[KillTheHumans]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', 'D')id you bother to read the article, KTH?

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he risk of electricity blackouts in Southern California during the hottest days this summer is more than triple that of previous years because power plant additions have failed to keep up with demand, the state's grid manager said.

The likelihood of a Stage 3 emergency, when reserves dip below 3% and power is cut to some customers to prevent a system collapse, rose to 10% for Southern California from 3% in last year's forecast, the California Independent System Operator said in a report Monday.

[seahorse]

KTH wrote:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')ounds like its time to reregulate electrical generation so that the "lean and mean" concept of the free market shouldn't be quite so "lean and mean".

[frankthetank]

Other then wildfires, earthquakes, and mudslides, spoiled food, and heat stroke, the loss of electricity in California wouldn't be that bad.

[roccman]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KillTheHumans', '
')
So tell me, if the grid already crapped out years ago, and doesn't recover from such catastrophic events, why are they worried about something happening which already did? Oh THATS right, because they DID recover from it!!

[KillTheHumans]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('roccman', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KillTheHumans', '
')Keep clicking your ruby red slippers together KTH.

You - in the end - will be made a fool by your own words.

I - to date - am in the 5 ring with most all my predictions.

[yesplease]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('roccman', 'I') - to date - am in the 5 ring with most all my predictions.

Iran is next.

[Ferretlover]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')ast Coast endures fourth day of heat wave
2 heat-related deaths and 50,000 lose power in upstate New York
NEW YORK - The East Coast on Tuesday was trying to get through a fourth, and hopefully final, straight day of broiling temperatures during a heat wave that has caused some early school dismissals and power outages. …

[hope_full]

I'm on the East Coast and we've had four days of temps over 100 degrees. Yesterday, it was 102, which shattered all previous records for all of June. This is very odd to have this oppressive heat and it's even more odd to have it so early in the season.

Today, I got in my car and the dash thermometer read 118 degrees. I have never seen it go that high - ever.

HF

[bratticus]

Is it just me or in the summer does the enormous number of blackouts that get blamed on small animals and tree branches seem suspicious? I mean we wouldn't want to tell people that their power grid is unstable, unsupportable, etc. right? Give them something they can believe in. Give them a goose.$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')url=http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-08022008-1571686.html]Goose causes power outage, traffic jams (link)[/url]
By LINDSEY REDDING
The Intelligencer

...The borough lost power around 6:50 Friday morning. Residents lost power and the traffic lights at the intersections of Route 309 and Route 663, and Hickory Drive and Route 663 stopped working.

...Police believe the outage was caused when a Canada goose flew into a power line.

[Farknight]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')s it just me or in the summer does the enormous number of blackouts that get blamed on small animals and tree branches seem suspicious? I mean we wouldn't want to tell people that their power grid is unstable, unsupportable, etc. right? Give them something they can believe in. Give them a goose.

[kpeavey]

If all it takes is a low flying goose to knock out power, the problem is larger than is being spoken about. What happens when something more substantial comes along?

---

If electrical rates are able to climb, hopefully it will curb electrical consumption. A recession/depression will also help the situation by reducing commercial and industrial demand. if we can avoid overloading the grid, perhaps repairs/upgrades/maintenance can be performed in a manner that gives us a little more time before the grid goes down permanently.

[MsMarieH]

link
Thought this was an interesting article, especially since so many assume that they can rely on electric as a backup to oil.

"Five years after the worst blackout in North American history, the country's largest power providers say the problems that turned out the lights on 50 million people have largely been resolved, but they fear that larger, systemic issues could soon lead to even bigger and more damaging outages."

Still kind of cracks me up that a tree brushing a power line in Ohio is what started the whole cascade that took out power to practically half of North America - talk about a butterfly in Duluth flapping its wings causing a typhoon in China.
Marie

[Cochise]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MsMarieH', 'S')till kind of cracks me up that a tree brushing a power line in Ohio is what started the whole cascade that took out power to practically half of North America - talk about a butterfly in Duluth flapping its wings causing a typhoon in China.

[Narz]

Thanks for the article.

[DrillBites]

Are we better off?? No, we are worse off because we have more population on an old system. More homes, more wires, more demand, and no improvements or real upgrades. There is less 'room' in the system for accidents or mistakes. I think its just a matter of time before something just as bad or worse happens.

[patience]

Sytemic failure, even for a short time, is the best reason I could think of to put up our own solar PV system. Hope I get it fully developed before I need it. The personal and societal costs of a widespread power failure must be enormous. I would prefer not to participate in one.

[joewp]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('DrillBites', 'A')re we better off?? No, we are worse off because we have more population on an old system. More homes, more wires, more demand, and no improvements or real upgrades. There is less 'room' in the system for accidents or mistakes. I think its just a matter of time before something just as bad or worse happens.

[DrillBites]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('joewp', 'A')nd don't forget all the "ghost" loads that were added in the last five years such as the chargers for cell phones and iPods that are left plugged in and using electricity unnecessarily, along with that large draw that "instant on" appliances like large screen TVs consume.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]Threat of Blackouts October 14, 2008 By Investor's Business Daily:
Energy: The hot months of 2009 might be known as the Summer of Brownouts. And it will be considered a good year, because, unless hundreds of billions are invested in the U.S. power system, the brownouts will turn black.

Blackouts are more than an annoyance. They are costly in terms of economic loss and needless deaths.

[Gerben]

Good we have an economic crisis. Less demand means no need to increase the capacity yet.