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California In Power Grid Emergency: “All Customers Should Expect 14 Days Without Power”

California In Power Grid Emergency: “All Customers Should Expect 14 Days Without Power” thumbnail

The entire Los Angeles metropolitan area and most of Southern California can expect blackouts this summer.

The power grid is under direct threat as a result of the unprecedented, but little reported, massive natural gas leaks at Alisco Canyon that was ongoing for  four months as an intense summer heat wave sets in.

According to Reuters:

California will have its first test of plans to keep the lights on this summer…

With record-setting heat and air conditioning demand expected in Southern California, the state’s power grid operator issued a so-called “flex alert,” urging consumers to conserve energy to help prevent rotating power outages – which could occur regardless.

Electricity demand is expected to rise during the unseasonable heatwave on Monday and Tuesday, with forecast system-wide use expected to top 45,000 megawatts, said the California Independent System Operator (ISO), which manages electricity flow through the state. That compares with a peak demand of 47,358 MW last year and the all-time high of 50,270 MW set in July 2006.

That could put stress on the power grid, particularly with the shut-in of Aliso Canyon, following a massive leak at the underground storage facility in October [Editor’s Note: which was not stopped fully until mid-February 2016].

The large-scale natural gas disaster – which curiously escaped media frenzy and widespread environmental concern – has resulted in the shutdown of key storage facilities that supply most of the power for the southern portion of the state.

As summer demand for electricity to cool homes and businesses kicks into high gear, power plants are planning to shut down, with supply shortages triggering controlled blackouts and brownouts.

Reports say that “all customers” should expect to be without power a total 14 days – 2 weeks time – out of this summer. Some 21 million Californians stand to be directly affected:

All customers, including homes, hospitals, oil refineries and airports are at risk of losing power at some point this summer because a majority of electric generating stations in California use gas as their primary fuel. In April, millions of electric customers in Southern California were warned they could suffer power outages on up to 14 days this summer due to the closure.

[…]

Unlike some other gas transmission systems that can store large amounts of so-called linepack gas in pipelines, like PG&E Corp in northern California, SoCalGas cannot function with only pipeline or storage supplies.

Planned rolling brownouts have been done on a regular basis in Southern California since the days of Enron and the California energy crisis of 200o-2001, but the situation is getting more dire.

As demand spikes, customers can expect to pay more for electricity, even as supplies threaten to be cut off, leaving families, residents and businesses in the dark.

All this, as California’s historic drought problems continue to plague the state and restrict available services.

As Tess Pennington notes:

This puts stress of the other electrical grids who then compensate for the loss of energy to that existing grid. When these events take place, there is an overwhelming increase of power in homes and commerce to either generate heat, air conditioning or electricity. When this need overwhelms the grid, the utility company intentionally “shuts off the power to an area in order to reduce the load on an electricity generation and grid. The utility company turns it back on, and then shuts the power off in a different area, with outages in any given area typically lasting 60 to 90 minutes, according to the California Energy Commission. This is a last resort measure of utility companies to avoid an even worse situation — a total power blackout.

Of course, there is plenty of room for unplanned blackouts as well, as an increasingly vulnerable power grid nears the perfect conditions for a grid down scenario.

In the worst case scenario, these massive power outages, particularly if they are sustained for longer periods (authorities estimate up to 2 weeks without electricity is likely, though not necessarily in consecutive days), could interrupt other vital services – including grocery deliveries, water, gasoline at the pumps, and even communications.

The larger question is whether or not they want the grid to fail.

It is simple economic fact that the power companies stand to make more money of a power shortages during a crisis than they do during abundant and cheap energy.

Homeland Security and other government agencies have been preparing in secret for a grid disaster for several years now

Former DHS secretary Janet Napolitano ominously warned ahead of the Grid Ex II multi-agency drill that an unprecedented collapse of the power grid is imminent, and could result from a cyber attack, an EMP or a massive natural disaster:

The outgoing Homeland Security Secretary has a warning for her successor: A massive and “serious” cyber attack on the U.S. homeland is coming, and a natural disaster — the likes of which the nation has never seen — is also likely on its way.

[…]

 

An electrical grid joint drill simulation is being planned in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Thousands of utility workers, FBI agents, anti-terrorism experts, governmental agencies, and more than 150 private businesses are involved in the November power grid drill.

 

If the power grid fails, a lack of electricity and food delivery are only the first wave of troubles facing the American people. Police could face major problems with civil unrest. Of course, there also would not be any electric heating or cooling, which easily could lead to many deaths depending on the season. (source)

It seems that it is a matter of when, not if.

