Planned power outages hit cold, storm-hit North Texas

KLBJAM in Austin just announced that the rolling blackouts are over. The Guv said that they were due to about 50 plants having frozen pipes, maintenance problems, various problems. They're now fixed so no more blackouts. Mofo continued with a call to continue conserving power so that it won't happen again.

On a side note: If you're in Austin you gotta listen to Jeff Ward today. The theme is Austin Blizzard 2011, covering all the panic in the streets, also including rolling voice outs from time to time. 590 AM




Jeff Ward Safety Tip for Rolling Blackouts: get your electrical tape, wrap yourself up in it, tuck and roll.

Originally posted by kim0217


today in dallas we've had 9 power outages i have the worce feeling that this bad weather has just started and were in a world of hell coming this year why is the goverment taking power from us as is it feels like its -1 outside with no heat i would love to know what makes them have the power to dictate who has power and who dose not

www.mcclatchydc.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I can under stand having to shut down out some area's for a while. THINK ABOUT IT!!! Air conditioners running 24/7 non stop in every occupied home + all the people that are staying home because of the cold are on their computers ect instead of out side or shoping. Do you want the power plant to fail? Its Texas this weather is not normal, im sure the power plants are not made to take all this stress. Their is another cold front next week, at least for Texas (as far as i know) I really hope this does not continue.

Originally posted by thehoneycomb
I am in Houston and have been experiencing them as well, no ice or snow however, it's windy and probably about 50º outside.

35F

Mayor Leffingwell just announced that NONE of the rolling blackouts in Austin were due to power problems in Austin. He stressed that ALL the problem plants were in OTHER cities but that Austin had to comply with the ordered blackouts anyway. Total political CYA, the city owns the power company in Austin and the mayor doesn't want anyone to blame him come election day.

Another Jeff Ward Side Note: If the rolling blackouts had continued and should one have happened during American Idol more people than EVER would know Mayor Leffingwell's name, Lol. Riot in the streets....

I don't get what there's to get. There's no conspiracy here, and nothing really seems to be that far out of the norm tbh. I'm in Frisco, TX. Have experienced one ~25 minute blackout and immediately understood the cause/reason behind it. This is freaking common sense, people, isn't it?? Stupid people attempt to keep their inside homes at the same temperature whether it's 50 degrees outside or 17 degrees. That's just retarded. As a result, the power demand shows potential overloads, so the utility company rolls areas in waves of blackouts. Kinda like the stupid people that think they can "go forth and multiply" in the 21st century. Because you're too stupid to do what's best, the elite are performing "rolling blackouts" all over your asses.

Think.

Update: Mayor Leffingwell just made another statement. Now he says that the rolling black outs will quite likely continue tonight and tomorrow morning. He says that he was wrong, that there are still some problems with some of the power plants in The State, but he reiterated that NONE of the problems were with the Austin plants.

Wow, what a circus. What's he gonna do if it does go out during American Idol or prime time on Facebook? Jeff Ward was right, people will remember him for this, especially on election day.

im sorry i wont be posting any more ill just read thought it was odd that only certain places where cut off and the rest didn't get a single power shortage

Ha, I was standing in my bedroom just out of the shower this morning at 6am ish...dropped my towel...and the lights went off. I could not see where my clothes were, just stood there like WTF! Groped around an area in the room where I knew I had thrown some clothes the day before.
Couldn't they have told us on the news the night before that they might be doing the rolling blackouts so I could at least have had a flashlight handy or a candle burning for some light. Trying to get ready for work with no light isn't fun.
Thank god for electricity!

Originally posted by kim0217
im sorry i wont be posting any more ill just read thought it was odd that only certain places where cut off and the rest didn't get a single power shortage

Sorry you had so many outages today, but most likely they were local outages due to broken tree limbs, downed lines, blown fuses all due to the extreme weather. Your house Rep. is going to open an investigation to verify that. According to the Star Telegram newspaper's article on the outages only one rolling outage per household, any others might be due to the weather.

And also, according to the article politics are involved in this, deregulation seems to be involved. Have a read. The article only touches on this, really just implies it but it seems integral to the whole situation imo. Classic Texas politics.

www.star-telegram.com...

Oh, and keep posting, threads are always full of different view points,

STM

reply to post by unityemissions


You know............not all of us, that HAVE to keep the heat up, are stupid, as you say!!

I'm in Lubbock, TX. It has been from -5 to -17 degrees here since yesterday. All day yesterday and into last night, I keep the temp around 70. Then flipped out on my elderly mother when she had the nerve to say she was cold. Flipped out because I do not know how we can afford an extremely high electric bill.

You see, we are on a fixed income because I had to quit work when mom was diagnosed with cancer last March. I managed to get on with a health provider and make some $$ as mom's provider (caretaker). But my income has dropped, since 2009, from $30,000+ a year to less the $12,000. Needless to say, we just get by each month. So, I was really sweating the frigid temps.

