Blizzard approaching, what to do if power goes out?

Power still not out *knocks on wood* but even the gas company is putting out reduce usage warnings now. Sheesh. Freezing temps till the end of the week. Their refinery supplier is having freezing issues. Usually gas is the utility that keeps on trucking during hellacious weather. That's when you know it's bad.

Hope yall are staying warm and that your power stays on.

Woke up to no power, but it just came on, and the internet with it!

I was only getting worried about my youngest, but he’s out basking, enjoying the warmth.

https://i.imgur.com/U0JBWn3_d.webp?m...idelity=medium

wnateg, you're one of the fortunate ones there, apparently. :gj: Let's hope your luck continues & may it also rub off on others like Kam.

The power lasted maybe four hours. Back to no power.


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Originally Posted by Kam

The power lasted maybe four hours. Back to no power.


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Oh no! :tears: So sorry to hear this. Would be nice to hear what the problem is- or at least that they're working on it, which I'm sure they are, but it's so very frustrating.

Was just reading this: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/16/busin...are/index.html

And to quote: The problem, according to Hoza, is that a lot of companies in Texas did not invest in cold protection for power plants and natural gas facilities.
:confusd:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Was just reading this: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/16/busin...are/index.html

And to quote: The problem, according to Hoza, is that a lot of companies in Texas did not invest in cold protection for power plants and natural gas facilities.
:confusd:

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Pretty accurate to say our infrastructure wasn't built with freak cold snaps in mind. Why would it? This is far from the norm or occasional cold. The TX governor has already made a bill wanting to investigate the reliability of our systems. Maybe they'll find a way to upgrade the systems. I like this guy. He typically works fast to fix things and get things done.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Was just reading this: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/16/busin...are/index.html

And to quote: The problem, according to Hoza, is that a lot of companies in Texas did not invest in cold protection for power plants and natural gas facilities.
:confusd:

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To be fair, this is like, a once in a lifetime situation. It has snowed that deep into Texas before to my knowledge, but nothing to this degree as far as I've been alive.

As for my neck of the woods, I think mother nature took pity on us from all the snow she's already dumped on our heads for the past few weeks because we got off relatively easy with a mere couple of inches and no power outages that I'm aware of.

I say relatively easy though because at some point yesterday the snow turned to sleet and left a sheet of ice in-between layers of snow, which means clearing the driveway involved heaving shovelfuls of solid ice with every scoop. Good exercise I guess...

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Was just reading this: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/16/busin...are/index.html

And to quote: The problem, according to Hoza, is that a lot of companies in Texas did not invest in cold protection for power plants and natural gas facilities.
:confusd:

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This was ran by toddlers. I thought most places think worst case scenario when doing planning.


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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Oh no! :tears: So sorry to hear this. Would be nice to hear what the problem is- or at least that they're working on it, which I'm sure they are, but it's so very frustrating.

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And to make matters worst, my dishwasher just committed suicide and water all throughout my kitchen and formal dining.


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Originally Posted by Kam

This was ran by toddlers. I thought most places think worst case scenario when doing planning.


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No, unfortunately most businesses think about how much money they can put in their pockets & those of their stockholders, & what they can get by with, versus planning for worst-case scenarios, especially when mitigation is expensive.

And unfortunately, it's easier to deny climate change than it is to live with it & to prepare for it. The climate scientists have been predicting more extreme weather events, & so far, that's exactly what we're seeing. Time to re-think the bad practice of putting profits ahead of cautious preparations.

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Originally Posted by Kam

And to make matters worst, my dishwasher just committed suicide and water all throughout my kitchen and formal dining.


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That truly stinks! :( Some days we're the "pigeon" & some days we're the "statue"...

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...y1vcmllbnQiXV0https://ball-pythons.net/forums/imag...3a9q5cuXRti//Zhttps://ball-pythons.net/forums/imag...3a9q5cuXRti//Z

I had a dishwasher do that to me some years ago. (I was told that the seals go bad if you don't use them often.)

I've never liked them much anyway, so the one I have now is just a dish-drying rack for my hand-washed dishes.

This too shall pass...;)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

No, unfortunately most businesses think about how much money they can put in their pockets & those of their stockholders, & what they can get by with, versus planning for worst-case scenarios, especially when mitigation is expensive.

And unfortunately, it's easier to deny climate change than it is to live with it & to prepare for it. The climate scientists have been predicting more extreme weather events, & so far, that's exactly what we're seeing. Time to re-think the bad practice of putting profits ahead of cautious preparations.

