Rolling Blackouts Today?

[Leadeye]

Speaking of the grid... An interesting video about the 2003 grid failure...

What I remember about that blackout was mayor Bloomberg on Tv telling people that the power would be back on soon. I asked myself, who is listening?

 

[Mij]

Those people are generally equipped with backup cylinders that can cover at least 24 hours.

Nope, speaking generally the small portable cylinders will get you to the nearest ER. At lowest setting 1 liter flow you get about 1-1&1/2 hr. For longer periods you get what is called a milk can. Just what it sounds like, a can about the size of an old milk carrier filled with liquid O2. You then have a over the shoulder device that you charge from the larger liquid O2 it will last about 2-3 hrs. depending on flow rate. When empty or low, alarm sounds, refill the nurse tank and carry on. If you are on a bi-pap it can be hooked directly to the liquid 02 but it requires extra plumbing and is definitely not portable. There are now portable battery operating 02 concentrators but they are not covered by insurance and have a low flow rate. And are limited to battery life. JFYI.

edit to add, none of this stuff is covered if you are on Medicare or some other low quality insurance, then you get an electric 02 concentrator. And a small cylinder. If the power goes out, your on your own. Head to the ER, you can make it….maybe.

 

[Ark]

Nope, speaking generally the small portable cylinders will get you to the nearest ER. At lowest setting 1 liter flow you get about 1-1&1/2 hr. For longer periods you get what is called a milk can. Just what it sounds like, a can about the size of an old milk carrier filled with liquid O2. You then have a over the shoulder device that you charge from the larger liquid O2 it will last about 2-3 hrs. depending on flow rate. When empty or low, alarm sounds, refill the nurse tank and carry on. If you are on a bi-pap it can be hooked directly to the liquid 02 but it requires extra plumbing and is definitely not portable. There are now portable battery operating 02 concentrators but they are not covered by insurance and have a low flow rate. And are limited to battery life. JFYI.

edit to add, none of this stuff is covered if you are on Medicare or some other low quality insurance, then you get an electric 02 concentrator. And a small cylinder. If the power goes out, your on your own. Head to the ER, you can make it….maybe.

I worked in the industry. All our customers had at least 24 hours either from scuba tank cylinders for high flow or tall, skinny ones for normal flow. That was on top of any portables they had. We didn't even mess with LOX. Nobody was without O2 within less than a full day of a power outage, specifically so we didn't have to wake people up and pay hours of OT to go deal with people having freakouts over short power outages. A very, very few patients were on high flows and we specifically stacked them with two or three scuba tanks so we didn't have to drive out and deal with them until the next business day.

Sounds like some sketchy fly by night company. Most of our patients were billing Medicare/Medicaid and they all got concentrators and backup tanks.

 

[Mij]

I worked in the industry. All our customers had at least 24 hours either from scuba tank cylinders for high flow or tall, skinny ones for normal flow. That was on top of any portables they had. We didn't even mess with LOX. Nobody was without O2 within less than a full day of a power outage, specifically so we didn't have to wake people up and pay hours of OT to go deal with people having freakouts over short power outages. A very, very few patients were on high flows and we specifically stacked them with two or three scuba tanks so we didn't have to drive out and deal with them until the next business day.

Sounds like some sketchy fly by night company. Most of our patients were billing Medicare/Medicaid and they all got concentrators and backup tanks.

You may work in the industry, I’m on full time 02, 2 liters flow during day time, 8 liters with bi-pap while sleeping. I’ve got the best insurance money can buy plus Medicare as backup, ya it might be a sketchy company it’s the largest home 02 supplier in the U.S. Don’t want to argue, won’t, just stating what I know from my experience. I’m not worried about it regardless, I installed a whole house ginny 18 years ago, powered from the same LP tank that runs my home.

As I stated in another post. “There is no reason for any Hoosier to be without electricity.“ The natural resources of the State of Indiana belong to the people of the State of Indiana, I can look out my window and see several hundred wind mills. That’s my wind, hence my electricity. The people in Alaska get a check every year for the oil that is taken from their state, it’s already a law in Indiana that makes our natural resources ours. You can extrapolate from this what you will.

 

[Ark]

ya it might be a sketchy company it’s the largest home 02 supplier in the U.S.

Hahaha yeah actually that does explain it. I know exactly who you mean. Yeah their customers might actually die from power outages.


Agree that there's no excuse for a state like Indiana to run out of power.

 

[Ingomike]

Agree that there's no excuse for a state like Indiana to run out of power.