Since that moment last night where, IMHO, I had a lapse in judgment....I have kept my mother as warm as she wants to be and will continue to do so until it is all over!!!! She has been through more than enough in the last year and I will be damned if I will let her freeze!! She has lost ALOT of her body weight and is cold most the time but this extreme cold was making her ill......me, too, I just had not really noticed.

Hell, I was not able to sleep until around 4am because, even with 2 layers of bed clothes and 3 blankets, I was too damn cold to sleep!!! To hell with that!!! Do not get me wrong......I will work it out with the electric company to pay whatever the bill is and I am so grateful for electricty!! I really believe an extended period of this kind of cold would be the death of most the population - once the major power outages would start. We are a very spoiled generation.....most people could not survive it.

But, all of us are not stupid people...........just thought I would say.

I live in Houston, we had them as well, and the temperature was in the high 20's and low 30's throughout the day.

Power & Praise
SJ

Lived here 50yrs never seen this, sure the population has grown but still felt like i was in a 3rd world country this morning. and they sure don't cut any slack on the bill lol...

Rolling blackouts are the result of weak spots in the grid (sub-stations or series of transformers) that are unable to handle the increased load. If the blackouts were not controlled, those sub-stations or transformers could go out for a lot longer than one hour.

On the other hand, I have experienced a different type of rolling blackout that was the result of Mr.Corona and Mr. Cuervo!

Originally posted by Champagne
reply to post by unityemissions

 

You know............not all of us, that HAVE to keep the heat up, are stupid, as you say!!

I'm in Lubbock, TX. It has been from -5 to -17 degrees here since yesterday. All day yesterday and into last night, I keep the temp around 70. Then flipped out on my elderly mother when she had the nerve to say she was cold. Flipped out because I do not know how we can afford an extremely high electric bill.

You see, we are on a fixed income because I had to quit work when mom was diagnosed with cancer last March. I managed to get on with a health provider and make some $$ as mom's provider (caretaker). But my income has dropped, since 2009, from $30,000+ a year to less the $12,000. Needless to say, we just get by each month. So, I was really sweating the frigid temps.

Since that moment last night where, IMHO, I had a lapse in judgment....I have kept my mother as warm as she wants to be and will continue to do so until it is all over!!!! She has been through more than enough in the last year and I will be damned if I will let her freeze!! She has lost ALOT of her body weight and is cold most the time but this extreme cold was making her ill......me, too, I just had not really noticed.

Hell, I was not able to sleep until around 4am because, even with 2 layers of bed clothes and 3 blankets, I was too damn cold to sleep!!! To hell with that!!! Do not get me wrong......I will work it out with the electric company to pay whatever the bill is and I am so grateful for electricty!! I really believe an extended period of this kind of cold would be the death of most the population - once the major power outages would start. We are a very spoiled generation.....most people could not survive it.

But, all of us are not stupid people...........just thought I would say.

edit on 2/2/2011 by Champagne because: (no reason given)

Well said my friend.

I agree..
We are spoiled as hell.. and most definitely would not survive a major outage.

Hell..
Ive already seen 2 or 3 people in this thread say how they "Panicked" because they thought they could not have their morning coffee!

If you people are panicking over that..
Good god..
Please don't be near me when TS really HTF. lol

Champagne..
I hope you and your mum are alright..
and continue to be alright.
Blessings.

As we move closer to the peak of our solar activity, these blackouts will become more frequent and at different times of year both hot and cold.

Consider this a preparedness for the culling of the herds.

If you want to become part of the culling then continue to rely on outside sources for your lives.

It's that simple.

Family blames brother's death on rotating outages

Caldwell's sister received a frantic call from him early Wednesday morning. He, too, did not have power, therefore cutting off the oxygen he sleeps with every night.

abclocal.go.com.../local&id=7936394

reply to post by Ahmose
Ha! You really think this Texan isn't prepared if the shtf based on one flip comment that I made? Judging someone on one comment doesn't fly. Oh, and btw, I've won organic gardening awards, been interviewed on tv about survival gardening, had blogs written about my gardening techniques, I'm literally the food lady that can grow anything just about anywhere and lots of it within a small space. Also I know how to build the solar devices that have been mentioned along with many other necessary skills. This morning just downright ticked me off when the power went off, this neighborhood has been plagued with electrical problems lately and the HOA doesn't allow solar panels, I'm going to move soon.

reply to post by Champagne


Uh, it was a generalization, and an apt one at that. There's always exceptions to the rule.

You actually mistook my words, for what I said wouldn't have included you, now would it? I said stupid people can't comprehend to lower the temp when it's really cold. You don't seem to fit into that category, and have the temperature set to 70 because you think it's necessary for your mothers well being in her current state. I understand this, and am sure most others would as well.

I'm sorry that your mother is unwell.

if you have the money go and buy a kerosene heater. a few years ago we had an ice storm here power was down for over a week but i wisely bought a kerosene heater for my shop as long as diesel was flowing i was able to stay warm all my neighbors had to wether the cold with no heat