVA at a high voltage (115,000-500,000 volts) and is reduced by the towers to distribute at the poles on the street (23,000 volts). These in turn step it down even further for the appropriate levels for customer homes.

Currently, Jones’ crew is in the process of changing out the neutral ground wires with fiber optic wires at Substation 67 on President’s Island. The new fiber optic wires can be remotely switched by the operators at SCADA.

His crew of four linemen and four apprentice linemen uses a roller to simultaneously remove the old wire and install the new wire. Because temperature can affect the sag of the wires, the crew must set them just right so that they don’t get too tight in the winter or too loose in the summer.

Jones says it takes about an hour to climb each tower and that they’ll spend about a day on each tower. The 20 towers on President’s Island were a month-long job. Jones and most of his contemporaries learned to do their job on the job, but today, new hires usually come through Southwest Tennessee’s Apprentice Lineman Program, which is a nine-month course.

Although Jones believes there are women who could do his job, there are only men working on the lines as of now. They range in age from their 20s to their 50s and are in pretty good shape. “It’s a physical job. It’s hot and it’s cold,” he says. But the danger lies with the electricity, which Jones says can be unpredictable. "If it goes in you, it’s gotta come out,” he says, adding that he just wants to retire with all of his fingers and toes intact.

Despite the toughness and danger associated with his job, Jones says he is in awe of his wife, who stayed home with their two daughters (now 15 and 17) until recently. “She’s definitely had the harder job,” he says.

After 20 years of marriage, his wife doesn’t like to hear about his daily experiences. “She worries, but tries not to think about it,” says Jones. “She knows I’ve got to do it, but we don’t talk about it anymore.

Jones can tell you some horror stories, but insists that most accidents are the result of shortcuts. “It’s hard to get hurt of you do everything you’re supposed to do,” he says.

Solar at Home

On Wednesday, I tagged along with our Memphis Energized crew to interview Gib Wilson and his wife, Nancy. The Wilsons are our first residential customers to install solar panels on their home.

The Wilsons moved into their East Memphis home in 1993, but it was built in 1936. It was the original farm house on the larger property that is now developed. What this means is that it is on higher ground than the surrounding neighborhood--a key element in making it suitable for solar panels. There are many surrounding trees, but they don't interfere. (Gib did have to have one tree cut down.) The Wilsons made multiple renovations on the property and already had a new roof--another key element for installing solar panels.

"I'm just an average guy who's interested in the technology," says Gib. He originally got the idea to install solar panels on his roof from shows on Planet Green. Then he did some internet research. An article in the Commercial Appeal mentioned a solar panel installer in Millington, so Gib eventually contacted him, and six months later the panels were installed.

The solar panels are on the back of the house, and no one can even tell that they are there. They are mounted on concrete cinder blocks, so it isn't necessary to drill holes in the roof.

The Wilsons installed 20 200watt panels that produce a direct current (DC). The DC is converted to an alternating current (AC) via a converter mounted on the side of the house. That in turn is connected to a meter that records the number of kilowatt hours that they produce.


The MLGW Meter Reader reads both the MLGW meter and the solar meter. The credits from the solar meter are deducted from the overall bill. Since installing the panels last November, Gib says he's earned $900 in credits. He is quick to point out that he is far from being "off the grid" and that he isn't able to produce near enough energy to cover all of his monthly usage.

"The sun produces about 100 kwh per month, so we're using 1/3 of our energy from sun, and 2/3 from the street," says Gib, who is happy with those numbers. For him is it less about cost savings and more about it being the right thing to do.

"As an accountant, it's tough to justify the investment even with the 30% government credit, $1000 from TVA upfront, and the .12 we earn for every kwh." He's getting a 5% return on his $19,000 investment, which isn't a bad way to look at it. "Investment is not the true motivation," he says. "Producing power from sun is a cleaner better way than from a coal plant."

Stay tuned for next month's Memphis Energized segment with Gib and learn about the other energy efficient upgrades he and Nancy have made to their home.

STADUM

Last week I represented MLGW at the Sustainable Technologies Awareness Day at the University of Memphis. It was a really great event with lots of participation from the community.

Highlights (for me) included being a part of an event that had recycling built in. Although they decided to use bottled water rather than bulk water dipensers, they did have plenty of bins nearby for the empties. They also supplies cardboard recycling for the vendors' empty boxes.

I also enjoyed talking to the TigUrs Garden volunteers. They were onsite making seedballs and demonstrating how easy it is to grow food in small containers. Campus wide they have several raised beds with vegetables free for the taking. They also do outreach with the kids at Campus School.