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You mean they "predicted" something that's, always existed. If there's one thing I've learned from living where I am my whole life, weather and the environment is ALWAYS changing, that's how it's been for eons and how it will continue to be for eons to come regardless of what we do.

Am I denying that poor planning, greed and irresponsible practices have been causing problems such as what we're seeing right now? Of course not. But this narrative of constant blame of man for phenomenon that has been ongoing well before we had even a modicum of influence has been getting beyond irritating. Just look at the Sahara. Barely even a few thousand years ago it was a lush paradise rich with life, and yet it became an oversized sandbox on its own well before humanity had even remotely reached to potential to affect anything on an environmental scale.

In the end, let's be responsible, but at the same time let's not automatically assume something happening is directly our fault. Scientists can screech all they want about how awful we are, but in this day and age it'd be wise to remember that they have their own masters to answer to...

Sorry, just, felt the need to soapbox for a moment. Don't normally speak my mind like this.

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Originally Posted by Kam

And to make matters worst, my dishwasher just committed suicide and water all throughout my kitchen and formal dining.


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Have you checked the rubber seems on the inside edges? I had one start spilling water and it was because one of the strips became dislodged. I just pushed it back onto the track and it stopped leaking.

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Originally Posted by Trinityblood

Have you checked the rubber seems on the inside edges? I had one start spilling water and it was because one of the strips became dislodged. I just pushed it back onto the track and it stopped leaking.

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It is my entire street. Chain reaction. My neighbors pipes bursted. They it of their water next thing you know me and several other house are flooded out.


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Originally Posted by Snagrio

You mean they "predicted" something that's, always existed. If there's one thing I've learned from living where I am my whole life, weather and the environment is ALWAYS changing, that's how it's been for eons and how it will continue to be for eons to come regardless of what we do.

Am I denying that poor planning, greed and irresponsible practices have been causing problems such as what we're seeing right now? Of course not. But this narrative of constant blame of man for phenomenon that has been ongoing well before we had even a modicum of influence has been getting beyond irritating. Just look at the Sahara. Barely even a few thousand years ago it was a lush paradise rich with life, and yet it became an oversized sandbox on its own well before humanity had even remotely reached to potential to affect anything on an environmental scale.

In the end, let's be responsible, but at the same time let's not automatically assume something happening is directly our fault. Scientists can screech all they want about how awful we are, but in this day and age it'd be wise to remember that they have their own masters to answer to...

Sorry, just, felt the need to soapbox for a moment. Don't normally speak my mind like this.

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What gets me, is that it's kindergarten tier science that plants breathe CO2 and spit out O2, yet almost none of the regulation wants to push anything to do with stopping deforestation and incentivizing planting of plants. Instead let's try to convince humans to be herbivores because cow farts are going to end the world. :rolleyes:

Either way, change is happening, and we humans need to get it together and come up with a plan how we are going to survive as long as possible. It's only going to get worse. We need better energy infrastructure that can withstand extremes or we need to harden up and learn to survive without it like we used to.

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Originally Posted by Kam

It is my entire street. Chain reaction. My neighbors pipes bursted. They it of their water next thing you know me and several other house are flooded out.


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I've never heard of that happening, that's awful! :O

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I've never heard of that happening, that's awful! :O

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It had been a doosey. Bit you know what? I am alive and I thankful for every experience. Everything can be replaced except my life. So thank GOD for sparing me as soon many others at this time.


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1979, 1989, 2011, 2021 - years TX has experienced single-digit temps. Compare it to a CAT 5 hurricane hitting Florida or a flood in a ten year flood zone - it might not happen this year, but it's going to happen eventually.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

1979, 1989, 2011, 2021 - years TX has experienced single-digit temps. Compare it to a CAT 5 hurricane hitting Florida or a flood in a ten year flood zone - it might not happen this year, but it's going to happen eventually.

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Truer words have never been spoken.


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Originally Posted by bcr229

1979, 1989, 2011, 2021 - years TX has experienced single-digit temps. Compare it to a CAT 5 hurricane hitting Florida or a flood in a ten year flood zone - it might not happen this year, but it's going to happen eventually.

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:gj: All of which means they (the utilities) should have been better prepared- this is disgraceful, what people are going thru now.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

:gj: All of which means they (the utilities) should have been better prepared- this is disgraceful, what people are going thru now.

