Another friend said that he will tackle most carpentry jobs, or very minor electric repairs like replacing an electric socket plate, on his own.

WSJ: Do-It-Yourself vs. Hiring a Professional

My husband and I wasted gas driving around after the storm, trying to find a place with an open electric socket where I could plug in my dead laptop to finish a deadline project.

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The Wave Hub, an electric "socket" for testing wave energy machines off the north Cornwall coast, has been unused since it was installed on the seabed in 2010, but managers say the first device is expected to be connected this year.

BBC: Scottish and English marine energy parks join forces

The B-Class Electric Drive can be recharged at any standard household power socket.

ENGADGET: Mercedes-Benz introduces B-Class Electric Drive, we go eyes-on

This isn't the defunct EV1 we're talking about here, nor some of those other models we've heard about before, this is the Phoenix Motorcars electric SUV, which can be plugged into a wall socket and recharged with the same plug that powers your garden party boombox.

ENGADGET: Phoenix Motorcars intros a truly plug-and-play car

Plug loads refer to electric power consumed by products through an ordinary alternating current plug socket.

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These devices transform the direct current generated by a solar panel or electric car battery into the alternating current you expect from a wall socket.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The Chevy Volt is driven by electric motors powered by lithium-ion batteries that are charged by plugging the vehicle into a standard 110-volt socket.

FORBES: Who Revived The Electric Car?

Using a dedicated high-current electric circuit, like those installed for electric ovens, these can recharge the MINI E in 4.5 hours. (With an ordinary mains socket, by contrast, recharging could take all day.) For cars with smaller battery packs, like the Smart, overnight recharging from a conventional socket is possible.

ECONOMIST: Rational consumer