Sharp was also on hand to show the latest in solar technology. Project Green Fork was promoting the 14 local restaurants that have been certified. A woman from Temple Israel, I believe, was showing off sustainable products like insulation made from old jeans. The Ground Water Institute had a lot of good info on protecting our aquifers. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

All in all, it was a great event!

Green BBQ

Yesterday we filmed a segment on Project Green Fork for our TV show, Memphis Energized. Central BBQ is the latest restaurant to be certified, so we featured them. (Yes, BBQ nachos had something to do with that decision!)

One of the certification requirements is to have an MLGW energy audit done. (This service is offered free of charge to all residential and commercial customers.) Our technician found many areas for improvement at Central BBQ and he was happy to see yesterday that they had made all of his recommended changes.

It was also fun to see the real life manifestation of the other Green Fork requirements. Below you will see Margot McNeeley, the Executive Director of PGF, and Elizabeth, part-owner of Central BBQ, showing off the compost bin that provides compost to GrowMemphis for their community gardens, their recycling bins for aluminum and plastic, their cardboard recycling area, the used grease that is picked up and turned into biodiesel fuel, and their new styrofoam free, compostable to-go containers.

Manhole Covers

Yesterday, my coworker and I had the pleasure of taking a walking tour of some of downtown's various manhole covers with Jimmy Ogle. Jimmy hosts several tours downtown as a part of the Center City Commission's Downtown Alive series and he is also teaching two continuing education classes at the University of Memphis in the spring. He is a super nice guy who seems to know more off of the top of his head than any other person I have ever encountered!

We focused on a small four block stretch from the river to Fourth and managed to see a nice diversity of manhole covers. Some were from the time when MLGW was known as Memphis Power Company. Some where made in Nebraska, and some were made in India. Some were rather plain, and others could be considered works of art.

Jimmy has a notebook with pictures of almost two hundred manhole covers from all over downtown and is working on an exhibit for the Mud Island Riverpark Museum. I can't wait to see it and to learn more about the history right under our feet!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Recycling at Rhodes

Over the summer I attended a meeting at Rhodes and was struck by the fact that they had recycling bins seemingly everywhere. On Monday, I had the pleasure of meeting with Tracy Adkisson who is the Associate Director of the Physical Plant at Rhodes. Her office was filled with various recycling bins and as we talked, she made notes to herself on a "homemade" notepad that she fashioned from paper (used only on one side) from her paper bin and a plastic binder clip. I was impressed...and inspired!

Recycling is just part of Rhodes' overall effort to go green. Specifically, they have joined the Presidents Climate Commitment which is a coalition of colleges and universities dedicated to fighting global warming.

As a part of their commitment, Rhodes will articulate a plan to achieve carbon neutrality on campus. Their goal is to have the plan in place by Fall 2009. The first step in this process was for Rhodes to measure its carbon footprint. In doing so, they realized that there was an opportunity to expand their recycling program and make it more efficient.

Recycling bins have been on campus since I was a sophomore in the early 90s, but the program then was nowhere near as comprehensive as the program now. "We wanted to make it easy to recycle and difficult to contaminate the bins," Tracy says of their decision to put separate recycling bins for aluminum, plastic, & paper next to every trash can on campus. While this involved a large capital outlay on the front end, Tracy says it was never an expense they had to justify. "It's a sound investment that everyone was on board with."

Rhodes has developed a very tight system for their recycling program. There are 104 recycling stations throughout the campus with a total of 300 bins. All of the recycling bins are consistent in appearance and have lids. The Physical Plant has three work study positions for students to help with pick ups and monitoring. Each building has a volunteer recycling monitor who sends in an electronic request for pick up when the bins are 2/3 full. (This greatly reduced the time and effort involved in the work study students checking all of the bins on a regular basis.) There are staging areas for each product and different companies come and pick up the items weekly. (i.e. Weyerhauser picks up the paper, All Star picks up cardboard, Recycle Solutions picks up plastic, etc.)

Putting this system in place has made a huge difference to the program. It operates more efficiently and the electronic work orders allow the Physical Plant to collect data on what is being recycled and how often.

Faculty has also helped with the recycling program. Obviously Rhodes can't put a recycling bin in every classroom, but each professor lets their students know where the closest bins are and asks that they use them rather than the small trash cans in the classroom. It may seem like a small thing, but Adkisson says it has made a big difference.

Stay tuned for more insights from Rhodes...

