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Thread: Very Cold Weather In South 2/10/21

  1. #21
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    DD says they have been without power since midnight and have 6" of snow. Historic to have two snows in one winter there. I imagine a lot of flora and fauna is kaput.

  2. #22
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Just reading about the electricity challenges https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/texas-...ages-1.5914371. I had no idea of the costs of electricity. Does a home electricity bill adjust to the cost under the Texas service or is it simply averaged over a period of time?

    "Electricity prices spike more than 10,000% on the Texas power grid...

    Apart from Texas, much of the United States from the Pacific Northwest through the Great Plains and into the mid-Atlantic states has been in the grip of bone-chilling weather over the weekend, featuring snow, sleet and freezing rain.

    The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has sought to cut power use in response to winter record of 69,150 MW on Sunday evening, more than 3,200 MW higher than the previous winter peak in January 2018.

    Reserves have dropped below 1,000 MW and transmission companies have been ordered to reduce demand on system, ERCOT said.

    "Traffic lights and other infrastructure may be temporarily without power," the agency said on Twitter."

    Having experienced challenging winter conditions, I can empathize and hope for a speedy change in weather conditions for all those impacted.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  3. #23
    Senior Member KayLR's Avatar
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    We had 10 inches here and power out in spots all over the county. Starting to thaw now. Lots of trees broken under the weight of the ice, so lots of debris on the streets. Yesterday I went out for a walk in the morning (with my hiking poles) and you could hear a fir cone drop. So quiet even in the city. No traffic.

    That said, the bridges were and are just treacherous. Someone drove off the 205 bridge into the Columbia yesterday. Probably a spinout, going too fast to get airborne enough to go over. So tragic.

    Supposed to get up into the 40s later and tomorrow, so this should mostly be gone. I just hope what is thawing now does not freeze. I can work from home, thankfully.
    My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!

  4. #24
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    My all-electric house costs about $120 a month.

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by razz View Post
    Just reading about the electricity challenges https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/texas-...ages-1.5914371. I had no idea of the costs of electricity. Does a home electricity bill adjust to the cost under the Texas service or is it simply averaged over a period of time? "Electricity prices spike more than 10,000% on the Texas power grid...
    What that article is quoting is the "spot price" aka the wholesale price electric utility companies pay to power generators. Price per kilowatthour paid by consumers is regulated by government and that regulated price gives companies the right to pass along spot price increases to consumers to some extent.

    Short answer: Price per kilowatt on consumer electric bills will be higher because of this, but not 100 times higher. You're looking at 5-7 days of these prices during a 30 day month during a 365 day year. So on average it all gets averaged out.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveinMN View Post
    I could kiss whoever invented the snowblower.
    I think your type of snowblower would be attributed to Arthur Sicard of Quebec, 1925 Inventeur du chasse-neige.

    Texas is currently the worst state for electric outages, with about 3.8 million customers without power. I believe there are over 100,000 customers without power in LA, OR, and VA.

    http://Poweroutage.us

  7. #27
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    As of latest report 3.6 million customers in Texas are without electric power. Virginia has gotten better since yesterday, but Kentucky has gotten worse.

    I see that State Farm, the largest American insurer for home and auto, is having an outage that began mid-day 2/15. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is ... experiencing an outage.

  8. #28
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    DD's power (outside Austin) has come and gone over the last two days - once for over ten hours. Groceries have reduced hours if open at all, hotels are gouging, pipes are bursting, people are dying and there is still ice everywhere with more cold coming tonight. There is a lot of anger over this has it is seen as blatant mismanagement by the agency that oversees the power grid (ERCOT) which is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation led by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature (Republicans and their good old boys lobbyists). The voters have definitely taken notice...

  9. #29
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    The Houston police department (and no doubt others) are warning residents of criminal victimization by offenders who may come to the entrance of the home dressed as a power company employee. The police warn that any work that legitimate power company employees need to do to restore service can be done outside the dwelling.

    Kyle, TX (and no doubt others) is telling residents that the city is close to running out of water supply. "all water use should be suspended unless needed for emergencies"... It is OK to keep a small stream drip from taps to prevent pipes bursting. Also it is OK to drink the water, but it should be boiled first. Boiling water can be problematic if there is no microwave and no working stovetop. City of Kyle lists local warming shelters and tells residents to call ahead to make sure a space is available. It could be frustrating to use a phone if service is interrupted or it is not possible to charge batteries in a phone set.

  10. #30
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkytoe View Post
    DD's power (outside Austin) has come and gone over the last two days - once for over ten hours. Groceries have reduced hours if open at all, hotels are gouging, pipes are bursting, people are dying and there is still ice everywhere with more cold coming tonight. There is a lot of anger over this has it is seen as blatant mismanagement by the agency that oversees the power grid (ERCOT) which is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation led by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature (Republicans and their good old boys lobbyists). The voters have definitely taken notice...
    There appear to be a number of factors. There is a lot of electricity generated by wind power in TX, and a lot of that capacity is down due to the wind turbines not working due to icing. Apparently the TX utility companies haven't winterized their equipment like they should have. As a result, the natural gas equipment was freezing up. The drop in pressure took the power plants offline...

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