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One would think. Oh yeah. Just just started snowing again.


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Originally Posted by Kam

One would think. Oh yeah. Just just started snowing again.


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I'll be getting "round 2" starting any time now...I got some exercise this afternoon, clearing the 6 1/2" of snow from my driveway- I didn't even notice it was 19* (at the most) lol. Of course I was dressed warmly, but still? Anyway, I figured this was easier than when it's even deeper, & I'm hoping they've over-estimated the amount we'll get this time- but we'll see?

Kam, do you have power now? :please:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I'll be getting "round 2" starting any time now...I got some exercise this afternoon, clearing the 6 1/2" of snow from my driveway- I didn't even notice it was 19* (at the most) lol. Of course I was dressed warmly, but still? Anyway, I figured this was easier than when it's even deeper, & I'm hoping they've over-estimated the amount we'll get this time- but we'll see?

Kam, do you have power now? :please:

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Nooooope! We get it in intervals.


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Originally Posted by Kam

Nooooope! We get it in intervals.


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:taz::taz::taz: So sorry...hang in there. :(

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

:taz::taz::taz: So sorry...hang in there. :(

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At this point I am just thanking GOD for keeping me alive.


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You were right, Kam, that some neighborhoods got priority treatment. This article explains a little more about what went wrong. So sorry for what y'all are going thru, pls. stay safe!

excerpt > > >
"Rolling blackouts didn't go as planned. ERCOT ordered local power companies to institute periodic shutoffs to keep the grid from shutting down altogether. But because there was already so little power to go around - and neighborhoods with hospitals, fire stations and water treatment plants were prioritized for energy - it was hard to evenly rotate the blackouts, according to the Wall Street Journal. That meant some homes were without power for extended periods of time, while others never lost it all."

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https://weather.com/news/news/2021-0..._ven=hp-slot-3

Why Winter Storm Uri Caused Millions of Power Outages in Texas

By Jan Wesner Childs

8 hours ago


At a Glance

• More than 3 million homes and businesses were still without power Tuesday.
• Officials say power plant equipment froze.
• And increased demand only made things worse.

Millions of people across Texas are shivering without electricity through one of the worst cold spells and largest snowfalls in the state's history.
But how did the state that produces more energy than any other end up without enough power to go around?
Here's what we know so far:
-At least 1 in 10 power plants in Texas were offline Tuesday, according to WFAA. There are 680 plants statewide. "We have seen nothing like this honestly in Texas, that has covered the state like the storm has. It increased demand to an extreme, extraordinary height, and then the storm also made it difficult for the supply to be provided," Bill Magness, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the agency that manages the state's power flow, told WFAA-TV in an interview Tuesday.
-The problem started Sunday night, when Winter Storm Uri moved in and temperatures plummeted to the single digits. "Beginning around 11:00 p.m., multiple generating units began tripping off-line in rapid progression due to the severe cold weather," Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at ERCOT, told WFAA. Key equipment froze, natural gas supplies were limited and, after daylight, solar farms were blocked out by cloud cover and snow, Magness said.
(MORE: Here's When the South Will Finally Thaw After Record-Smashing Cold, Snow and Ice)
-The record breaking weather led to record breaking demand for power, which strained the grid even more. By Monday morning, two million homes and businesses were without power across Texas. That number continued to go up throughout the day as temperatures went down. By the end of the day, there were more than 4.1 million outages being reported. More than 3 million remained without power by early Tuesday evening. And since each outage only represents a single utility customer, that number represents millions more people who were directly affected.


-Rolling blackouts didn't go as planned. ERCOT ordered local power companies to institute periodic shutoffs to keep the grid from shutting down altogether. But because there was already so little power to go around - and neighborhoods with hospitals, fire stations and water treatment plants were prioritized for energy - it was hard to evenly rotate the blackouts, according to the Wall Street Journal. That meant some homes were without power for extended periods of time, while others never lost it all.

Advertisement

-As of 2020, Texas got most of its power from natural gas-fueled plants, followed by wind turbines, coal and nuclear, the Journal reported. All were affected by the cold weather, Woodfin told Bloomberg. While it was widely reported that crippled wind turbines were largely to blame for the blackouts, Woodfin said that was the least significant factor.



