The White Falcon - 22.10.1971, Blaðsíða 6

Henmir Gudjonsson, mechanical
repairman, checks auxiliary en-
gine for proper lubrication.
Head foreman, Theodor Thorvald-
sson takes meter reading to in-
sure proper voltage production.
Put a little light
on the su
Many people take for granted
that the lights will come on when
switches are flipped.
In fact they get downright
flustered when this normal obvi-
ous response does not happen.
To flip a switch and find one-
self still in total darkness
certainly creates a hostile feel-
ing that ranges from mild annoy-
ance to outright verbal barrages.
As winter gains its foothold
with its increasing darkness, the
residents of the base will be
turning more and more to those
handy switches on the wall.
Providing the power to those
light switches and the myriad of
other electrical items used a-
round the base is the naval sta-
tion power plant, a division of
Public Works Department.
It is the maze of switches be-
tween the converter and the emer-
gency diesel engines at the power
plant and the men who tend them
that control this energy everyone
takes for granted.
Twenty-four hours a day,a crew
of 11 operators and one foreman
in shifts of three roam the plant
watching the meters, taking read-
ings and making adjustments, and
are right there to bring up emer-
gency power if the main source of
electricity goes out.
All the electricity in those
lights originates at the hydro-
electric plant in Reykjavik. The
power from Reykjavik is brought
to the base power plant and con-
verted from 50 to 60 cycles in a
converter unit. The electricity
then ripples through hundreds of
switches, relays, breakers and
fuses and out to the homes and
offices on 12 feeder lines. The
reasoning for 12 rather than one
feeder line is that it is better
to have only a portion of the
base blacked out in the event of
a power failure.
Why does power go out? Well,
winter weather can" be blamed for
it more than anything else, and
since the black-outs happen in
the winter season, those high wet
winds are tagged as the villans.
Specifically, the increased
winter winds pickup salt from the
ocean and distribute it over the
base. Some of this salt settles
on the insulators holding the
power lines. Enough salt—with
its added weight—and "zappp" out
goes a feeder line.
An indicator at the power
plant lets the operators know
which of the 12 lines is affected
by the mishap. A line crew is
called in to locate the bl
breaker or fuse. Once the
placement has been made,

One of the plant's electricians!
Jon Egilsson replaces old worn'
out wiring.
6
October 22, 1971