That’s why having an off-grid, alternative source of energy is essential for any prepper or level-headed individual, though many communities are now discouraging solar by requiring that it be connected to the grid and regulated by energy companies.

At a minimum, with an admitted potential for two weeks with the light out, you should have a one month supply of food for your family, as well as basic emergency supplies (including candles, flashlights, batteries and other light sources).

It is also prudent to:

  1. Follow energy conservation measures to keep the use of electricity as low as possible, which can help power companies avoid imposing rolling blackouts.
  2. Look into alternative power sources to supply your home with power.
  3. Have ways to prepare food off the grid.
  4. Keep your car tank at least half full because gas stations rely on electricity to power their pumps.
  5. Be aware that most medication that requires refrigeration can be kept in a closed refrigerator for several hours without a problem. If unsure, check with your physician or pharmacist.
  6. Know where the manual release lever of your electric garage door opener is located and how to operate it. Garage doors can be heavy, so know that you may need help to lift it.
  7. Keep a key to your house with you if you regularly use the garage as the primary means of entering your home, in case the garage door will not open.
  8. Have money on hand in case stores are not processing credit cards.

(Among other good ideas. Read more from Tess Pennington’s Are You Ready Series: Rolling Blackouts and Power Outages)

This isn’t just planning for the possible, this is planning for the inevitable, and even the California authorities admit it.

SHTFPlan.com



70 Comments on "California In Power Grid Emergency: “All Customers Should Expect 14 Days Without Power”"

  1. PracticalMaina on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 10:47 am 

    Ghung, I have a relative who had good success with a llama for a guard animal for sheep, not sure how they compare to a donkey for ease of management ect. Just throwing it out there, the donkey wont spit at you at least.

  2. Elmer Fudd on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 10:47 am 

    What?? I thought all the Californicators just plugged their latte machines into a current bush??
    Well I’ll be, learn something everyday.

  3. PracticalMaina on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 11:03 am 

    They will be fine until climate change dries lake Mead, than the southwest will be on the fast track to Venezuela.

  4. Apneaman on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 11:08 am 

    It was the “pavement” what caused the record rain fall totals – yeah that sounds good. Pavement and over development caused the heavens to open up. That’s texass science kids.

    April, May and June set rainfall records for Houston

    http://www.chron.com/news/houston-weather/article/May-and-June-set-rainfall-records-for-Houston-8102961.php

  5. Apneaman on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 11:23 am 

    The Insane Southwest Heat Wave Is Just the Beginning
    Climate change is making record-breaking temperatures much more likely.

    http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/06/high-temps-scorch-southwest

  6. Apneaman on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 11:27 am 

    HEAT WAVE CAUSES RECORD-BREAKING POWER USE IN LOS ANGELES

    “Among the high power use, many areas also experienced power outages, including more than 1,000 people in Sylmar. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power restored power to many of the 1,100 customers left without electricity by Tuesday morning, but continued to work on full restoration.”

    “The LADWP urges customers to continue trying to conserve energy amid the hot temperatures.”

    http://abc7.com/news/heat-wave-causes-record-breaking-power-use-in-la/1394592/

    Fron climate change – NOT a gas shortage.

  7. Dustin Hoffman on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 11:47 am 

    Had a pet goat as a kid and it was indeed almost impossible to contain. My father had it enclosed 6/7 foot high fence and it managed to climb over it.
    Goats can be very destructive to the landscape. In Charlotte North Carolina, where I once lived, a person had a herd to rent out to clear out Kudzu from any landholders property. Actually, there is a video clip on YouTube that shows them in action. Clears it out in a matter of days. Look at the barren landscape of Greece, which was once forested, goats had a part in stripping it down. They can be locusts…

  8. PracticalMaina on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 11:51 am 

    Locust that are efficient sources of protein, as are locust really. You say barren landscape of Greece, I see a country that has continuously supported agriculture for a significant time period.

  9. PracticalMaina on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 11:52 am 

    Ha *goats are efficient sources

  10. Davy on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 12:08 pm 

    Short, I have a little buckling named “Dinner”. He is obnoxious little shit that will make tasty goat cubes for my goat stew.

