The power supply frequency will not be adjusted for a year, and the clocks in the United States will be in chaos

The power supply frequency will not be adjusted for a year, and the clocks in the United States will be in chaos. The US authorities are preparing to conduct a one-year experiment from mid-July, without adjusting the frequency of the AC power supply...

A one-year trial of not adjusting the power supply frequency could cause chaos in U.S. clocks. The U.S. authorities are preparing to conduct a one-year experiment starting from mid-July without adjusting the frequency error of AC power supply. This may cause the time of traffic signs, security systems, electric clocks, coffee pots and other appliances across the United States that rely on this frequency to be timed, and the time will be up to 20 minutes faster a year. Since 1930, the United States has begun to use alternating current frequency as the basis for electric clock timing. Whenever there is an error in the frequency, the power company will take adjustment measures to ensure accurate timing. However, this adjustment measure is costly and laborious. McClelland, director of reliability at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, pointed out that in the future, the power grid will use more renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy, and its power generation will be disrupted by weather at any time. It will cost a lot to correct the power supply frequency, and backup power must be on standby at all times. In order to make the power supply more stable, save costs and reduce unnecessary work, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which is responsible for supervising the power supply network across the United States, plans to start a trial of not adjusting this frequency error from mid-July to see what the impact will be, but the actual trial time may be slightly delayed. In response to the possible impact of this experiment, Matsakis, director of the Time Service Department of the U.S. Naval Observatory, said: "Many people will not know why something will happen in the future." He thinks this is an interesting experiment to see how much people's timing depends on the power grid. The report said that this experiment will not affect the clocks on mobile phones, GPS or computers, nor will it affect the official US or online time, but it will affect clocks that flash "12:00" during a power outage, such as wall clocks and timers on ovens and coffee pots. According to a report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, clocks on the East Coast may be ahead by 20 minutes a year, but clocks on the West Coast may be off by only 8 minutes, and clocks in Texas may be off by only 2 minutes.