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David Latona:
Welcome to Co-op Conversations with DEMCO, 
where we talk about the topics that impact your power,

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your co-op, and your community. I'm your host, 
David Latona.

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In this episode, we're talking about a piece of equipment on our 
system that most people never see,

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but plays a big role in keeping your power steady and reliable.

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Joining me today are Michael Welborn and Ashton Stokes.

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Thank you both for being here, gentlemen.

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Ashton Stokes:
Thanks for having us.

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Michael Welborn:
Thank you man.

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David Latona:
So glad y'all are here. The experts are in the studio, 
y'all.

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When people hear the word capacitor, 
they may not know what that is.

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Can you guys tell us a little more about capacitor and what that 
means to an electric distribution system like

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DEMCO?

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Michael Welborn:
Basically, a capacitor stores electrical energy.

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So when you have several of them grouped together, 
we call it a capacitor bank.

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Ashton Stokes:
And those capacitor banks, they store and release energy when 
it's needed to help the voltage steady depending on hot days,

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cold days. Depending on the weather change, 
it's able to fluctuate the voltage.

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David Latona:
So for all our electricity nerds out there, 
I like to know how things work also.

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Let's dive in a little deeper. When you say the capacitor banks 
help regulate voltage,

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break that down for me. What exactly are they doing to regulate 
that voltage?

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Michael Welborn:
Basically, you can think of voltage like pressure.

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It's what pushes electricity through the lines.

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And a capacitor bank helps keep that pressure steady.

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So things run the way they're supposed to.

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David Latona:
Okay, that makes sense. So what happens if that voltage isn't 
steady?

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Ashton?

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Ashton Stokes:
Multiple things can happen, lights dim and flicker.

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Your equipment might not run as efficiently.

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It can have strain on your systems.

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And overall the power quality you have can drop.

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David Latona:
So it's not just about convenience, 
right?

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It's also about protecting equipment, 
making sure power is safe and reliable.

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Are voltage changes always a problem?

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Ashton Stokes:
Not always. Having the capacitors there keep it within the 
regular standards that we hold that serve the customers

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best.

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David Latona:
Okay, well that makes sense. But then also that can be created by 
something outside of our control.

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Is that right?

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Michael Welborn:
Yeah. That's right. Sometimes it could be in the home of the 
customer,

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like they're wiring the breakers or even a large appliance 
turning on and off,

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such as like an oven dryer, heater, 
something like that.

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David Latona:
Okay, okay. So as a member or somebody listening to our show, 
how can a member of the community know what it is on their

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system that's causing some of these issues?

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Ashton Stokes:
A good thing to do is if your house is experiencing problems, 
reach out to your neighbors and see if they're experiencing the

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same problems. Usually whenever we have a problem, 
it involves multiple houses because from the power source

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is feeding multiple customers. If your neighbors aren't 
experiencing voltage problems,

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it might be something to do with your breaker in your house, 
and it would be a good idea to get a licensed electrician

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to look and review and see what the problem is.

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David Latona:
Excellent. Those are great tips.

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What are the signs that it may be something on the system and not 
in someone's home?

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What should they watch for?

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Michael Welborn:
Repeated outages in the same area.

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Power going off and staying off for, 
you know, a decent amount of time.

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Hearing unusual noises like buzzing or popping.

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Seeing sparks from power lines. Something damaged on a pole, 
something in that area.

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David Latona:
Maybe a loud boom.

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Michael Welborn:
Yeah.

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David Latona:
We get that call a lot when there's maybe an issue with a 
transformer or a conductor.

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So if someone sees something like sparking or a downed line, 
that's pretty serious,

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right? What's the steps there?

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Michael Welborn:
Yeah, it is pretty serious. We always tell everybody to stay away 
from it and report it as soon as you see it.

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That way we can go out there and safely, 
you know, fix the issue,

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whatever it may be.

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David Latona:
So while some flickering might just be an annoyance, 
especially if it's brief,

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if it's ongoing or widespread or looks unsafe, 
that's when it becomes a real concern,

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right?

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Michael Welborn:
Yeah. Anytime there's an issue, 
you can always call DEMCO at 1-844-MY-DEMCO phone line.

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We're on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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No matter what the issue is, you can get somebody out there to 
check.

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David Latona:
That goes right to your home phone, 
right, Michael?

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Michael Welborn:
Yes.

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David Latona:
Yeah. Okay, good. Those get you when they make that call.

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So let's go back to the work you all were doing.

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When you're inspecting capacitor banks, 
what are you looking for?