Miss Cordelia's is Going for the Fork

Miss Cordelia's, Harbortown's neighborhood grocery and deli, is Memphis' second restaurant to work towards Project Green Fork certification. (Tsunami was the first.)

Project Green Fork is a non-profit, collaborative community initiative that assists Memphis restaurant owners in reducing waste, lowering overhead and decreasing their environmental impact thereby creating a more environmentally sustainable restaurant industry. A major part of this process is completing an MLGW audit and taking necessary steps to reduce energy and water consumption.

I tagged along as one of our commercial reps, Al Sanders, conducted the audit (which is free for all residential and commercial customers) and discussed his findings with Project Green Fork's Executive Director, Margot McNeeley. For a restaurant/grocery store, the number one energy savings is going to come from the heating and air conditioning units. So, the first thing Al did was check the thermostats to see where they were set. For a home, we recommend 78 in the summer, 68 in the winter. These settings might not be optimal for a grocery store, so Al suggested 74 or 76 rather than the current 72. (For each degree higher, they will save 6%.)


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Next, we looked at the lighting. Miss Cordelia's was using some, but not all, fluorescent bulbs. Al noted where lower wattage bulbs could be used and he suggested turning lights off at night--including all of the cooler lights. Other areas we investigated were the windows and exterior doors, the plumbing, the water heater, the return air vents, etc.

Margot will compile a report and send it to Al for confirmation, then she will in turn go over it with the manager of Miss Cordelia's. Margot also plans to assist Miss Cordelia's in setting up a recycling and composting system among other things.

I hope more restaurants follow Miss Cordelia's (and Tsunami's) lead!

Safety First

Happy Fourth of July! I thought I'd share some safety related technical info with you today so that when you get around to setting off your fireworks, staying safe will seem easy!

This is a substation:



A substation is where power is transformed from high voltage (161kV) into low voltage (23kV) for meter use.

I've already touched on the hazards for birds, but substations are also one of the most dangerous places that a human can be. MLGW utilizes a variety measures to keep people and equipment safe.

Here's a peek of just one small piece of the pie, breaker repair, compliments of one of our substation engineers.

Substation 67, Power Circuit Breaker 67651

Electricity is like invisible fire. It is extremely useful but must be monitored continuously and shut down immediately if it strays outside manageable parameters. That is the job of power circuit breakers, the silent sentinels of our substation system.


It is estimated that the blink of an eye takes 0.1 to 0.15 seconds or 100 to 150 milliseconds. Newer era power circuit breakers can open a circuit in 50 milliseconds. This means that the breaker can interrupt a problem or fault in the system in half an eye blink.

Breakers are extremely reliable and once in service they usually last decades. Some are still in service after seventy years and are functioning fine; these are the original breakers from the beginning of time, MLGW time. Equipment such as this have been improved over the decades and are no longer manufactured. (Often the only reason it is retired is the unavailability of replacement parts--quite a testament to the original equipment and system designers of the early 1900s.)

Recently, a critical breaker at Substation 67 that serves a number of large industrial customers started showing signs that it was approaching the end of its practical life. All replacement tasks—demolition, foundation, ground grid, electrical equipment, control conduits and protection installation—must be coordinated.

The demolition requires no wrecking ball. It involves the removal of the old breaker and its associated conduits and cables. More often than not the old foundation cannot be used. Field crews use a Ditch Witch with a hydraulic ram to bust the old foundation out. (Old breakers are stored as spare parts for breakers that are still in the grid.)

The next order of business is the new foundation. Memphis is in a seismic zone 3 and all foundations have to meet the requirements dictated by this reality. This particular installation is on very sandy soil at the end of President’s Island which adds another complication. The breaker in this case weighs about 11,000 pounds and is approximately 11 x 14 x 19 feet high and must be anchored solidly to a stout foundation.

After the breaker is set it has to be properly tied into the station grounds. All substation equipment and structures are bolted and bonded onto a huge underground grounding net called the ground grid. This grid is made up of buried conductor that is about ¾ inches in diameter. This provides a low resistance path to ground for any sparks that get unruly and again protects equipment and personnel from electrical shock.

It is the “invisible” safeguards that we all depend on. Engineers have termed this protection “the dark arts”. If they don’t get it right, we’re all in the dark – literally.

The next time you blink your eyes, think of the thousands of breakers working thanklessly for you.

Commercial Resources

I went along with one of our Commercial Energy Advisors to do an energy survey at Emerge Memphis. Much like our Energy Doctor program for residential customers, the Commercial Energy Advisors offer commercial customers detailed information on their consumption and advice on low- and no-cost steps to make facilities operate more efficiently and reliably.