-Some say the bigger problem lies in Texas' power system as a whole. Texas is the only state that runs its own power grid without any federal oversight. It also doesn't require power equipment to be winterized against extended periods of below-freezing temperatures, like other states do, according to WFAA. David Tuttle, a research associate with the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, said the issue comes up every decade or so, but cost is always a question. "All of us would love to say, we want super reliable [electricity]," Tuttle told WFAA. "It would be millions to really bulletproof the system for that. How much do we want to pay to go protect ourselves with insurance policies for rare events?"


-Lawmakers are looking for answers. Texas State House Speaker Dade Phelan has asked for a joint hearing later this month on the power outages. Phelan said in a statement that the purpose would be to understand what went wrong and help prevent it from happening again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

You were right, Kam, that some neighborhoods got priority treatment. This article explains a little more about what went wrong. So sorry for what y'all are going thru, pls. stay safe!

excerpt > > >
"Rolling blackouts didn't go as planned. ERCOT ordered local power companies to institute periodic shutoffs to keep the grid from shutting down altogether. But because there was already so little power to go around - and neighborhoods with hospitals, fire stations and water treatment plants were prioritized for energy - it was hard to evenly rotate the blackouts, according to the Wall Street Journal. That meant some homes were without power for extended periods of time, while others never lost it all."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

https://weather.com/news/news/2021-0..._ven=hp-slot-3

Why Winter Storm Uri Caused Millions of Power Outages in Texas

By Jan Wesner Childs

8 hours ago


At a Glance

• More than 3 million homes and businesses were still without power Tuesday.
• Officials say power plant equipment froze.
• And increased demand only made things worse.

Millions of people across Texas are shivering without electricity through one of the worst cold spells and largest snowfalls in the state's history.
But how did the state that produces more energy than any other end up without enough power to go around?
Here's what we know so far:
-At least 1 in 10 power plants in Texas were offline Tuesday, according to WFAA. There are 680 plants statewide. "We have seen nothing like this honestly in Texas, that has covered the state like the storm has. It increased demand to an extreme, extraordinary height, and then the storm also made it difficult for the supply to be provided," Bill Magness, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the agency that manages the state's power flow, told WFAA-TV in an interview Tuesday.
-The problem started Sunday night, when Winter Storm Uri moved in and temperatures plummeted to the single digits. "Beginning around 11:00 p.m., multiple generating units began tripping off-line in rapid progression due to the severe cold weather," Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at ERCOT, told WFAA. Key equipment froze, natural gas supplies were limited and, after daylight, solar farms were blocked out by cloud cover and snow, Magness said.
(MORE: Here's When the South Will Finally Thaw After Record-Smashing Cold, Snow and Ice)
-The record breaking weather led to record breaking demand for power, which strained the grid even more. By Monday morning, two million homes and businesses were without power across Texas. That number continued to go up throughout the day as temperatures went down. By the end of the day, there were more than 4.1 million outages being reported. More than 3 million remained without power by early Tuesday evening. And since each outage only represents a single utility customer, that number represents millions more people who were directly affected.


-Rolling blackouts didn't go as planned. ERCOT ordered local power companies to institute periodic shutoffs to keep the grid from shutting down altogether. But because there was already so little power to go around - and neighborhoods with hospitals, fire stations and water treatment plants were prioritized for energy - it was hard to evenly rotate the blackouts, according to the Wall Street Journal. That meant some homes were without power for extended periods of time, while others never lost it all.

Advertisement

-As of 2020, Texas got most of its power from natural gas-fueled plants, followed by wind turbines, coal and nuclear, the Journal reported. All were affected by the cold weather, Woodfin told Bloomberg. While it was widely reported that crippled wind turbines were largely to blame for the blackouts, Woodfin said that was the least significant factor.



-Some say the bigger problem lies in Texas' power system as a whole. Texas is the only state that runs its own power grid without any federal oversight. It also doesn't require power equipment to be winterized against extended periods of below-freezing temperatures, like other states do, according to WFAA. David Tuttle, a research associate with the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, said the issue comes up every decade or so, but cost is always a question. "All of us would love to say, we want super reliable [electricity]," Tuttle told WFAA. "It would be millions to really bulletproof the system for that. How much do we want to pay to go protect ourselves with insurance policies for rare events?"


-Lawmakers are looking for answers. Texas State House Speaker Dade Phelan has asked for a joint hearing later this month on the power outages. Phelan said in a statement that the purpose would be to understand what went wrong and help prevent it from happening again.

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Yeah a lot of people were/are pissed.


