Many people are surprised to learn what counts as a “drink”. The amount of liquid in your glass, can, or bottle does not necessarily match up to how much alcohol is actually in your drink. Even before the United States federal government withdrew from regulating alcohol, the conversation, and degree of agreement and attitude, remains remarkably regionally specific:
Homage to Salvador Dalí’s famous painting “The Persistence of Memory (1931)”
The time shift results in sunrise and sunset occurring approximately one hour later on the clock than the day before, providing more daylight in the evening and less in the morning.
Start Date: Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 9, 2025. This is the second Sunday in March, following the schedule established by theEnergy Policy Act of 2005.
Time Change: At 2:00 a.m. local standard time, clocks are set forward one hour to 3:00 a.m. local daylight time. This is often referred to as “springing forward.”
Geographic Scope: Most of the United States observes DST, except for Hawaii and most of Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation, which does observe DST). U.S. territories such as American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not participate in DST.
Legal Basis: The rules are governed by the Uniform Time Act of 1966, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The U.S. Department of Transportation oversees the implementation, while states and territories have the option to opt out of DST but cannot independently choose to make it permanent without federal approval.
“Time After Time (Cindy Lauper Cover) | University of Delaware
University of Wisconsin Eau Clair
The U.S. power grid operates on a synchronized frequency of 60 Hz, maintained across three major interconnections: Eastern, Western, and Texas. During the Daylight Saving Time (DST) switch—typically at 2:00 AM local time on the second Sunday in March (spring forward) or the first Sunday in November (fall back)—the grid’s synchronization is unaffected because it relies on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), not local time. Grid operators, coordinated by entities like the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), ensure frequency stability through automatic generation control (AGC) systems, which adjust power output to match demand in real time.
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The DST shift doesn’t disrupt this process. When clocks spring forward (e.g., 2:00 AM becomes 3:00 AM), demand may briefly drop as human activity adjusts, but AGC systems respond instantly, balancing generation and load. In the fall, when clocks fall back (e.g., 2:00 AM repeats), a temporary demand spike might occur, but the grid’s inertial stability—provided by large rotating generators—and real-time monitoring prevent desynchronization. Operators may pre-schedule minor adjustments, but the system’s design, rooted in UTC-based frequency regulation, ensures seamless operation. Thus, while local time shifts, the grid’s 60 Hz hum remains steady across the transition.
We are curating this post — which appears every day — thus its spareness. Much of the content — dating back five years — will be archived. We will roll out updates over the next few weeks.
Anatomical donation programs are supported by relatively stable best practice literature that are highly cross-referencing. The organ donation industry grows at a surprising clip and, as such, has its share of sketchy actors.
Our discussion today — at 15:00 UTC– is limited to the safety and sustainability of the support facilities for human cadavers only; with attention to the most recent construction projects.
We examine the proposals for the 2028 National Electrical Safety Code; including our own. The 2026 National Electrical Code where sit on CMP-15 overseeing health care facility electrical issues should be released any day now. We have one proposal on the agenda of the International Code Council’s Group B Committee Action Hearings in Cleveland in October. Balloting on the next IEEE Gold Book on reliability should begin.
FERC Open Meetings | (Note that these ~60 minute sessions meet Sunshine Act requirements. Our interest lies one or two levels deeper into the technicals underlying the administrivia)
Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan
First Draft Proposals contain most of our proposals — and most new (original) content. We will keep the transcripts linked below but will migrate them to a new page starting 2025:
N.B. We are in the process of migrating electric power system research to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers bibliographic format.
Recap of the May meetings of the Industrial & Commercial Power Systems Conference in Las Vegas. The conference ended the day before the beginning of the 3-day Memorial Day weekend in the United States so we’re pressed for time; given all that happened.
We can use our last meeting’s agenda to refresh the status of the issues.
We typically break down our discussion into the topics listed below:
Codes & Standards:
While IAS/I&CPS has directed votes on the NEC; Mike is the only I&CPS member who is actually submitting proposals and responses to codes and standards developers to the more dominant SDO’s — International Code Council, ASHRAE International, UL, ASTM International, IEC & ISO. Mike maintains his offer to train the next generation of “code writers and vote getters”
Performance-based building premises feeder design has been proposed for the better part of ten NEC revision cycles. The objective of these proposals is to reduce material, labor and energy waste owed to the branch and feeder sizing rules that are prescriptive in Articles 210-235. Our work in service and lighting branch circuit design has been largely successful. A great deal of building interior power chain involves feeders — the network upstream from branch circuit panels but down stream from building service panel.
Our history of advocating for developing this approach, inspired by the NFPA 101 Guide to Alternative Approaches to Life Safety, and recounted in recent proposals for installing performance-based electrical feeder design into the International Building Code, appears in the link below:
Access to this draft paper for presentation at any conference that will receive it — NFPA, ICC or IEEE (or even ASHRAE) will be available for review at the link below:
NFPA 110 Definitions of Public Utility v. Merchant Utility
NFPA 72 “Definition of Dormitory Suite” and related proposals
Buildings:
Renovation economics, Smart contracts in electrical construction. UMich leadership in aluminum wiring statements in the NEC should be used to reduce wiring costs.
This paper details primary considerations in estimating the life cycle of a campus medium voltage distribution grid. Some colleges and universities are selling their entire power grid to private companies. Mike has been following these transactions but cannot do it alone.