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Ashton Stokes:
We're making sure everything's operable the way it should be.

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That includes checking connections, 
making sure the equipment is switched correctly,

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and looking for any signs of wear.

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We're also looking for anything damaged or out of place, 
because those are the kinds of things that can lead to problems

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if they're not fixed.

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David Latona:
That is interesting. You think there are environmental factors 
that can damage,

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like you said, the lightning or something that could cause a 
fault on our system,

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whether it's a limb or wind that makes conductors contact one 
another,

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that can cause damage on those capacitor banks so.

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I see how that makes this inspection so important when we're 
going through our system.

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So our members may not know this, 
but we have a field office with crews and equipment across our

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entire system. And we serve seven parishes.

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And you inspected 94 capacitor banks.

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That's a huge effort. What does that process look like when 
you're laying that plan out?

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Ashton Stokes:
We usually just take it by area, 
you know, and go through East Baton Rouge,

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do all the ones in there and then, 
you know, move.

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We have East Baton Rouge. We have Livingston, 
you know, Denham Springs and Watson.

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Baton Rouge is a pretty big area in itself.

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David Latona:
That's great. And it really is something that's behind the scenes 
that our members may not see the efforts we're making for

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that consistent power. When you're coming here and you've got a 
work order of a certain location that you're attacking with the

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capacitor. So you're coming here or you're getting your gear and 
you're going to make those inspections,

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just walk us through that day.

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Michael Welborn:
So basically, the inspections that we do are on the iPad through 
our mapping system.

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It has pretty much all the capacitors mapped on the system, 
and it highlights them so you know where they're at.

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So then we'll, you know, go to that location.

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You're going to have your fuses on the capacitor bank.

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We have to go up there, test them, 
make sure that they're still good.

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Lightning strikes will damage them.

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Sometimes, blow them out completely.

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David Latona:
Is the tank switch operated by a long boy?

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Michael Welborn:
Yes, they are.

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David Latona:
Okay.

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Michael Welborn:
Not all of them. Some are thermal banks that have a vacuum 
canister on it that will close in automatically whenever they're

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needed. So a lot of these capacitor banks are spread through the 
system in areas that need it.

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Like when we have a, let's say, 
a hot hot day or a really cold day,

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you'll see the voltage kind of start going down a little bit.

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And once it gets close to our threshold of where we're supposed 
to,

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you know, maintain it, we can go to that area and close them.

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That's why we have to test them to make sure they're operable. 
Because if you need them and then they're not operable,

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then you're fixing them that day.

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Ashton Stokes:
And the deal is from the substation to where the circuit ends, 
depending on how long it is that you have line loss.

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So if we put the voltage on the line at the station, 
it's going to be lower towards the end of the

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circuit. So that's why the capacitors are able to pick up the 
voltage.

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So we can carry it further from the station.

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David Latona:
Okay. Serving in some comparisons, 
like water tower is pumping water up to repressurize

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the water line.

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Ashton Stokes:
You could almost look at electric, 
our lines as water lines.

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Depending on the size of the wire, 
the size of the pipe, depends how much voltage you're going to

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get. How far you're traveling, you know, 
same thing with water, is it same thing,

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you'll probably have less water at the back end than you do 
coming out of the well.

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It's the same thing as the substation.

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David Latona:
I think it's interesting to hear about the work you guys do 
outside of storms,

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just like we've had on past podcasts that you're always working, 
updating and maintaining the system.

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People don't see that every day, 
so this is really helpful to hear about that work and how it

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helps.

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Michael Welborn:
That's right, David. We usually, 
you know, work a lot and try to maintain the system that way

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everything's up to par.

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David Latona:
Excellent. So while you're here, 
I do have a question I know you two can answer.

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Sometimes the power goes off, and then comes right back on.

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Some members may call that a blink or a quick out/on on their 
system.

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What's happening there when we see that on our service in homes 
and businesses?

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Ashton Stokes:
That's a part of our system doing its job.

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It's called a recloser.

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David Latona:
Okay, so a recloser, what is that supposed to do?

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Ashton Stokes:
A recloser is a device that protects the system.

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If it senses a problem, a tree on the line, 
a squirrel, or some of those sorts,

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it will shut off. And when it comes back on, 
if it doesn't see the fault,

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it will re-energize the line. If it continues to see the fault, 
like,

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say, there's a downed power line or there's a bigger issue or a 
pole that's broken,

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it can go up to three times to see the issue, 
which will de-energize the line,

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and it will open and protect itself from the rest of the line.