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Originally Posted by Kam

Yeah a lot of people were/are pissed.


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Who wouldn't be? But that article also mentions that TX is the only state without federal regulations of their power grid, & this is what can happen when an industry is allowed to cut corners. Hey, nobody likes "rules" but they do serve a purpose. Sounds like this will be hitting the fan.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Who wouldn't be? But that article also mentions that TX is the only state without federal regulations of their power grid, & this is what can happen when an industry is allowed to cut corners. Hey, nobody likes "rules" but they do serve a purpose. Sounds like this will be hitting the fan.

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Yeah. ERCOT...and there are going to be some changes.


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Originally Posted by Kam

Yeah. ERCOT...and there are going to be some changes.


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There had better be. :gj:

It's at 30F now and the expensive problems are starting to happen....pipes are bursting all over. Our houses are not insulated for this weather. I'm sitting here wondering if mine are about to burst like a ticking time bomb. I need a shovel...there's solid ice on the porch and all over and I don't have a shovel to get rid of it with. I almost busted my butt a couple times LOL. Also watching little cars with street tires and no 4 wheel drive spin their tires trying to go down the street. A neighbor can't get their car in the garage because it can't go up the little hill its on...It's slight mayhem.

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Originally Posted by Trinityblood

It's at 30F now and the expensive problems are starting to happen....pipes are bursting all over. Our houses are not insulated for this weather. I'm sitting here wondering if mine are about to burst like a ticking time bomb.

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Be sure to leave all of your faucets at at least a slow drip to keep the water moving if you haven’t already. We’ve been getting as low as 9° here at night


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Be sure to leave all of your faucets at at least a slow drip to keep the water moving if you haven’t already. We’ve been getting as low as 9° here at night


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Good advice. I'm doing that. Unfortunately my parents had their faucets dripping and still had a pipe in their wall still burst.

y'all stay warm.

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Originally Posted by Trinityblood

Good advice. I'm doing that. Unfortunately my parents had their faucets dripping and still had a pipe in their wall still burst.

y'all stay warm.

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You stay warm as well. We are still playing hopscotch with the power here.


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Originally Posted by Trinityblood

Good advice. I'm doing that. Unfortunately my parents had their faucets dripping and still had a pipe in their wall still burst.

y'all stay warm.

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Now they're saying to "trickle" the water, that (often) dripping isn't quite enough...:(

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Now they're saying to "trickle" the water, that (often) dripping isn't quite enough...:(

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Some are saying to turn them off completely and drain the sinks tonight. Because when we warm up tomorrow, you don’t want to cause your pipes to burst.


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Originally Posted by Kam

Some are saying to turn them off completely and drain the sinks tonight. Because when we warm up tomorrow, you don’t want to cause your pipes to burst.


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Sorry, I should have clarified that advice was only in general & NOT given specifically for Texas. (I'm not in TX- it's just bitter cold where I am.)

BTW, I'm glad to see you back on here Kam...I was just thinking about you- wondering if you're still okay?

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Sorry, I should have clarified that advice was only in general & NOT given specifically for Texas. (I'm not in TX- it's just bitter cold where I am.)

BTW, I'm glad to see you back on here Kam...I was just thinking about you- wondering if you're still okay?

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I am great. I am just waiting until Saturday. Water comes back on.


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And on the fifth day all is right at the Snake’s Den! We have running water. I am ready to get to cleaning my house. I just took then longest coldest shower in the history of man.


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Originally Posted by Kam

And on the fifth day all is right at the Snake’s Den! We have running water. I am ready to get to cleaning my house. I just took then longest coldest shower in the history of man.


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After all that, a COLD shower??? :disbelief BRRRRR! :sigh2: But yay, running water is good. Here's to everything else getting back to normal too. :sunny:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

After all that, a COLD shower??? :disbelief BRRRRR! :sigh2: But yay, running water is good. Here's to everything else getting back to normal too. :sunny:

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It would have been hot but I had to let the water run and get all the nasty stuff out first. But I just needed a shower.


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Originally Posted by Kam

It would have been hot but I had to let the water run and get all the nasty stuff out first. But I just needed a shower.


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I hear ya. I went 4 1/2 days once the time we had a major ice storm & no power for days. I was lucky, actually- many had no power for weeks, because they had to clear so many trees & roads just to get to where the power lines needed fixing. I do understand the misery...;) Save the memory of this cold shower for when it's a steaming hot summer day.