Multimedia
28
June
2022
|
09:00 AM
America/Denver
2022 SRP Monsoon and Summer Story Ideas
Details:
Here is a list of monsoon-related and timely summer story ideas that can be covered throughout this season.
Please contact media@srpnet.com. Planning in advance will be needed to coordinate stories, as some do have time sensitives.
(Interviews can be available in both English and Spanish).
Thank you for your interest.
- Ride-along to see the “Forest 500”: The 500kV power transmission lines that travel from northeastern Arizona through Apache-Sitgreaves Forests and Tonto National Forest to Silver King substation (an area called the “Rights of Way” or “ROW”) are cleared every five years and SRP works with contractors to help clear thousands of square feet of brush to protect the ROW from wildfires. Keeping vegetation low to the ground allows a forest fire to burn quickly through an area and extinguish itself. Let us coordinate a ride-along with SRP teams maintaining the ROW on scheduled days in the upcoming summer months.
- Know what electrical substations are? Learn how they are essential to delivering reliable power, especially during the monsoon. The high-voltage electric system facilities are critical to distributing power to customers, and are used to switch generators, equipment, and circuits or lines in and out of a power system. When substations incur damage, SRP must often take the facility offline to perform maintenance. To help ensure no lapse of power for customers, SRP often uses “mobile substations” – a substation on a semi-truck trailer – swapped in as an emergency response. Come check it out.
- SRP is conducting a “Smart Building Study” using artificial intelligence and an interactive dashboard to help make buildings more energy efficient to lower energy use and costs. SRP is working with customers in the Valley to pilot this concept, including Glendale Community College (GCC), who can speak to energy and money savings so far. An SRP expert can also give a virtual overview of the dashboard technology being used.
- How can customers play a part in making sure the lights stay on during monsoons? During the summer of 2020, 61 outages were caused by objects flying into residential lines. Last summer, 74 outages happened for the same reason. They were all preventable. Front and backyard essentials such as umbrellas, pool toys and shades become projectiles with strong winds and often blow into power lines causing outages and damage from fires and downed lines. Distracted drivers whose cars collide with power poles also often cause outages.
- Summer heat affects the pocketbook. Help viewers save money by showing what can be done to prep their homes to save energy during the summer. SRP energy-efficiency experts can walk reporters through a home to show the best and cheapest ways to save. SRP gurus also will offer a myriad of tips and have low-cost summer saving props as visuals such as smart thermostats, free shade trees, shade-screen samples, weather stripping and more.
- Shadow one of SRP’s hard-working electrical line workers. They work on dangerous power lines and climb up 12-story power poles in the heat and extreme monsoon conditions to keep the lights on for customers.
- Keeping Arizonans in power during hot summer days is critical. Educate customers who may be struggling with all the options for help. SRP has specially trained resource counselors who work with English and Spanish-speaking customers and SRP’s customer center is open 24/7, 365 days a year. SRP also has a Medical Preparedness Program and a Safety Net Program that allows family members to receive notifications if the primary customer’s electric bill ever becomes past due.
- Storm Preparedness Tips: What should someone do when they see a downed power line? Summer storms can produce potentially hazardous conditions for Valley residents. SRP experts will provide monsoon safety tips and have examples of items that should be on-hand in everyone's home. (Tips in Spanish.)
- Wildfire reduction efforts: SRP’s improved wildfire mitigation plan helps to efficiently manage wildfire threats on the power system with multi-faceted approach including testing fire-retardant material on poles in wildfire-prone areas; and installing solar-powered smoke detector cameras that use infrared and AI to detect smoke. SRP has a Fire Management Officer who works closely with utility peers at APS and TEP as well as local, state and federal agencies to share information and coordinate preventative measures and wildfire responses. Learn more about these efforts and/or coordinate a tour of areas where SRP must work hard to protect the system from fires.
- How does power get from SRP’s intricate, state-of-the-art grid into your home? Learn from an SRP troubleshooter, who is the first responder when storms hit, and the lights go out. SRP is among the top-ranked utilities in the nation for reliable electric service. (To learn more, https://srpnet.com.)
About SRP
SRP is a community-based, not-for-profit public power utility and the largest electricity provider in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, serving approximately 1.1 million customers. SRP provides water to about half of the Valley’s residents, delivering more than 244 billion gallons of water (750,000 acre-feet) each year, and manages a 13,000-square-mile watershed that includes an extensive system of reservoirs, wells, canals and irrigation laterals.