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That way we sectionalize that outage instead of having a bigger 
outage.

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David Latona:
So that quick off and on, that means the system is actually 
working?

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Michael Welborn:
So basically instead of blinks, 
it's actually operations.

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They're designed to operate three times when they see a fault.

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David Latona:
Okay.

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Michael Welborn:
That way it tries to clear itself without having to send somebody 
out there.

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David Latona:
So it's like a smart switch.

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Michael Welborn:
Yeah. Basically. So it actually even has capabilities of what we 
call a hotline tag.

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So we can put it on hotline tag to work on it safely, 
where it just goes to a single operation,

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where if it sees one fault, it'll open up that way, 
you know, if anything bad happened.

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David Latona:
Sure.

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Michael Welborn:
It's de-energized.

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David Latona:
So in those rare instances, we have line work happening.

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We can set that equipment to be off immediately when it senses 
something the first time instead of –.

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Michael Welborn:
Right. Anytime we work on it, it's got to be on hotline tag.

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David Latona:
Okay. Okay.

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Ashton Stokes:
As a safety precaution for us.

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David Latona:
And when should someone report that issue?

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Ashton Stokes:
If it blinks once and comes back on, 
that happens pretty frequently with the amount of squirrels and

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the amount of trees we have in the area.

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If it's out, that means there is a problem and that will need a 
lineman to,

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you know, come and figure out what the problem is and get the 
power restored.

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David Latona:
So when it stays out, that's when you make that call.

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Ashton Stokes:
I would say if it stays out, you definitely need to make a call.

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But if it is blinking periodically over a day, 
over a couple hours,

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I would think you would have to call. There's probably something 
that is.

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David Latona:
That's good to know. That's good.

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Michael Welborn:
Or even if it blinks, if it blinks for, 
you know, say a couple of times a day for a week or so,

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it could be something going on, 
you know, on the lines that need to be assessed.

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Even if it's not opening it up completely.

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Ashton Stokes:
I mean, there's multiple things we find on the line, 
whether it's trees,

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squirrels, kites, balloons, snakes, 
raccoons, anything.

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Falcons, I mean anything.

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David Latona:
So I get this, that if this system is not in place like 20 years 
ago and that limb touches

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that line, the breaker comes out, 
we've got to mobilize a team to go assess,

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maybe even do nothing but put the the fuse back in.

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But with a smart switch, it's doing it on its own.

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So you can imagine the reliability that a member sees when that's 
automated so many times.

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Michael Welborn:
We have, I mean, they're spread out through the system a lot.

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I mean, we have them a lot of places, 
a lot of major intersections.

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And then even on our smaller lines, 
we have individual fuses to isolate problems if something was to

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get on it. But a lot of people don't see that how far a circuit 
actually travels from the substation to their homes.

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So they might not see anything right there, 
but it might be a broke pole 4 or 5 miles from where you live.

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David Latona:
Yeah. And I know that we have spoken in the past with district 
managers who say that you all are the most

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familiar with these circuits, right?

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You know that, hey, historically this one keeps blinking or 
there's an issue,

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and we don't have smart switches on it.

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So you can actually have some buy in and recommending smart 
switches in certain areas.

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Is that how that works for you all?

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Ashton Stokes:
Right. As a lineman, if you go to a problem and you know you're 
on call,

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you get called out multiple times.

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You usually draw a job up to try to see if we can better it, 
whether it be to cut trees or add switches.

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That way we can sectionalize the problem as close as we can, 
which helps us because when you sectionalize

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it, you have a smaller section to look at instead of a, 
you know,

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whole mile, two miles of line through the woods.

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If you know where frequent problems are at, 
it's good to install switches that way it doesn't affect other

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people's lights. And also it kind of directs us to where the 
problem would be.

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Michael Welborn:
And they actually record data from when they go out, 
and they can pull it up,

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have a full log of how many times it's operated.

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Everything.

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David Latona:
Data driven reliability.

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Michael Welborn:
Yes, sir.

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David Latona:
That's a good thing for our members to hear that we're not just 
going and repairing broken lines.

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We're doing some progressive work to ensure that reliability.

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Well, Michael, Ashton, thank you both for joining us and for the 
work you all do every day.

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And to our listeners, this is a great example of the work 
happening behind the scenes to make sure you have safe and

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reliable power. Thanks for tuning in to Co-op Conversations with 
DEMCO.

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If you like what you heard, leave us a review.

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Like and share the episode with a friend.

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Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

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For Michael and Ashton, I'm David Latona.

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Let's keep the conversation going.