  11. Dustin Hoffman on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 12:54 pm 

    Just did a quick search Practmania on found

    When we speak about grazing it is very important what kind of animals are used. But in problematic regions we often have slippery slope. In best pastures people keep horses and cattle, sheep as I understand can live in worse conditions. Unfortunately one of the hardiest animals are goats. People in many countries keep goats in worst pastures, on the mountain slopes or dry semi deserts. Goats are especially destructive, they eat last shrubs, sometimes they pull even roots and eat them. So when goats are finished we have brand new dessert. It happened in the past, unfortunately it still happens now.

    Growing Goat Herds Signal Global Grassland Decline : TreeHugger

    So basically yes, soil erosion can be one of the reasons for decline of the ancient civilizations.
    Read the rest of backup here, bye

    http://historum.com/ancient-history/71587-did-soil-erosion-cause-decline-ancient-greece-3.html

  12. Terry on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 12:59 pm 

    I am glad they are shutting down the coal plants here in Montana and in Wyoming. Now California won’t be alone with the rolling blackouts

  13. PracticalMaina on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 1:41 pm 

    Dustin Hoffman, any grazing creature will eat until it decimates an area if not given enough area and or food. You and I would be digging up roots if it was all we could get.

  14. ghung on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 3:03 pm 

    @Dustin Hoffman: Any ruminant/grazing animal will destroy its pasture land given enough time and too little pasture. Indeed, horses are the worst because they rip up the roots as they graze. They need more land per animal than many other grazers; 1-2 acres if careful rotational grazing is done. Some of the nicest pastures I’ve seen are hillsides rotating in cattle followed by goats since the cattle will graze down the grass and goats generally like everything else. The key is to not allow overgrazing of any one section.

    Davy and I are/have both been involved with rotational grazing. In my case, I’ve been doing it with cattle over 45 years (less the last ten) and have attended numerous pasture management and rotational grazing workshops. I also live in an area where grasses and weeds generally recover faster than they can be controlled. Planning on working 3-4 goats per acre eventually, on about 20 acres. We also have acreage where we cut hay, and they’ll be grazing the weeds after the hay harvests.

    The extension agent and the top NC state goat guru (who has been raising goats over 50 years) called for a maximum of 6-8 goats per acre on our place, rotationally grazed. We get over 65 inches of rain annually on average and, if left ungrazed or unmowed, our pastures return to new forest in about 5 years. Indeed, I’ll use goats to reclaim some overgrown pasture on our place.

  15. Davy on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 3:30 pm 

    One addition to Ghung comment. One of the most efficient and simplest way to convert solar energy into useful calories for human benefit is grazing animals. If you graze animals without overgrazing and don’t feed them grain you are utilizing a natural renewable resource. You are maintaining pasture and feeding people. The grazing of animals gets a bad wrap because of overgrazing and industrialized meat production. These are a far cry from responsible animal husbandry in a grazing system of grass fed animals. This is something many of us can do in addition to gardening.

    My wife is from the Dolomites of Northern Italy. I was over there a few years ago to a small town high in the mountains near the Austrian border. There was an informational sign describing the amount and type of animals that this village raised around the time of WW1. There were far more animals than people in this town. There were multiple different kinds of animals. My point here is besides the gardening that we all must return to many of us should consider animals.

  16. Apneaman on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 4:04 pm 

    Broken weather record – starting to sound like a broken record.

    4 dead in record rainfall in quake-battered Kumamoto

    http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201606210018.html

  17. Dustin Hoffman on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 4:24 pm 

    Practmania…seems you did not bother to read the article link….any…many…
    Woulda..coulda..shoulda…I’ll add that one to your list…again bye

  18. Apneaman on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 5:25 pm 

    Dead Trees Adding to California Firefighters’ Battle

    “With drought and climate change conspiring to push California’s summer wildfire season into premature overdrive, the state’s lead wildfire agency has acquired a multimillion dollar arsenal to help it cope with unprecedented numbers of dying trees.

    California recently bought $6 million worth of chippers, mobile sawmills, portable incinerators and other equipment to help its firefighters remove some of the nearly 30 million trees that now stand dead across the state, killed by drought and insects.”

    http://www.climatecentral.org/news/california-firefighters-wrangling-with-dead-trees-20471

  19. Apneaman on Wed, 22nd Jun 2016 5:58 pm 

    After mega-heatwave, Los Angeles faces mega-wildfire

    http://grist.org/news/after-mega-heatwave-los-angeles-faces-mega-wildfire/

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJwHZVl5Buk

  20. PracticalMaina on Thu, 23rd Jun 2016 8:36 am 

    Dustin you linked a forum, I am not impressed. Not sure what the rest of your rambling was about.

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