Rolling Blackouts Today?

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  • BugI02

    Grandmaster
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    Jul 4, 2013
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    I get what you're saying, but I think these rolling blackouts typically only last an hour or so, so I don't think your dogs would be in any danger that quickly unless you live in an uninsulated greenhouse...
    Sensitive, high draw equipment like your HVAC is in danger from abnormal shutdown and current/voltage spike on restart if you're not notified of when the power will be killed and there to make a normal shutdown prior to the blackout

    Even low draw equipment like electronics, such as your router or a quick start television are not going to be happy about too many repetitions of this cycle
     

    TheTrooper

    "In valor there is hope" - Tacitus
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    Feb 21, 2021
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    It is not fear porn, it is real, the grid is at capacity or more and getting worse. Relative to what? We have never had the threat of rolling blackouts in this area. Our representatives have failed us

    It is not fear porn, it is real, the grid is at capacity or more and getting worse. Relative to what? We have never had the threat of rolling blackouts in this area. Our representatives have failed us.
    I have been in the energy business for the last 15+ years. I have a front row seat. Please give me a call when you get a chance.
    ISI Defense Training (Alex) 765-416-3037
     

    TheTrooper

    "In valor there is hope" - Tacitus
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    It is not fear porn, it is real, the grid is at capacity or more and getting worse. Relative to what? We have never had the threat of rolling blackouts in this area. Our representatives have failed us.
    However, I fully agree our representatives have continually failed us, or worse, intentionally are driving us off a cliff.
     

    BugI02

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    How about a class action lawsuit against the utilities. No one forced them to shut down any gen station. They know what their demand is. WE pay for reliable service. We have gone to energy efficient everything to further lower the electrical demand. Seems they cannot hold up their side of the deal and supply a reliable service because of their stupid decisions.
    It will take years to wind its way through the courts, with the utility foot dragging at every opportunity to bleed the plaintiffs. By the time a verdict is reached the damage will be done and even if you win the lawyers will get half the money and quite possibly you'll just be offered a credit towards future purchases of power as your damages
     

    mmpsteve

    Real CZ's have a long barrel!!
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    Sensitive, high draw equipment like your HVAC is in danger from abnormal shutdown and current/voltage spike on restart if you're not notified of when the power will be killed and there to make a normal shutdown prior to the blackout

    Even low draw equipment like electronics, such as your router or a quick start television are not going to be happy about too many repetitions of this cycle

    I have 220V high-end printing machines that absolutely despise unexpected shutdowns, especially multiple off/ons. Anybody know of affordable battery backups (UPS) for 220 machines?

    .
     

    BugI02

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    Am I thinking about this wrong?
    It won't always be sunny and too warm when power goes out. As the man above mentioned, frozen pipes are an issue in the winter as well as a sump pump in times of heavy rain. Even with a battery back-up your time is limited and the sump pit provides a pathway for water to enter your house. What about food in the freezer(s)

    The critical element is total time without power and how long whatever independent back up in place lasts. It is my understanding that battery walls are good for about a day. Gasoline generators will be dependent on stored gasoline or if the stations retain power and an NG or LP generator will offer the most replacement time (depending on tank size and percent full for LP)

    Another concern will be how close you live to potentially restless natives

    There are several very good first person accounts of what happened to people who were prepped during the aftermath of Katrina, I've posted it before might do so again. Long story short, having a running generator just singled people out as a target for unreasonable demands that needed to be turned away with a display of firepower
     

    Ingomike

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    However, I fully agree our representatives have continually failed us, or worse, intentionally are driving us off a cliff.
    Do you disagree with the releases from MISO saying rolling blackouts are possible? That our grid usage is rising while they are shutting down generation plants?
     

    Jaybird1980

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    Jan 22, 2016
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    I am surprised we haven't seen any "max gen" warnings yet this week.
    The heat was forecasted well in advance. It gives them time to be ready for an increase.

    The problem will arise when it's something they don't see coming. Losing a cooling water pump, heat exchanger failure, Transformer failure, or a number of other failures that will catch them off guard.
     
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    KLB

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    I have 220V high-end printing machines that absolutely despise unexpected shutdowns, especially multiple off/ons. Anybody know of affordable battery backups (UPS) for 220 machines?

