Kids feel power of tour

A group of Huntington Beach State Beach junior lifeguards traded their trunks for protective eye goggles and ear plugs for a tour this month of the AES power plant across the street from where they usually meet on the beach.

Every summer, the plant hosts tours for the junior guards, and two more groups will visit the plant in August.

The group of more than 30 kids were led by Huntington Beach resident James Tone, who has worked as an electrician at the plant since 1967 and always jumps at the opportunity to teach kids about the plant’s operation.

“I like tours,” he said. “When you get as old as I am, tours are really fun.”

Megan Wooley, spokeswoman for AES Huntington Beach, estimated Tone has probably only missed one tour because of a vacation.

The kids listened as Tone led them through the plant on July 7 and explained each turbine, stack and water tank.

Huddled around a desk in the older of the plant’s two control rooms, the kids stared at dials, monitors and feeds accounting for half of the plant’s operation.

When the kids walked into the more modern control room, they spit out questions about the 12 computer screens that monitored the plant’s functions.

Though some of the kids, such as Daniel Litty, 12, said they did enjoy their activities on the beach, their intermittent off-site tours come as a welcome change.

“I’d rather be on a tour sometimes,” he said.

During regular days, he enjoys the free swim the best, he said.

The instructors also take the kids on tours of the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and Crystal Cove in Newport Beach.

Some of the kids thought the AES tour was particularly educational, because the plant is located right across the street from where they usually meet for junior guards.

“We have to swim the buoys,” said Kelsey Pryor, 12. “We have to know how they work and what they’re used for.”

The buoys serve as the intake and outtake for the plant. The plant uses ocean water in its cooling system.

“It helps you learn things you normally don’t,” said Chloie Cheney, 12.

The plant has been conducting tours for the junior lifeguards and other groups for the last two years to educate residents about the operation and to try to set straight any misconceptions the public may have.

“We love doing it,” Wooley said. “It’s a great chance to reach out into the community and shed some light on what we actually do here and what’s involved.

“A lot of people have some misperceptions about who we are and what we do, and we’ve not had one person leave with those same thoughts after a tour,” she added.

During the school year, the plant hosts tours for local schools and other organizations.

For more information about the plant or to schedule a tour, call (714) 374-1476 or visit www.aes.com.hbi.20-onbreak-BPhotoInfo621T2NJ820060720j2mfbwncCredit: KENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT Caption: (LA)Electrician Jim Tone, right, leads a group of junior lifeguards on a tour of the AES power plant on Newland Street Wednesday.