[chimera]

Yeah, I think that was the one. The attorneys dragged in the Amish complaints for their settlements in the Northeast. While I admire the Amish work ethic, I couldn't quite get on board with their complaints about the HV line. I mean, they don't have to use the power, just be a good neighbor to the transmission towers. They do that all the time with highways, air traffic, and other industrial infrastructure.

The anti-nukes got on board because of the Perry relationship. Anything to make it more difficult for utilities, I guess.

You were at the TVA dispatch center? Ever seen the one at AEP? Pretty impressive.

[meyer]

Yeah, I think that was the one. The attorneys dragged in the Amish complaints for their settlements in the Northeast. While I admire the Amish work ethic, I couldn't quite get on board with their complaints about the HV line. I mean, they don't have to use the power, just be a good neighbor to the transmission towers. They do that all the time with highways, air traffic, and other industrial infrastructure.
The anti-nukes got on board because of the Perry relationship. Anything to make it more difficult for utilities, I guess.

I'm not convinced that it was the Amish that were so strongly against the transmission line as it was leftist groups that hijacked the Amish cause to fight the line. At any rate, lawyers defeated the line and left the grid in it's present condition.

You were at the TVA dispatch center? Ever seen the one at AEP? Pretty impressive.

The TVA dispatch center was very nice in terms of aesthetics. Built for looks (and almost daily tours), though functionally, it was a bit less desireable. TVA used these long station blueprints, folded up like an accordian. You couldn't open an entire print on the table space provided, which made it difficult to write switching procedures. Plus, TVA decided 3 years ago that we needed cameras looking over our shoulders 24/7 "for our own protection" (which is one reason that I left).

FirstEnergy's control center is also quite nice, after having been completely rebuilt. Unfortunately, there is also great concern for aesthetics at the expense of functionality there as well. But it works fairly well.

I've never seen AEP's control center, though I was quite interested in looking at their operation a year ago. The word around the industry is that their pay scales are lower than average for these jobs, so I was a bit reluctant to look there. But, having become vested in TVA's retirement plan, I was actively circulating my resume and had I not had a line at FE, I would certainly have expanded my search to include AEP and others.