Easy fix eludes power outage problems in US

The Capital ^ | By Chris Khan and Eric Tucker

[nascarnation]

“Easy” fix

yeah right

it’s a welfare program for attorneys to negotiate the right of ways

Then you let contracts to politically connected contractors

Then you get high priced featherbedding union labor to tear up the city and do the work

Yeah it’s cheap AND easy

[Morpheus2009]

I think underground lines make some sense, I mean, think about it, how easy, or hard, would it be for falling trees to snap an underground line? Earthquakes and digging up damaged lines would be another story though.

[Morpheus2009]

I think underground lines make some sense, I mean, think about it, how easy, or hard, would it be for falling trees to snap an underground line? Earthquakes and digging up damaged lines would be another story though.

[the invisib1e hand]

[antiRepublicrat]

Another fix, the low-maintenance, fully automatic Toshiba reactor they’re thinking of putting in Alaska. Instead of having centralized powerplants costing several billion along with an expensive distribution system, put thousands of these small plants across the country for a distributed power grid of 50 MW plants.

But our expensive and tedious process for approving such plants proved too much for Toshiba, and the plant that was supposed to be going live soon may never happen.

[central_va]

I’m an electrical engineer and to me, our above ground power grid is really a bad thing, almost stupid. And did I mention really UGLY.

[lightman]

North of the Mason-Dixon Met-Ed was severly reprimanded by the PA Public Utility Commission for its slow response following Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003...a storm that had me 96 hours without power.

The PA-PUC mandated a very aggressive schedule of tree trimming and other preventive maintenance plus installing cut-off fuses at the beginning of long branches of the line. Some of my neighbors’ lane strech 1/2 mile or farther, now their lines are isolated at the beginning of their branch lines.

All that has helped. but still endured two 50 hour outages last year.

[cripplecreek]

Around here the water table is only a few feet down and would be a real problem.

[Obadiah]

And if George Bush were president we KNOW the corrupt MSM would be blaming his lack of compassion for oppressing these people (think: Katrina). Meanwhile, St. Obama get his usual pass.

[cableguymn]

Easy... they wrap their roots around them. Tree goes down, roots come up.. lines break.

Newer areas are under ground because even though the above can happen it does not happen as often.

[SnuffaBolshevik]

"I’m an electrical engineer and to me, our above ground power grid is really a bad thing, almost stupid."

I'm not an EE but I agree.

The $15 million a mile quote smells like BS, however. Maybe in the city or the interior suburbs but how much does it cost to run a ditch digger out in the exurbs where the tree problem is the most acute?

Hell, hire the legions of unemployed and give them shovels. Kill 2 birds with one stone. /pissed off sarcasm.

Seriously, I'd like to have someone break down $15 million a mile. That's $2840 a FOOT to dig a ditch and lay wire. I smell BS.

Rant over.

[uncommonsense]

"Instead of having centralized powerplants costing several billion along with an expensive distribution system, put thousands of these small plants across the country for a distributed power grid of 50 MW plants. But our expensive and tedious process for approving such plants proved too much for Toshiba, and the plant that was supposed to be going live soon may never happen.

You hit the nail on the head. I lived in a neighborhood in Baton Rouge during Katrina and Rita. The older part of my neighborhood had underground utilities. My house was just past the underground sections. Due to lack of distribution redundancy and switching, everyone lost power for at least a week during 99 degrees and 99 % humidity.

There are large inefficiencies in Generation (power plant), Transmission (high power lines), and point-to-point retail Distribution (step down connections).

There are better ways, but unless stakeholders demand their unelected bureaucracies stop protecting statist, monopolistic lobbyists, we’ll all be in the dark.

[Paladin2]

Underground lines crap out too.

[SC Swamp Fox]

Around here the water table is only a few feet down and would be a real problem.

Yeah, they are ugly but I can't see them trying to bury them here in my part of the swamp.

[uncommonsense]

"Easy... they wrap their roots around them. Tree goes down, roots come up.. lines break."

I guess natural gas, petrol, and water should be above ground. Underground works better for most situations.

[BobL]

“I’m an electrical engineer and to me, our above ground power grid is really a bad thing, almost stupid. And did I mention really UGLY.”

Most electrical engineers are into communications and computers. The ones that into high-voltage power understand the limitations of running those lines underground for extended distances - which is why NONE EXIST, even for short distances.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I was wondering about a similar subject. Even if your power lines aren't underground, have you ( the taxpayer/ power customers ) paid for the switch without it being done? Over the last decade, our power company has done marking a couple of times for such a swap but never followed through with it. I wonder how much has been spent on something that never happened. Could people have paid for a swap that wasn't?

[cableguymn]

I guess natural gas, petrol, and water should be above ground. Underground works better for most situations.

---

In case you missed it. here is the second paragraph of my post.

“Newer areas are under ground because even though the above can happen it does not happen as often.”

[SampleMan]

D.C. residents sweltering in the heat.

OK, but where is the problem?

It would be best to shut of the power to D.C. completely March-October. That would help limit the damage.