Office buildings in the U.S. use an average of 17 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity and 32 cubic feet of natural gas per square foot annually. In a typical office building, lighting, heating, and cooling represent about 65 percent of total use, making those systems the best targets for energy savings.

Emerge Memphis is located in a four-story building downtown that was renovated in 2002. There are twenty-six incubator businesses that occupy three levels. The top floor is vacant pending renovation. The high ceilings, exposed beams and ductwork made it look very cool. The 72 degree setting on the air conditioner made it feel very cool. Maybe a little too cool. Our first tip: Set the thermostat at 78 degrees in the summer.

Tom, the Emerge Memphis employee who called us, said that they were having difficulty managing their HVAC system which was set up by one company and now managed by another. Without a maintenance person on staff, they were relying on the receptionist to monitor the system. Tom said that the temperatures didn't seem to set accurately and they didn't know if the system was shutting down at night and on weekends.

The Commercial Energy Advisor strongly recommended checking the HVAC system and doing whatever was necessary to get it operating properly.

Next we looked at the lighting.



Office spaces require 20-50 foot candles of light depending on the work being performed in the area. They had 35 foot candles in the copy room. It was decided to remove 16, 34 watt tubes. This left 25 foot candles which is sufficient for the tasks being performed in the area. This alone will save approximately $15/month in energy and will lower the amount of bulbs needed reducing their bulb replacement cost. On a bigger scale it's 16 bulbs being removed from the waste stream and 540 watts less that TVA will have to generate. The Commercial Energy Advisor and Tom decided to look for other areas where the lighting could be reduced.

As we looked around the building we made some other suggestions for improving their energy-efficiency like incorporating motion sensitive lighting in rooms that aren't used very much (i.e. bathrooms and storage rooms), weatherstripping external doors and stairway doors, caulking around windows, closing blinds, etc.

Finally, we encouraged Tom to utilize the energy-saving tools on our website created especially for commercial customers.

If you would like a Commercial Energy Advisor to come to your business (or school, church, etc.) call 528-4270 or email crc@mlgw.org.

Alternative Energy

Yesterday I attended a presentation on biofuels at Getwell Elementary's CLUE Camp. The week long camp focused on alternative energy sources and culminated in a field trip to Memphis Biofuels and a "cookout" using class-made solar ovens.


Andrew Couch, of the West Tennessee Clean Cities Coalition, did a great job of discussing alternative fuels and energy-efficiency in a way that the kids could relate to. He brought along a bicycle powered generator that stored enough energy to run his laptop and a small lamp. Of course, every camper wanted a turn generating energy! (Imagine what kids in our country would look like if they had to generate their own electricity in order to watch TV or play video games!)


Once the kids saw how the generator worked, Andrew explained how all energy ultimately comes from the sun. For example, the sun helped grow the food that each camper ate for breakfast which in turn gave the campers calories to burn while riding the bike which powered the laptop. "Calories into kilowatts," he mused.


The sun also produced petroleum. Andrew explained, "Millions of years ago, ancient sunlight was stored in plants and animals like dinosaurs. When the dinosaurs died, they decomposed and turned into black, funky stuff, which eventually became petroleum."

Next there was a discussion about how ancient fuel sources are limited and how important it is to conserve and look for renewable sources of energy. Andrew explained how biodiesel is created from soybeans and chicken fat. My favorite part of this lesson was when Andrew asked the kids to name some other animal fats that could be used to create biodiesel.

"Cat fat!" one kid yelled.

"Tiger fat!" said another.

Ethanol, his next example which was made from alcohol, seemed much less exciting in comparison! However we learned that all gas in Memphis has at least some ethanol in it.

Next up, Andrew explained how most of our electricity today is produced by burning coal which in turn gives off emissions. "Everything gives off emissions," Andrew said. "If you took a shower this morning you are giving off a nice smelling soapy emission. If you didn't take a shower, then you are emitting a different smell."

The problem with coal's emissions, of course, is that they pollute the air and contribute to global warming. Andrew wrapped up his presentation by having the kids brainstorm ways to save energy at home. I was very impressed by their level of knowledge.

Here are a few of their suggestions:

1. Unplug the TV when you are not watching it.
2. Turn off the lights in your room when you leave.
3. Turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth.
4. Bring your own bags to the grocery store.
5. Take shorter showers.
6. Don't stand in front of the refrigerator with the door open.
7. Use both sides of your paper.
8. Recycle.
9. Adjust the thermostat when you leave the house or go to sleep.
10. Don't buy things you don't need.