    .
    That depends upon what is affordable.

    Look at APC
     

    BugI02

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    Jul 4, 2013
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    Columbus, OH
    Just spitballing here, but we likely have a huge parasitic load from smart TV’s in every room, phone charging stations, all this electronic wizardry that did not exist 10 years ago. All from stuff not in use…
    I'm skeptical that that load is huge. Easy enough to find out, though. Some relatively cool day turn everything off, including unplug fridge and any freezers briefly. If you have an electric water heater, dial its temperature down 20 degrees temporarily. Then give all the systems a little time to power down completely and read the usage rate over a short interval at your meter
     

    TheTrooper

    "In valor there is hope" - Tacitus
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    Feb 21, 2021
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    Realityville, IN
    Do you disagree with the releases from MISO saying rolling blackouts are possible? That our grid usage is rising while they are shutting down generation plants?
    Like I said, please feel free to call. I will be happy to exchange ideas and observations with you. And nothing wrong with growing community on a personal level about now. As a matter of fact, I would rate this as a crucial time to get community oriented on a personal level to the maximum extent possible.
     

    GodFearinGunTotin

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    Mar 22, 2011
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    Mitchell
    I'm skeptical that that load is huge. Easy enough to find out, though. Some relatively cool day turn everything off, including unplug fridge and any freezers briefly. If you have an electric water heater, dial its temperature down 20 degrees temporarily. Then give all the systems a little time to power down completely and read the usage rate over a short interval at your meter
    Even better--If you have a meter with a disk you can determine your current load by following the directions below. If your meter has a LCD read out instead of a disk, there should be an indicator on there that replicates the function of the disk and you can count that indicator's pulses.

     

    TheTrooper

    "In valor there is hope" - Tacitus
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    Feb 21, 2021
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    Realityville, IN
    Do you disagree with the releases from MISO saying rolling blackouts are possible? That our grid usage is rising while they are shutting down generation plants?
    Just for the record, brown or blackouts can happen at any time. Undoubtedly "they" have been working diligently over the last decade to destroy our system (BES) design margins, redundancy and security thus undercutting reliability across the board. If you are just realizing these facts at this point, you may want to make movements to mitigate potential power loss, which will eventually become inevitable if "they" are allowed to keep at it, especially during the coming winter months.
     

    xwing

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    I'm also curious about that $200 to run the generator for a day. What fuel source was that and how big is it?

    After the heat and sunshine today, I wonder what sort of battery wall would be required to keep a house running including the AC and if solar could even keep up with it if there was an extended outage.

    24,000W whole-house propane generator. $200 - $250 / day is based on recent propane prices and running near full capacity the entire time. Hopefully it'll be less, but that's worst-case scenario.

    I actually got to use it today when we had a power outage for about 2 hours after a storm. It was nice to have two A/Cs, lights, dishwasher, microwave, all computer equipment, 4 fridges / freezers, etc... running. We lost utility power this afternoon, and then 30 sec later, everything came back on automatically, courtesy of the generator. (I had my computer and network equipment on a UPS, so it had no problem bridging the 30 sec). When the utility company came back on, it switched back automatically as well.
     

    Cameramonkey

    www.thechosen.tv
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    And if you are concerned with high dollar runtimes, scale back. Im set with a small inverter generator. Its enough to power fridges/freezer so we dont lose food, and I have a 7,000 btu portable AC unit, as well as charging batteries for battery lights/fans, and phones.

    If it hits the fan and we are out for a while, I'll be able to scale down to one room of comfort in the basement and the small generator will sip fuel.
     

    Jaybird1980

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    Jan 22, 2016
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    I just heard that the plan to retire the other units have now been pushed back. The closures were by 2023, now they are supposedly sometime in 2025/26.

    Oh and now they're trying to find a way to bring one of the retired units out of retirement.

    Apparently being a power purchaser is expensive :lmfao:
     

    actaeon277

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    I just heard that the plan to retire the other units have now been pushed back. The closures were by 2023, now they are supposedly sometime in 2025/26.

    Oh and now they're trying to find a way to bring one of the retired units out of retirement.

    Apparently being a power purchaser is expensive :lmfao:

    especially when people with pitchforks show up asking why they don't have power.
     
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