Variable Architecture Multi-Island Microgrids
District energy:
Generator stator winding failures and implications upon insurance premiums. David Shipp and Sergio Panetta. Mike suggests more coverage of retro-fit and lapsed life cycle technicals for insurance companies setting premiums.
Reliability:
Bob Arno’s leadership in updating the Gold Book.
Mike will expand the sample set in Table 10-35, page 293 from the <75 data points in the 1975 survey to >1000 data points. Bob will set up meeting with Peyton at US Army Corps of Engineers.
Reliability of merchant utility distribution systems remains pretty much a local matter. The 2023 Edition of the NESC shows modest improvement in the vocabulary of reliability concepts. For the 2028 Edition Mike submitted several proposals to at least reference IEEE titles in the distribution reliability domain. It seems odd (at least to Mike) that the NESC committees do not even reference IEEE technical literature such as Bob’s Gold Book which has been active for decades. Mike will continue to propose changes in other standards catalogs — such as ASTM, ASHRAE and ICC — which may be more responsive to best practice assertions. Ultimately, improvements will require state public utility commission regulations — and we support increases in tariffs so that utilities can afford these improvements.
Mike needs help from IEEE Piscataway on standard WordPress theme limitations for the data collection platform.
Mike will update the campus power outage database.
Healthcare:
Giuseppe Parise’s recent work in Italian power grid to its hospitals, given its elevated earthquake risk. Mike’s review of Giuseppe’s paper:
Mike and David Shipp will prepare a position paper for the Harvard Healthcare Management Journal on reliability advantages of impedance grounding for the larger systems.
The Internet of Bodies
Forensics:
Giuseppe’s session was noteworthy for illuminating the similarity and differences between the Italian and US legal system in handling electrotechnology issues.
Mike will restock the committee’s library of lawsuits transactions.
Ports:
Giuseppe updates on the energy and security issues of international ports. Mike limits his time in this committee even though the State of Michigan has the most fresh water international ports in the world.
A PROPOSED GUIDE FOR THE ENERGY PLAN AND ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF A PORT
Other:
Proposals to the 2028 National Electrical Safety Code: Accepted Best Practice, exterior switchgear guarding, scope expansion into ICC and ASHRAE catalog,
Apparently both the Dot Standards and the Color Books will continue parallel development. Only the Gold Book is being updated; led by Bob Arno. Mike admitted confusion but reminded everyone that any references to IEEE best practice literature in the NFPA catalog, was installed Mike himself (who would like some backup help)
Mike assured Christel Hunter (General Cable) that his proposals for reducing the 180 VA per-outlet requirements, and the performance-base design allowance for building interior feeders do not violate the results of the Neher-McGrath calculation used for conductor sizing. All insulation and conducting material thermal limits are unaffected.
Other informal discussions centered on the rising cost of copper wiring and the implications for the global electrotechnical transformation involving the build out of quantum computing and autonomous vehicles. Few expressed optimism that government ambitions for the same could be met in any practical way.
Are students avoiding use of Chat GPT for energy conservation reasons? Mike will be breaking out this topic for a dedicated standards inquiry session:
Halloween celebrates the imagination and exuberance of the young. All Saints’ Day remembers those whose lives and labors made their world possible. Between these two observances lies much of the purpose of an educational settlement: to provide beautiful, safe and enduring places where young people may form friendships, fall in love, raise families and eventually leave something of value to generations they will never know.
Built in the early nineteenth century along the road between Washington and Baltimore, Rossborough Inn is the oldest building on the University of Maryland campus. During the Civil War, Union and Confederate troops occupied the grounds, and Confederate General Bradley T. Johnson briefly established his headquarters at the inn in 1864. More than a century and a half later, the war has ended bu t, according to campus legend, not everyone has departed. Visitors report unexplained footsteps, doors opening mysteriously and sightings of **Miss Bettie**, the inn’s Civil War-era manager, wandering the corridors in a yellow gown.
Open agenda; Not Too Organized. Whatever anyone wants to talk about. We do meet once a month like this. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
We explain changes to our syllabus given that five conferences we attend will happen mid-September through mid-November: ANSI (Washington, DC), IEC (Edinburgh, Scotland), NFPA (Redondo Beach, California) and IEEE (Long Beach, California). Mike will be out of the office with sporadic availability. The front desk will be open. Sanne Clare will take phone calls September 27 through October 6.
Help us celebrate our 30th anniversary! We’ve put together a digital guestbook where you can share your reflections on what the Code Council & its mission have meant to you, your organization, & your stakeholders. Leave a note & read what others have said: https://t.co/ooln0FbBfvpic.twitter.com/Q8SmloOaqP
Time is running out! Don’t miss your chance to learn about groundbreaking ideas and implementation strategies shaping the future of Automotive Ethernet. Secure your spot today: https://t.co/L606mFiI7kpic.twitter.com/1Q8Q2vKkaL
— IEEE Standards Association | IEEE SA (@IEEESA) October 6, 2024
New methodology for classifying “The Midwest” – Menards.
Menards stores only appear where a significant number consider themselves “Midwestern.” In the core, indisputably Midwest states, Menards is bigger than Lowes or Home Depot.
Interested in academic awards and teaching resources? A student looking for a discounted ASTM membership? An ASTM member interested in supporting students and other early career professionals? Come to our workshop on ASTM’s Academic Outreach Program, held virtually Nov 7th at… pic.twitter.com/Nom0r3UoHV
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
#/media/File:%22Freedom_from_Fear%22_-_NARA_-_513538.jpg)
