“In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.” This quote is attributed to Yogi Berra. I don’t know if Yogi said it or not, but there is a lot wisdom in it. Really big plans or theories rarely turn out as planned. Practice is almost always different from theory. This …

THEORY AND PRACTICE Read More »

I give a number of civic club presentations. I call them my “Rotary Club talks.” I start each presentation by picking an unsuspecting victim and asking, “Where does electricity come from?” The answers vary, but the most common answer I get (about 30% of the time) is, “out of the wall” or the “the switch.” I …

ENERGY EDUCATION Read More »

Guest Column: Rep. Randy Davis My colleagues and I in the Alabama Legislature know we do not work in a vacuum. We do not dream up laws out of the blue. I am a citizen-legislator, like my fellow Representatives in the House and our co-workers in the Senate. If I didn’t place more importance on the …

EXPERTS AGREE: LOCAL REGULATION IS THE BEST REGULATION Read More »

We all know someone who has or has had cancer. If it is someone close, you have shared their physical pain, their mental doubt and the many changes in their lives. We fly cancer victims to cancer hospitals for treatment. We also help Pilots for Christ with their mission to fly cancer patients to cancer …

A REAL FACE OF CANCER Read More »

A Bad Conservative Approach I get a number of comments about my articles. Some are good. Some are not so good and even personally demeaning. One response said, “You need to stop printing Gary Smith’s opinion because it’s idiotic and above all untrue! He is a coal promoter and denies global warming exists. Therefore he …

A CONSERVATIVE APPROACH Read More »

Safety is PowerSouth’s number-one corporate value, and rightly so. When talking to the employees, I always tell them that, without safety, nothing else matters. Keeping the lights on isn’t worth anybody’s life — on either end of the line. Public safety is equally as important as employee safety, and we take every possible measure to protect …

WHO CARES IF YOU’RE SAFE Read More »

You just knew they would go too far. They always do. You know the syndrome. You have seen it many times. Someone raises a crisis so they can solve it and profit from it, and before long all logic is lost. Usually the crisis is about the future of civilization. Someone gets some recognition, honor …

YOU JUST KNEW Read More »

By Seth Hammett, PowerSouth’s Vice President of Business Development and Chairman of the Energy Institute of Alabama Alabama’s energy sector provides the spark that makes the state’s economic engine go. Akin to the consumer who never thinks of what goes into making the lights come on at the flick of a switch, those of us …

GUEST COLUMN: STUDY REVEALS $13.22 BILLION ENERGY SECTOR IMPACT ON STATE’S ECONOMY Read More »

As the rest of the country relies more on natural gas for electricity generation, PowerSouth is expanding the cooperative’s already-diverse power supply mix with a nuclear power purchase, adding flexibility and good economic value. PowerSouth’s generation plan has succeeded, in large part, due to its diverse fuel mix. Using a variety of fuels and technologies …

NUCLEAR: CRITICAL ELEMENT OF POWERSOUTH’S FUTURE ENERGY MIX Read More »

My August article, Requiem for Gus Mayer, drew more comments and support than any article I have written. I received heartfelt stories of others losing their best friends. Some wanted to know more about Gus Mayer and our relationship. One reader made a gracious offer to replace Gus Mayer with a registered beagle puppy from …

9/11 Read More »