The West Tennessee Clean Cities Coalition is working with the EPA and the local Health Department to create an energy awareness curriculum for grades K-12. They hope to implement it in 2009.

See more of Andrew's presentation on next month's Memphis Energized.

The Road Home

After successfully using public transportation to get to work, my first thought was, “I wonder if I could get a ride home with my friend who works down the street?” Not because I had a bad experience or anything, but because I was worried about the time factor. I had kids to pick up and evening activities scheduled!

I called my friend and she agreed to give me a ride home.

At 11:00am I realized I had a dentist appointment. No problem, it was within walking distance.

When I returned from my appointment I had a voicemail from my supervisor inviting me to a luncheon at the U of M Holiday Inn. No problem, I rode to the meeting with him.

By mid-afternoon I had a change of heart. I took my kids to school, got to work, went to the dentist, and attended a meeting without using my car. I should take the bus home!

I looked at the bus schedules again. I decided to take the #50 bus home down Poplar to get a feel for a different route. Looking at the departure times and considering the extra time it took me on my morning commute, I didn’t think there was much chance of me making it to my kids’ school before closing.

I called my husband and he agreed to get the kids. Then I called my friend and canceled my previous request for a ride home.

My main concern was getting to the North Terminal. It seemed a lot hotter outside and I was less energetic at 5pm than I was at 8am. I hoped I could get a trolley right away so I wouldn’t feel compelled to walk, which might be quicker than riding the trolley if none was in sight.

When I left the building and looked down Main Street, I saw a trolley one block away at Linden & Main. I immediately sprinted to Beale & Main in order to catch it. I felt a little silly doing this, but I did it anyway.

In my MATA materials I couldn’t find anything about a trolley to bus transfer, so I had called MATA to find out the cost. The woman on the phone told me it would be $1.60. I thought it was odd that going from trolley to bus would cost me .10 more than going from bus to trolley, but I kept my mouth shut.

When I boarded the trolley, I decided to double check the price of a transfer with the driver. “$1.50,” he said.

I paid the allotted amount and he handed me a transfer ticket.

Surprisingly the trolley was even less crowded now than it had been in the morning. There were only two other people riding.

As we trollied along, I tried to enjoy the sights. The kids playing in the fountains outside City Hall seemed to be having a blast. And I was happy to see a streetlight with a CFL in front of the Convention Center Marriot.

Once at the North Terminal, I walked around back to where all of the busses were. I noticed that they were coming in from two different directions and that there was a crowd of people waiting on either side of the platform. I decided I better go inside and find out which side I should stand on.

There were lots of people waiting inside the station (enjoying the air-conditioning). I walked toward the information booth and asked a woman which side the #50 would be on.

“There's a #50 now,” she said motioning out the window.

I briskly walked outside and joined a large group of people who were lining up to board. However, once all but one passenger and the driver got off, a group of police officers boarded the bus and closed the doors. They appeared to be questioning the remaining passenger.

After a few minutes, they all exited the bus and we got on. Despite this delay, the bus left right on time. As I looked around at my fellow passengers I started to wonder if after awhile everyone who rides the bus on a regular basis gets to know the other people who also ride the bus on a regular basis. I was thinking that might be nice.

At a stop near Morris Park, our driver started a conversation with a young man in a wheelchair a few feet from the bus shelter. “Hey, Antonio! When did you get your chair?” she yelled.

I couldn’t hear his response, but she said, laughing, “I’ve given you my number a thousand times already!”

The rest of the trip was uneventful. I got off the bus at Hollywood & Poplar 18 minutes after I boarded it at the North Terminal.

I enjoyed walking down my street and saying hello to neighbors, looking at lawns and houses, and noting general changes. It was pretty hot and I was glad that I had a bottle of water.

Twelve minutes later I was home. Again, my total commute took about an hour.

I spent two hours just getting to and from work. Two hours for less than six miles. Honestly, I just don’t know if I have two extra hours to spare everyday.

I wonder how long it would take me to ride a bike to work?

Dump the Pump

In honor of National Dump the Pump day June 19th, I decided to ride the bus to work. I had picked up some information at the MATA display while I was at the Sisterhood Showcase, so I was ahead of the game. I knew how much change to have in my pocket and after a quick phone call to MATA (the online trip planner wasn’t cooperating), I knew which bus stop to go to.

