New York's Near Zombie Apocalypse (Page 1/5)
Raydar DEC 01, 12:20 PM
From the article...
New York’s Near Zombie Apocalypse
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The city came close to an electric grid shutdown last winter.

Article

Imagine if nearly half of New York City lost heat for months during the winter. That’s not the plot of a new survival drama. Such a catastrophe nearly occurred last Christmas, according to an alarming recent report by energy regulators that deserves more attention.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation last month published a 168-page review of the electricity and natural gas problems during winter storm Elliott last December. It was the fifth time in 11 years that power plant failures caused by cold weather jeopardized grid reliability.

<snip>

The New York Independent System Operator reported this week that the Empire State would need to rely on power plants that can switch to burning oil during the winter into the next decade owing to gas shortages and lulls in offshore wind. Another problem: “EV charging load is higher on colder days due to reduced battery efficiency and reduced EV range in cold temperature.”

You’d think all this would be news given the growing risks of grid failure, but such talk is taboo among those who want the U.S. economy to run solely on electricity driven by wind and solar energy. Don’t say New Yorkers weren’t warned.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 12-01-2023).]

rinselberg DEC 01, 02:33 PM
"Biden’s got a plan for ramping up energy transmission"

quote
The White House wants Congress to pass permitting reform. In case that doesn’t work, it’s tapping DOE’s authority to make it easier to build transmission.


Jeff St John for Canary Media; May 17, 2023.
https://www.canarymedia.com...-energy-transmission


These problems in New York State could fall within the scope of the Inflation Reduction Act, in so far as finding federal funds to help finance the remedies.

Speculation, on my part. But not uninformed speculation.

[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 12-01-2023).]

Zeb DEC 01, 03:31 PM
It would serve them right for laughing at Texas. Not that I'm in a better position in New Jersey.

This should be a warning to everybody. But grid operators are private companies, so if it doesn't help their bottom line, it ain't gonna happen. Did any power company people go to jail in Texas?
Raydar DEC 01, 04:25 PM

quote
Originally posted by Zeb:

It would serve them right for laughing at Texas. Not that I'm in a better position in New Jersey.

This should be a warning to everybody. But grid operators are private companies, so if it doesn't help their bottom line, it ain't gonna happen. Did any power company people go to jail in Texas?



I used to work for the power company in Georgia. I'm not going to say I laughed at Texas. But I did shake my head. California too.
The screw-ups in Texas are really basic stuff, that they didn't have a contingency for. (AFAIK, there were only two major interconnects to the grid, outside of Texas. And one of those was severely impaired during the winter storms of a few years ago.)
A power company just can't be totally self-sufficient, without the ability to depend on "assistance", in the form of "bought" energy from outside their system. It's dumb, and arrogant.

But that's not really the same situation that's happening with Con-Ed. Con-Ed's issues are more like California's. The "greenie" legislators have got them hamstrung - albeit in different ways.

Edit - The grid operators in Texas are pretty much autonomous. As I understand it, they don't answer to any of the federal agencies, that help to ensure reliability of the electric system.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 12-01-2023).]

Raydar DEC 01, 04:51 PM

quote
Originally posted by rinselberg:

These problems in New York State could fall within the scope of the Inflation Reduction Act, in so far as finding federal funds to help finance the remedies.




New York was not even mentioned in the text of the article, although I suppose that could change. All that was mentioned was the west and midwest. But only in the context of wind power.
I think they're barking up the wrong tree. Wind and solar are not the end-all, be-all that they wish they were.
All they're good for is "peaking" capacity. In reality, "base-load" capacity is what they need to be improving. But nobody is listening...
cliffw DEC 02, 09:00 AM

quote
Originally posted by Raydar:
I used to work for the power company in Georgia. I'm not going to say I laughed at Texas. But I did shake my head.

The screw-ups in Texas are really basic stuff, that they didn't have a contingency for. (AFAIK, there were only two major interconnects to the grid, outside of Texas. And one of those was severely impaired during the winter storms of a few years ago.)
A power company just can't be totally self-sufficient, without the ability to depend on "assistance", in the form of "bought" energy from outside their system. It's dumb, and arrogant.



Educate me. I have lived here since 1968. The snow geddon a few years ago, which for me provided a two hour cut off every couple of hours a day.
I do not understand how it is impossible for us to get outside help.


quote
Originally posted by Raydar:
Edit - The grid operators in Texas are pretty much autonomous. As I understand it, they don't answer to any of the federal agencies, that help to ensure reliability of the electric system.



I like it that way. The King Federal Government has too much say in my life.
cliffw DEC 02, 09:03 AM

quote
Originally posted by rinselberg:
These problems in New York State could fall within the scope of the Inflation Reduction Act, in so far as finding federal funds to help finance the remedies.



The Inflation Reduction Act, ?

How does it reduce inflation ?

[This message has been edited by cliffw (edited 12-02-2023).]

Raydar DEC 02, 04:24 PM

quote
Originally posted by cliffw:

Educate me. I have lived here since 1968. The snow geddon a few years ago, which for me provided a two hour cut off every couple of hours a day.
I do not understand how it is impossible for us to get outside help.



I'm not talking about physical assistance. People can always roll trucks.

I'm talking about transmission line interconnections to the "rest of the world, outside Texas". The more interconnections you have, the more electricity you'll be able to buy from surrounding grids, and the more reliable that power will be. (A single transmission line can only supply so much power.)
AFAIK, as I said before, Texas only has TWO transmission lines that cross between Texas and "outside". The one in the south, that crosses the Mississippi river, was down for quite a while, so that left one connection intact. (If someone knows differently, about the number of interconnects, please let me know. Nobody has ever challenged me. I *hope* I'm wrong.)
The reason for the cutoffs (they call them "rolling blackouts") was that there was not enough generating capacity to supply everyone at once. So they supplied you for a while, then they switched your area off, and supplied another area. After a couple hours, they switched those guys off, and switched your area back on.
More transmission interconnections would have made more electricity available. The blackouts could have been prevented - or at least minimized.

This has nothing to do with the poles and lines that were down locally, due to trees falling, and such. THAT'S what rolling trucks in would be useful for.
But with the minimized generation capacity, many of those places would have still been in the dark. Or at least subject to the rolling blackouts. That may have made your outages last three or four hours, instead of just two.


quote

I like it that way. The King Federal Government has too much say in my life.



I get it. But I think there's a place/need for some oversight of critical infrastructure. (I worked for the power company in GA. All the regs that I ever saw - including the "red book" that the grid operators used - were purely for reliability. Not a bunch of bureaucratic silliness.)
Of course, Texas isn't going to be told what to do. So, have it your way, and maybe deal with this stupidity again. No skin off my azz. None at all.

I'll bet none of the ERCOT bigwigs had to sit in the dark, for even two hours.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 12-02-2023).]

ray b DEC 29, 10:42 AM

quote
Originally posted by cliffw:


The Inflation Reduction Act, ?

How does it reduce inflation ?




unlike Gop programs to fight inflation that make the rich richer every time
and rob the workers

joe's programs is working
if the nut-conned would ever stop the rump worship
and believing every lie from the rump
the feds stopped the rate rip off raises
gas and other costs are down production is up as is the GDP

THE Gop DOOM AND GLOOM ARE bs LIES
olejoedad DEC 29, 03:57 PM
I am unaware of any beneficial programs that have sprung from Joe Biden in his 50+ years of public money grubbing.

Some may disagree.