Father of the nuclear navy, Admiral Hyman Rickover, gave his inspiring speech on energy sixty years ago. In it, he said:
“The enormous fossil energy which we in this country control feeds machines which make each of us master of an army… The humblest American enjoys the services of more [serfs] than were once owned by the richest nobles, and lives better than most ancient kings.”
That’s where Branko Terzic’s amusing 1½ minute video takes off. The former FERC and state commissioner and utility CEO goes through the conversions. The number of draft horses into the number of serfs. Then into horsepower. Then into kilowatts.
He calculates the peak electrical demand of a single-family home is equivalent to the energy of a hundred and thirty strong men. That’s roughly the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team (its strong men and women athletes).
The brief video is an engaging way to communicate the enormous bounty of electric service.
The now twice-per-month digital magazine for commentary, opinion and debate on utility regulation and policy, Public Utilities Fortnightly. “In PUF, Impact the Debate.” Digitally!
Steve Mitnick, Editor-in-Chief, Public Utilities Fortnightly
E-mail me: mitnick@fortnightly.com