I hoped to catch the 8:36am bus at Summer and Hollywood, but after walking my kids to school a few blocks away, I didn’t get to the bus stop until 8:42am. So I stood and waited for the 8:58am bus. I had gotten a little sweaty while walking to the kids’ school and was a little disappointed to find that my stop had no shelter. Thankfully there was a nice breeze, so I was able to cool off a little.

There was one other person waiting with me. He sat on the ground behind me until the bus arrived exactly at 8:58am. I had a brief moment of panic when I saw the words “Summer/Shelby Oaks” displayed across the front of the bus. I mentally tried to figure out how I might end up on Shelby Oaks on the way downtown, which I couldn’t do.

“Does this bus go downtown?” I asked the driver, just to be sure.

She nodded and I climbed on board. “I’d like a trolley transfer, please,” I said.

She punched a small piece of paper and handed it to me. I walked over to the closest seat and just barely touched down before we were off. The man I had been waiting with was seated across from me. There was another man nearby who was asleep on what looked like a large laundry bag. He had a prosthetic leg and did not appear to be in very good shape. The other four people on the bus were spread out in the back and appeared to be on their way to work.

The bus itself was somewhat clean. (Or maybe I should say “free of trash.”) The seats were upholstered in a 70s print that was badly worn and stained. I could see various crumbs and dried liquid stains across the floor under the seats, which I assumed was pretty sticky.

I also took a moment to read the ads displayed above the windows. There was one on truancy, organ donation, crime, and the National Civil Rights Museum’s Montgomery Bus Boycott exhibit from February/April. There were plenty of empty ad spaces and I wondered what it cost to purchase one.

There were other signs on the bus as well. One warned of the penalty for threatening or performing an act of violence on the bus and another one noted that there might be a surveillance camera on board. (I didn’t see one.)

Despite the less than warm & fuzzy feeling I got on board, I tried to take note of all of the other stops along North Parkway in case I decided to ride the bus more often. At Evergreen, the bus made an abrupt right turn. Once again, I had a mild feeling of panic as I wondered how far off of North Parkway we were going. We did a small loop around Tutwiler and came back down Watkins to North Parkway. “Well that was interesting,” I thought to myself.

From there we hauled it to the North Terminal, arriving at 9:12am. The bus let us off on Shadyac so I walked over to Main to catch the trolley. The North End of downtown is surprisingly dead in the early morning. It would have been nice to grab a cup of iced coffee or a newspaper. I told myself that if I couldn’t see a trolley nearby I would walk. However, there was one waiting and I was in a seat by 9:16am.

There were only four other people on the trolley—all women. When we got to Court Square a couple of tourists headed to the Arcade Restaurant and a group of teenagers (maybe even tweens) going to Peabody Place Mall got on board.

As we approached the MLGW administrative building, I pulled the cord signaling I wanted to stop. As I gathered my things I overheard one of the four women say, “Light, Gas, & Water, I guess I better go give them some money.” Then she and the three other women got off and went into the Downtown Community Office.

I walked across the street and looked at my watch: 9:28am. I had left my house with the kids at 8:15am. So, my normal 15 minute commute by car was an hour and fifteen minutes by foot/bus/trolley. Clearly, I would need to adjust my alarm clock if I planned to ride the bus to work again.

Looking ahead to my bus ride home, I decided to call my husband and see if he could pick up the kids, just in case.

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

It is pretty much impossible to go a whole day without hearing about the high cost of gas. It's on the news, on the radio, on the Internet, and on everyone's minds. I keep seeing headlines like As price of gasoline increases, so does bus ridership.

Apparently the number of people riding the bus has risen about 2 percent this year. And more people are calling to ask about bus routes and rates.

I'm one of those people.

I determined that my best route to work would be on the 53 bus with a trolley transfer at the North Terminal. The cost? About $3.00 round trip.

Currently, gas is about $3.79 per gallon. My car gets 20+ miles per gallon. My total commute is about 12 miles. That's $2.27 round trip. Is riding the bus worth saving just .73 a day?

The federal government's reimbursement rate for mileage in a personal vehicle is $0.505 per mile, so for 12 miles in my own car, it's really costing me $6.06 round trip. And, technically, I could buy a 21 trip bus pass for $28 making my round trip cost closer to $2.66.

Ok, so it seems like riding the bus could be worthwhile on a very basic economic level. However, would it really work on a day-to-day basis? What would happen if I missed the bus? What if I have a meeting outside the office during the day? What if one of my kids has an emergency?

Apparently I'm not the only person wondering if saving money is everything. Despite rising gas prices, 67 percent of those taking part in an online survey conducted by the Memphis Business Journal said they wouldn't ride a MATA bus.

