Every few days, I look at the kitchen clocks and realize that I’m running late for whatever I’m doing next. Then I remember that it’s the clocks themselves that are wrong – our kitchen clocks gain about a minute a day, and need to be reset on a weekly basis.
It turns out that this has to do with our power generation. Electric clocks keep time based on the rate of the electrical current that powers them. If the current fluctuates then clocks will run a little fast or slow, which is a common problem with generators. On the grid, power companies keep the frequency of the current as precise as possible.
Power in Tulita is generated using diesel. The Tulita plant is equipped with three diesel engines with a total installed capacity of 1.1 MW. Here’s a video from the power company about how they generate and deliver power in the NWT: