Tag Archives: Power Grid

The U.S. Power Grid Is At Risk Of Catastrophic Failure? by Madge Waggy

Posted on October 17, 2022 | Leave a comment

Yes, it could happen: grid down. From Madge Waggy at sevenwop.home.blog:

(It may be an over-statement to refer to the U.S. power grid as crumbling, but in many parts of the country that’s exactly the case. The North American power grid is old.)

Many of us have experienced a power outage at one time or another. Most of the time the duration of the outage is measured in hours, maybe a day, and in rare instances – a week or more.

The outages also tend to be localized and repairs happen quickly or power is “borrowed” from a nearby utility or network and rerouted to the affected area. The experience is usually a frustrating inconvenience and most hospitals and critical systems have backup power to get through the outage.

But what if…?

What If The National Grid Fails?

It’s never happened in the United States, but some countries have had widespread power outages affecting most of their territory. Russia’s cyber attack on Ukraine’s grid in 2015 knocked about 60 substations offline, leaving 230,000 people in the dark. It was an ominous threat, but once again, the outage only lasted 1 to 6 hours.

It seems like most power outages, regardless of the extent, have a short duration and are only an inconvenience. But there’s a problem.

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JUST IN – PSYOP-POWER-OUTAGE & What Comes Next: California To Declare Level-3 Grid Emergency, One Step Away From Rolling Power Outages, by 2nd Smartest Guy in the World

Posted on September 7, 2022 | Leave a comment

As ye sew so shall ye reap. Stupid policies lead to disastrous outcomes. From 2nd Smartest Guy in the World at secondsmartestguyintheworld.substack.com:

It’s so dire in the ‘new green deal’ state of California that they went from Level-2 to Level-3 grid emergency in just a few hours.

There is no irony in California’s recent declared ban on the sale of all new gas cars by 2035. This is all done by design.

The unsustainable and insulting farce that are electric vehicles which generate far greater pollution, require significantly more “dirty” energy and emit far more CO2 (the only good thing) than any ICE car ever could is yet another component of PSYOP-CLIMATE-CHANGE.

Electric cars will be directly tethered to the social credit score and if the AI threshold for good behavior is for whatever depraved reason not sufficiently met, then the ride share trip (remember, in the future you will happily not own a car, home or your very own body) will be rerouted straight to the reeducation camp. But before this grim reality arrives the power grid must be completely overhauled, which by design it will not be.

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The US Power Grid Can’t Support Its Climate Pledges, by Haley Zaremba

Posted on September 3, 2022 | Leave a comment

Green energy proponents have no magic wand to wave to conjure up battery storage and a compatible power grid. From Haley Zaremba at oilprice.com:

By Haley Zaremba – Sep 01, 2022, 12:00 PM CDT

  • America’s ailing power grid can’t support the country’s climate pledges.
  • While Texas and California are producing enough renewable energy to share with other regions, surplus clean power is doomed to languish on the grid because of the dated infrastructure. 
  • The U.S. desperately needs to invest into creating “smart grids” that are capable of measuring and regulating a constant in- and outflow of energy.

The neglected domestic power grid is standing between the United States and its climate pledges. In many parts of the country, most notably Texas, California, and the Southwest, renewable energy plants are producing enough clean, emissions-free energy to share with other regions – but there’s no way to get it there. Instead, surplus clean energy is doomed to languish on the grid where it was produced instead of being sold to where there is demand. This phenomenon has led to the peculiar outcome of negative energy prices in parts of the country in the midst of a global energy crisis. 

It’s been over a year since Oilprice published an article titled “The U.S. Desperately Needs To Modernize Its Power Grid,” and while President Joe Biden’s administration has thrown considerable money and publicity toward the issue, the need is no less desperate today. More than $400 billion have been allocated for clean energy infrastructure and climate initiatives broadly through last year’s infrastructure bill and this month’s Inflation Reduction Act, but a the U.S. needs to spend $360 billion through 2030 and $2.4 trillion by 2050 on energy transmission systems alone in order to keep up with projected renewable energy expansion, according to a Princeton study from December of 2020.