Why? The vast majority of comments were critical of the MATA system, complaining of long wait times, inflexible or too few routes, issues with cleanliness and perceived safety issues.

Smart City Memphis also looked at why Memphians won't voluntarily ride the bus. Their conclusion? While other cities are using public transportation as a hook to recruit young, college-educated workers and creative industries, MATA continues with a system built on the premise that all of its customers are people without choices.

But MATA might be changing its ways. It seems as though they are at least attempting to appeal to people on an environmental level. They recently added 4 hybrid buses to their fleet and on Red Ozone Days (determined by the Health Department's ground level ozone detectors) bus fares are only .25. MATA is also participating in the national Dump the Pump campaign next Thursday, June 19th.

So, really, how bad could riding the bus be? There's only one way to find out. I'll just have to ride the bus myself. Stay tuned...

Earth Hour Update

Originally I thought, "Oh I work for MLGW. I know all about saving energy. I don't need to participate in Earth Hour."

However, I didn't take into account that my husband reads this blog. Once he caught wind of Earth Hour, he eagerly signed us up.

So I changed my thinking to, "Eight O'clock on a Saturday night will be an easy time to go without using any electricity!"

We actually did it a few weeks ago when it snowed. Someone ran into a utility pole on Poplar, causing our lights (and heat!) to go out for about two hours on a Friday evening...but wait...we actually went out to a restaurant while the lights were out. When we came home they were back on.

Okay, so that didn't actually count.

I started thinking of ways it could be fun. All of the Earth Hour promo materials suggested watching the stars or reading stories by candlelight. However, I'm not sure if the promo people have small children like I do.

After attending an afternoon birthday party that stretched into the evening and making a late run to the grocery store, 8:00pm caught us a little off guard. My husband was cooking, I was doing laundry, the kids were watching a DVD...you get the picture.

However, at 8:30pm it was lights out.

Once I went around the house to turn them off, it really dawned on me how many were on unnecessarily. I left lights on in the laundry room, the bathroom, the hallway, the kids' room, my room, the kitchen...it was a little excessive.

The kids get scared to walk to the bathroom at night unless all of the lights are on and they also like to sleep with the hall light on. So, to avoid constantly escorting them to the bathroom and listening to them whimper in bed, I have obviously gotten out of the habit of turning the lights off.

Once we consciously turned them off, the difference was immediately noticeable. It was really dark!

Since it was cloudy, a little rainy, and the kids were tired from the birthday party, we didn't do anything special or "romantic." We all watched a movie together in the dark.

Yes, I realize this is technically cheating!! But even after the hour was up, we left the lights off. (Even the one in the hallway.)

And we did the same thing on Sunday.

Yes, I thought I was a big shot energy saver. I soon found out I wasn't. Thanks to Earth Hour, I'm going to try and do better.

How about you?

Meter Reader for a Day

Considering the fact that MLGW’s meter readers work outside rain or shine, I made sure to look at the forecast before signing up to shadow one of them. Luckily, I picked a sunny day with a high in the 40s. (It never got past 34, but considering I quickly worked up a sweat, that was just fine.)

When I walked into the North Service Center to meet the supervisor, he handed me a crow bar and casually said, “Here, you’re going to need this.”

Thinking he was just trying to scare me, I looked at one of the meter readers and smiled, “He’s kidding, right?”

The meter reader looked at me with a completely serious face and said, “No.”

Okay…

Meanwhile the supervisor was opening and closing drawers looking for an extra can of dog spray for me.

“You’re wearing those shoes?” he asked, eyeing my Mary-Janes.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, doing my best to seem tough.

Crow bar in hand, I was driven to Scenic Hills where I met up with Steve, a meter reader who agreed to let me tag along.

He saw my crow bar and started laughing. “You won’t need that today,” he said.

I looked at my driver and said, “I knew you guys were trying to scare me!”

He just laughed, told me to call him when I’d seen enough, and drove off.

At least they didn’t make me wear a bright yellow shirt!

Steve explained that there are routes that are more dangerous than others and that crowbars (that are technically used to open the water meter covers) and dog spray are necessary at times. “Today, you’ll get a feel for what it’s like to climb a lot of hills,” he said looking at my shoes.

“I’m ready,” I said.

Steve explained how he jumps from house to house reading four water meters at the street before going up to the house to read the gas and electric meters. He also showed me how he might read all of the water meters on one side of a street before circling back to get the gas and electric readings.

“Ah-ha,” I said. “No wonder people get confused.”