Our state is not creating the regs that are crippling us…

 

[Ingomike]

Here is an idea to take a little stress off the grid, give a $25 credit per day to homes that use no power on 90+ degree days. My calculations are a whole house NG generator would use about $50 a day to run the house so the consumer would break even and the grid use would be reduced.

Am I missing something here?

 

[indykid]

Talking heads on the local news mentioned the idea that we might be having rolling blackouts. I sent them a message asking that since gasoline prices were so high, is this the time to buy an electric car? Just don't plug it in? What if everyone follows Biden's advice to buy an electric car and everyone plugs in at 5PM?

No response as of this time.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Here is an idea to take a little stress off the grid, give a $25 credit per day to homes that use no power on 90+ degree days. My calculations are a whole house NG generator would use about $50 a day to run the house so the consumer would break even and the grid use would be reduced.

Am I missing something here?

Yes, you're ignoring the expense ($10K+?) of installing a whole house NG generator. And how would the consumer break even if they're given a $25 credit for spending $50?

 

[Mij]

A few years back we owned a couple rental houses in bedroom communities, decided to sell. Fixed up and put on market, turned electricity off at the street. Bill was almost the same as when on, the majority of the bill is BS fees not the electricity used.

Hope I’m not taking the op’s thread off topic. If so my sincere apologies.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

Agreed. Two years ago I would have never considered a standby generator but after the Texas failure and this non-sense of electricity shortages I'm considering it.


Yep, no point in being energy efficient if they're going to turn off your power anyway.

The time you'll need one is not the time to be thinking about one. A few years ago we had a rare heavy rain event then power outage that resulted in a basement w water. I said not again. I'm waiting for its weekly test run at 7pm.

 

[tsm]

Here is an idea to take a little stress off the grid, give a $25 credit per day to homes that use no power on 90+ degree days. My calculations are a whole house NG generator would use about $50 a day to run the house so the consumer would break even and the grid use would be reduced.

Am I missing something here?

Maybe. Saw a post recently from someone who has a whole house generator who commented that it costs him more like $200 a day to run the entire house. I have no idea since I don’t have one, but maybe someone who does could comment on their actual running costs?

 

[churchmouse]

OUr local REC put out a warning yesterday saying that they would get a notice from MISO to try to curb their usage and they would start switching off areas for an hour at a time to hopefully get it below the limit. If that isn't enought Miso will start shutting off huge areas of the grid for longer.

Oh goodie goodie let’s all buy an electric freaking car OK.

 

[churchmouse]

My work was in generation.

We had 10 units and a black start unit 5 years ago.

We now have 6 units.

Next year it will be 1 unit.

That's going from 2400ish MW capacity to around 200 MW with 1 company.

Why.

 

[KG1]

Here is an idea to take a little stress off the grid, give a $25 credit per day to homes that use no power on 90+ degree days. My calculations are a whole house NG generator would use about $50 a day to run the house so the consumer would break even and the grid use would be reduced.

Am I missing something here?

NG residential generators are not designed to run on an extended period of time as a solution to take the stress off of the power grid. They will not last very long doing so regularly.

They are meant to be an occasional temporary back up for a power outage.

 

[ghitch75]

wait until the shut Merom down next year that will be over 1000 mega watts gone.....the best is yet to come

FJB

 

[Mij]

NG residential generators are not designed to run on an extended period of time as a solution to take the stress off of the power grid. They will not last very long doing so regularly.

They are meant to be an occasional temporary back up for a power outage.

That is exactly right in my opinion. That is why in my post referenced above I suggested for that purpose to look into a water cooled diesel package. Much more expensive but built for the long haul. Just look who uses them.

 

[KG1]

wait until the shut Merom down next year that will be over 1000 mega watts gone.....the best is yet to come

FJB

I used to deliver bulk lime to Merom south of Sullivan. There will be an impact when they shut down the coal fired generating plant.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Here is an idea to take a little stress off the grid, give a $25 credit per day to homes that use no power on 90+ degree days. My calculations are a whole house NG generator would use about $50 a day to run the house so the consumer would break even and the grid use would be reduced.

Am I missing something here?

There is an area here in Lawrence county where landowners get free natural gas because of some arrangement some gas line company made with them for storage or something. (Sorry, I don’t know the official explanation). A friend of a friend owned a house on a parcel of land that got free gas and decided he’d go off the grid and bought a whole house generator and powered off that free gas. Turns out fuel wasn’t the only cost associated with doing that. Now, running one 24/7 forever is much different than the time required for peak shaving but that friend’s friend gave up rather quickly.

Much like the fears of mass EV charging pulling down the grid, I’d think the analogous problems would happen to the NG distribution system if a bunch of people started sucking gas for generators all of a sudden.

 

[Mij]

NG, LP both have their issues.