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Power Company Seizes Control of Thermostats in Colorado During Heatwave, by Paul Joseph Watson

Posted on September 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

We’ll see a lot more stories like this from both the U.S. and Europe. From Paul Joseph Watson at summit.news:

Households locked out under “energy emergency.”

Photo by Alex Tihonov via Getty Images

Around 22,000 households in Colorado lost the ability to control their thermostats after the power company seized control of them during a heatwave.

After temperatures soared past 90 degrees, residents were left confused when they tried to adjust their air conditioning and found locked controls displaying a message that said “energy emergency.”

Xcel confirmed to local news station Denver7 that “22,000 customers who had signed up for the Colorado AC Rewards program were locked out of their smart thermostats for hours on Tuesday.”

“I mean, it was 90 out, and it was right during the peak period,” Tony Talarico told the news station. “It was hot.”

Talarico said he is normally able to override the “energy emergency” message, but not on this occasion.

“So, our thermostat was locked in at 78 or 79,” he said.

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California Asks Residents To Avoid Charging Electric Vehicles Due To Blackout Risk Days After Unveiling New Gas Car Ban, by Ben Zeisloft

Posted on September 1, 2022 | 1 comment

This is too funny, and nobody deserves to be laughed at more than Californians who have left themselves in this hole. From Ben Zeisloft at dailywire.com:

<img src="data:;base64,” alt=”” aria-hidden=”true” />Power lines and transmission towers at sunrise in Crockett, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. On Tuesday -- just as California was preparing to plunge as many as 6 million people into darkness to save the power system from one of the worst heat waves in generations -- blazes torched tens of thousands of acres, forcing people to flee their homes and prompting California Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency only days into the peak of the wildfire season.
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Days ago, officials in California unveiled a plan to phase out new gas-powered cars. Now, officials are asking residents to avoid charging their electric vehicles in the interest of not overwhelming the power grid.

The western United States is facing a likely “prolonged and record heat wave” that could lead to temperatures as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. As a result, the California Independent System Operator is seeking to bring all available resources online to handle higher electricity demand and expects to issue “voluntary energy conservation” notices over the Labor Day weekend.

“The top three conservation actions are to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights,” according to the American Public Power Association. During a “Flex Alert,” residents are encouraged to reduce energy consumption from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm — the hours in which “demand for electricity remains high and there is less solar energy available.”

California also experienced a round of blackouts during last year’s Labor Day weekend. The state issued Flex Alerts because grid operators predicted “an increase in electricity demand, primarily from air conditioning use” related to extreme temperatures.

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Winter Storm Threatens Germany’s Power…Freezing Hell Threatens If Already Rickety Grid Collapses! by P. Gosselin

Posted on February 8, 2021 | Leave a comment

Whatever the merits of solar and wind power, they unambiguously weaken power grids. Germany may pay the price for its infatuation with green technologies. From P. Gosselin at wattsupwiththat.com:

Green energy and COVID-19 lockdowns are playing energy Russian roulette with people’s lives. Perfect winter storm brewing. 

A winter blizzard is set to strike Central Europe, bringing with it the potential to wreak power outage havoc. Temperatures will plummet to as low as -15°C accompanied by bone-chilling high winds. Closed shops due to COVID-19 are leaving citizens unprepared. A protracted power outage would be devastating. 

In the coming hours, a high pressure system situated over Scandinavia and storm Tristan to the south will collide over central Europe and develop into dangerous weather conditions over one of Europe’s most populated regions, North Rhine Westphalia Germany.

There are some major problems with this storm that will test the German power grid stability and even possibly the citizens’ ability to fend for themselves.

Power grid at risk: hours of freezing rain

First will be the band of freezing rain that is forecast across the Ruhr region of North Rhine Westphalia. According to Kachelmannwetter.de, the freezing rain period could last hours and thus lead to heavy weight loads on power transmission structures as ice builds up. Lines could collapse.

High winds – even heavier loads

To make matters worse, high winds will further exacerbate the loads on the already ice-coated power transmission infrastructure – thus increasing the probability of power line structural failure and an ensuing power blackout, which in turn could cascade and threaten the European power grid.

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