(I talk to a lot of customers on the phone and I also do a lot of presentations in the community, so I am familiar with common meter reading complaints. I even helped put together a Meter Reading FAQ brochure. You can print from the link or call 528-4557 to have a copy mailed out.)

As we walked up a hill to read several meters, I was amazed at how quickly Steve could get the reading off of the dials.

“Wow,” I said. “You hardly have to look.”

He laughed and explained that when you read 300-600 meters a day, five days a week, you get pretty good at it. “Do you want to try?” he asked me.

After working on the Meter Reading brochure and setting up several displays at fairs, I felt pretty confident. “Sure,” I said.

We went to a gas meter and I slowly read the numbers from right to left, remembering to round down to the nearest whole number. “Three…five…eight…seven…two,” I reported while Steve looked over my shoulder.

“Close,” he said showing me where I mistook a four for a five. “You would have cost this customer about a thousand dollars.”

“Oops!” I said. “But your hand held computer lets you know when the reading is off or too high, right?”

“Let’s see,” he said as he punched in the numbers I read off.

Sure enough, his computer beeped, alerting him to the mistake. Then he entered the correct numbers.

Steve let me continue to read the meters, making sure my reading matched with his. It was kind of fun, but I felt like I was really slowing him down.

“Okay,” he said handing me his computer. “I’ll call off the numbers and you punch them in.”

This helped us to pick up the pace a bit. While punching in the numbers, I got them wrong a few times and it beeped at me so that I could ask Steve to tell me the numbers one more time.

I also noticed that the computer provided Steve with helpful tips like, “Close gate,” “Watch for dog,” “Zig-zag here,” etc.

Steve told me that for each route, the meter reader looks at a map, plots his course, and then makes notes along the way in the computer so that someone else could easily work the route, if necessary. Having the specific water, gas, and electric meters programmed into the computer also helps the meter reader stay on track and not accidentally skip a meter or enter the wrong reading.

It seemed like most people were at work or elsewhere, so we didn’t do too much actual customer communication, but every once in awhile Steve would see someone outside and say hello. One customer in particular wanted Steve to give him an estimate of what his bill would be for the month. Steve has a general idea, but hesitates to give customers an actual dollar amount. He asked the customer what he had his thermostat set on and gave him some energy conservation advice. In the past he has also referred customers to the Energy Doctor.

“The Energy Doctor told one woman to insulate her water heater with a blanket and it made a big difference in her bill,” Steve told me. “Every time I see her she thanks me again for referring her.”

After awhile I gave Steve back his computer so I could focus on other aspects of the meter reading process. There were several houses with locked gates, dogs, and other obstacles that made reading the meter a little difficult. That’s when I learned how to use the scope. It’s a tiny microscope that allows meter readers to see the meter from very far away.



I also discovered how easy it is to read a meter through a tiny crack in a fence.



Meter readers also have a special tube for reading water meters. Since the water meters are underground, they often fill with rain water and mud. Several times Steve had to wipe dirt off of the meter face and insert the glass tube in the ground in order to get a reading.



Now, a word on dogs. Steve isn’t particularly scared of dogs and has gotten to know the ones along this particular route fairly well. Many of them greeted him happily or ignored him all together. He was always looking ahead and over fences to see which houses had their dogs out and whether or not they looked familiar. There was just one dog that prevented him from actually reading the meter. He knocked on the door to ask the homeowner to hold the dog, but no one was home.



The owner of another house with several dogs left a “Do-It-Yourself” meter reading card tied to the electric meter in the front of the house so that Steve would not have to go into the backyard to read the gas meter. Steve appreciates this and it also prevents the homeowner from getting an estimated reading.



“If a dog is wagging its tail, that’s usually a sign that they want to play,” he told me.

(I was able to use this knowledge just a few days later and not freak out when my neighbor’s pit bull ran up and jumped on me, while wagging his tail.)

However, many meter readers are scared of dogs—often for good reason—and have had to use their crow bars and dog spray in order to protect themselves.

“All routes aren’t as nice as this one,” Steve advised.

“Maybe after I prove myself today, y’all will let me go out in a more challenging neighborhood,” I said.

“Maybe,” he agreed.

I really enjoyed my four hours out in the field. The weather was great, Steve was a patient and knowledgeable teacher, and I got a little exercise. It was rather invigorating…until I actually sat down. I yawned the whole way home and was super tired that night. My feet hurt, my back hurt, and I really wondered what it would be like to read 300-600 meters, rain or shine, five days a week, year after year.

I definitely have a new appreciation for our men and women in yellow.