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Shut offs begin: PG&E Imposes Mass Blackouts

#1
Secular Sanity Offline
Shut offs begin: PG&E Imposes Mass Blackouts

"The utility’s estimates for outages included 32,680 customers in Alameda; 51,310 in Contra Costa; 9,855 in Marin; 32,124 in Napa; 14,766 in San Mateo; 38,250 in Santa Clara; 32,863 in Solano; and 66,289 in Sonoma. A single customer account might be a residence or business with multiple people, so the true number of people who lose power is likely far more than the 800,000-customer figure PG&E shared — possibly into the millions.

The outages could last until next Tuesday, and perhaps even longer, for some customers. The company will have to inspect all of the power lines it turns off, while fixing any damage it finds, and that can’t happen until the weather calms in most places on Thursday, according to PG&E. Officials said the job would require an "army" of workers in trucks, in helicopters and on foot."

The fire danger forecast is high Wednesday through Saturday. Dammit!

They're just trying to teach us a lesson.  Sad
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#2
billvon Offline
(Oct 9, 2019 02:22 PM)Secular Sanity Wrote: Shut offs begin: PG&E Imposes Mass Blackouts

"The utility’s estimates for outages included 32,680 customers in Alameda; 51,310 in Contra Costa; 9,855 in Marin; 32,124 in Napa; 14,766 in San Mateo; 38,250 in Santa Clara; 32,863 in Solano; and 66,289 in Sonoma. A single customer account might be a residence or business with multiple people, so the true number of people who lose power is likely far more than the 800,000-customer figure PG&E shared — possibly into the millions.

Yep.  Going to drive a lot of residential solar + storage system sales.
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#3
Zinjanthropos Offline
Can you say "Blackout" without offending anyone?

We have lots of hydro here in Niagara. Want some? We actually have large excess that we pay the USA to take. Why you might ask. Because the extra is back up in case one of our nuclear power generating plants goes down.
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#4
Yazata Offline
Do you have power where you are, SS? Are they planning to shut it off?

I live in a suburban area and the power is slated to remain on where my house is. But some nearby areas and all the outlying rural areas are reportedly being cut off. (The Santa Cruz mountains in my case. Lots of people live there.)

I figured that something like this would happen when PG&E was blamed for some of the more destructive fires and hit with huge fines and lawsuits that drove the company to bankruptcy. It was pretty much inevitable.

In the map below (from the San Francisco Chronicle), the yellow areas are areas being shut off. Pretty much all of the interior North Bay, with the exception of Marin and west Sonoma. In the Valley, Chico and Butte county, Redding and Red Bluff. And most of the Sierra foothills. Here in the Bay Area, the Santa Cruz mountains and much of the East Bay it looks like. It's big. 800,000 customers will translate to well over a million individuals, maybe several million. Plus lots of businesses. 


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(Oct 9, 2019 06:25 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: Can you say "Blackout" without offending anyone?

We have lots of hydro here in Niagara. Want some? We actually have large excess that we pay the USA to take. Why you might ask. Because the extra is back up in case one of our nuclear power generating plants goes down.

The problem isn't a shortage of electricity. It's the danger that if high winds bring down an energized power line somewhere, it might spark a fire. It's kind of impossible to prevent that, short of a hideously expensive rebuild of the entire system that would take years to complete, so if the electric company is going to face being driven out of business if any fires occur, then they will just stop supplying electricity during periods of fire danger. Which might mean months.

Fires will still happen since things like lightening and human carelessness will continue to start them, but the electric company will be out of the legal and legislative line of fire.
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#5
Secular Sanity Offline
(Oct 9, 2019 06:58 PM)Yazata Wrote: Do you have power where you are, SS? Are they planning to shut it off?

Yeah, mine is out. They said it could last for a week because they have to inspect the lines before they can restore it. I had an appointment scheduled to have a whole house backup generator installed on Monday but the guy was sick. He wanted to reschedule for Tuesday but I had to do some title research at the county clerks office. I’m kicking myself in the ass right now because my well needs power, too. So, I’m without water and power. I stored some late last night, though. I do have a generator, it's just not hooked up to my house, but I can run a cord if I have to. Town was crazy. Everyone was scrambling for supplies and the lines at the gas pumps were ridiculous. Looked like the end of days.
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#6
Yazata Offline
The Pleasanton Police Department (Pleasonton is an East Bay suburb) has this on their facebook page:


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Along with a list of suggestions (in the link below):

Which include... Use your cell phone light to frantically search for your one flashlight. It will be dead of course. It needs four batteries but you only have three. and...

Plug your cell phone into its charger. Then think "duh, the power's off"...

And... Call 911 to ask when the power is coming back on. Our dispatchers are very good, but they can't see into the future. So they will say they don't know and disconnect you, so that they can answer the 100 other calls asking when the power will be back.

https://www.facebook.com/PleasantonPolic...=3&theater

It's turned "viral"! Some people don't like it, but most are laughing and sharing it.

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/10/09/...-opinions/

"I'm in Sonoma County and someone posted this. It is exactly what I needed to see right now. My feed is overwhelmed with fear-mongering power shut off stuff and I needed this laugh," one person wrote.

Another person even seems to be contemplating a move to the city after reading the post. "That's it, I'm moving to Pleasanton where it may be warm but the Police are cool".
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#8
Secular Sanity Offline
(Oct 9, 2019 07:59 PM)C C Wrote: Sounds like one of the few times when living in Senegal or Pitcairn Island might be preferable.

Yeah, no kidding.

When I get my generator installed, I might just power off for the hell of it.

Hey, maybe I’ll organize a boycott. Drop their stocks even lower.

Do you want to hear something interesting? I was researching a few parcels yesterday and one of them had some restrictions tacked on, e.g., no chickens, goats, etc. The restrictions were carried over in a 1973 tittle exchange, and I shit you not, it said that you could only have Caucasian servants. Weird, huh?

Well, I better save my battery so I can watch movies tonight.

Ciao. Big Grin
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#9
Yazata Offline
It looks like the outage areas are expanding. Now it's all the way from Bakersfield and Santa Maria in the south to Eureka and Arcata in the north. Large parts of Marin have been added.

Channel 2 TV news quoted somebody as saying that each PG&E electric customer includes three people on average. So 800,000 customers without power translates to 2.4 million people. And I suspect that 800,000 customer number has grown considerably. It might be upwards of 3 million people now.

https://abc7news.com/society/list-areas-...a/5603558/
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#10
C C Offline
(Oct 9, 2019 10:17 PM)Yazata Wrote: It looks like the outage areas are expanding. Now it's all the way from Bakersfield and Santa Maria in the south to Eureka and Arcata in the north. Large parts of Marin have been added.

Channel 2 TV news quoted somebody as saying that each PG&E electric customer includes three people on average. So 800,000 customers without power translates to 2.4 million people. And I suspect that 800,000 customer number has grown considerably. It might be upwards of 3 million people now.

https://abc7news.com/society/list-areas-...a/5603558/


It's almost as if one part of the body of 34 counties is showing the other parts who the real boss is.

You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Slim the electric company.

--Jim Croce

"So you want to blame us for wildfires? Go ahead..."
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