California Power Outages

Hand · 10-10-2019, 08:52

This looks like a fiasco in the works.
To those in California, is this real life out there?

Quote:

PG&E began shutting off power Wednesday morning, cutting off more than 500,000 homes and businesses in Northern California. The utility turned off electricity for another 234,000 in major cities including San Jose and Santa Cruz starting around 10:30 p.m. through midnight Pacific time after delays.

An additional 4,000 customers in Kern County may also lose power Thursday, depending on weather conditions, PG&E said.

'PG&E clearly hasn't made its system safe': California lawmakers slam utility amid widespread power outage

Farther south, where gusty Santa Ana winds weren't expected until early Thursday, Southern California Edison announced it may turn off power to more than 170,000 customers in its 50,000-square-mile service area. It includes at least 49,024 in the northern reaches of Los Angeles County and 20,449 in Ventura County.

San Diego Gas & Electric said it is prepared to cut power to 34,022 customers, with most of the communities affected in inland areas.

Because a single customer account can serve a household or business, the estimated number of people without power was expected to reach 2 million.

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Why are there power outages?

Power lines were blamed for sparking the Camp Fire nearly a year ago that killed 85 people, blackened 153,000 acres and destroyed 14,000 structures in Northern California. The town of Paradise, population 26,800 as of 2010, was so devastated that only 2,034 residents were left by April.

PG&E filed for bankruptcy after a cascade of lawsuits arising from the fires. To avoid being blamed for another conflagration and having to shoulder massive payouts due to fires from downed lines, utilities have decided to cut power during high-wind episodes.

On to the WTF part:

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Can a homeowner with solar panels just use their own power?

In many cases, no. Almost all home solar systems are tied into the local power company’s power grid, so customers can feed solar back into the system and get compensated for the electricity their solar panels produce.

These systems are designed to turn off when utility power is out. This is for the safety of electrical workers who may be working on the grid near a home during an outage. Having power flowing into the system could kill them.

To be able to access your solar power in a shutoff, you would need to have a solar inverter that offers backup capability installed as part of your system. “These inverters are quite common today,” said Lior Handelsman, vice president of marketing for SolarEdge.

Source

mojaveman · 10-10-2019, 11:15

And are there going to be lawsuits filed by customers for their utilities being turned off? It's a no win situation for the power companies. Kalifornia is going to hell in a hand basket. Can't wait to retire and leave.

Sohei · 10-10-2019, 13:39

I'm sure they aren't going to give anyone a cut in their bill while they are forcing them to live in their temporary caves due to the outages.

Requiem · 10-10-2019, 13:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agoge2

I'm sure they aren't going to give anyone a cut in their bill while they are forcing them to live in their temporary caves due to the outages.

Nope. How else will PG&E pay its top level executives their $14 million in bonuses?

S

**Box** · 10-11-2019, 07:37

I hope they fix the problem quick before the liberal-virus leaves California and infects nearby states

Old Dog New Trick · 10-11-2019, 07:56

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Originally Posted by Box

I hope they fix the problem quick before the liberal-virus leaves California and infects nearby states

Thankfully they won’t be able until their electric cars are recharged.

CSB · 10-11-2019, 09:38

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Thankfully they won’t be able until their electric cars are recharged.

Brilliant observation. Think of all the Tesla's that will be deadlined when the power grid goes offline, while the "dinosaur drivers" simply hop into their gasoline powered cars and zoom off.

Old Dog New Trick · 10-11-2019, 10:06

Only unless and until they reach a closed gas station before running out of $4.50/gal gasoline. (Price of socialist gasoline in Kalifornia only exceeded by the islanders in the great socialist state of Hah-vy-ee. Where volcanos still burn everything in their path down and create new land to tax!)

Can’t wait (no not really and hope never happens) for a fireman to be killed by the explosion of improper storage of mass quantities of gasoline to power generators to keep the lights on in Malibu mansion because PG&E can’t manage the grass and trees near their power lines. (That will be a sad day)

TACJAM · 10-11-2019, 11:32

Looks like California's decline into third-world status is accelerating.

tom kelly · 10-11-2019, 14:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by TACJAM

Looks like California's decline into third-world status is accelerating.

Thank the people who have voted for the Radical Left/ Socialist Parasites that are leading to the decline of Western Civilization. Parasite Gov. Gary New Some is the problem along with the Demo Rats elected and appointed to positions that are the cause of the problems in California. MARK MY WORDS, by John Mark. Peaceful Separation is no longer a possibility. Look it Up.

Badger52 · 10-11-2019, 14:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by CSB

Brilliant observation. Think of all the Tesla's that will be deadlined when the power grid goes offline, while the "dinosaur drivers" simply hop into their gasoline powered cars and zoom off.

Heh. I wonder if it's a chicken vs. egg thing. If they get their wish, what happens to such a fragile grid when a whole valley subdivision comes home from work and plugs in to charge? What, an additional 75 amps per?

JJ_BPK · 10-11-2019, 15:42

Starting a Go-Fund-Me for my Green start-up

JJ's Mobile Charging Service
I got's AMPs to spare

Old Dog New Trick · 10-11-2019, 16:01

ROTFLMAO!!!

You know what’s makes that so damned funny? It’s not just because the net energy used to dig up lithium and all the other materials that go into making these batteries is a net loss in energy...let’s not even discuss the disposal issue.

What’s funny about those pictures is that they are charging an electric car battery with a combustion engine. Thanks for the belly laugh!

Badger52 · 10-11-2019, 16:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

Starting a Go-Fund-Me for my Green start-up

JJ's Mobile Charging Service
I got's AMPs to spare

Be sure & get your AAA accreditation & the phone will be ringing off the hook. I predict great things for you young man.

At a nearby Walmart, the evergreens and a large grassy area between it & the strip mall on the other side were torn up to put in 4 of those big 2-banger charging stations and their associated transformers. They sit pretty much unused. Those things are spendy. Seems a shame, those were good lookin' trees....

echoes · 10-11-2019, 17:38

Power outages by PG&E, to prevent wildfires, is horse-shit. (I used to live there...)

There is one wildfire that just sprang up! One of my oldest friends and her family just told me, "we have masks...and it is raining ash right now".

Just regular folks, not the left, trying to make a living in CA.

Jeeze....

Holly