It hertz when you do that – power grid to stop regulating 60 Hz frequency

Watts Up With That? ^ | June 25,2011 | Anthony Watts

[brityank]

It hertz when you do that – power grid to stop regulating 60 Hz frequency

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Anthony Watts

“Experiment” on the US power grid will change the way some clocks and other equipment function.

A 60 hertz sine wave, over one cycle (360°). The dashed line represents the root mean square (RMS) value at about 0.707 Image: Wikipedia)

Story submitted by Joe Ryan

The AP has released an “exclusive” story concerning the nationwide “experiment” that will be conducted on the US power grid. The experiment will relieve the power providers from the duty of regulating the frequency of power on the line.

Normally the power stations condition their power to a frequency of 60 cycles a second, a frequency that many old clocks use to maintain their time. With the new standard, or lack of standard, these clocks will stop keeping time properly.

But the problem is more than that.

First, we have this gem from Joe McLelland who heads the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (from AP article):

“Is anyone using the grid to keep track of time?” McClelland said. “Let’s see if anyone complains if we eliminate it.”

… forgive me for not getting warm fuzzies from this. Likewise, Demetrios Matsakis, head of the time service department at the U.S. Naval Observatory, had this to say (AP Article again):

“A lot of people are going to have things break and they’re not going to know why,”

So, we have what appears to be an untested, for the hell of it, “experimental” major change to the US electrical grid coming in a few weeks and those in charge aren’t really sure how it will work or if it may break something?

Not only is this what a LAB is for, but it is also something that the Federal Government should be TELLING people about in advance, and not in an AP “exclusive” press release.

[brityank]

Joe Ryan also posted a link to a CBSNews repeat of an AP story about this:

AP EXCLUSIVE: Power grid change may disrupt clocks

So let me get this straight - these government clowns, not content with shutting down our own energy production, and flooding our most productive center-continent farmland - they want to make all of Fly-Over Country a lab experiment? FIRE THEM ALL !!

[DivineMomentsOfTruth]

Sounds like as bad an idea as ‘low-flow’ toilets were.

[hoosierham]

BAsically all our clock radios will lose track of time?

Is there anything the obama administration isn't trying to destroy?

[DoughtyOne]

This angers me considerably.

With all the garbage spending on Leftist pipe dreams, the things that get cut first are the very things we should be spending money on.

This is just one more level of chaos government is foisting off on us. I see this as designed decay of our infrastructure, things we should be able to rely on being pristine, above being tinkered with, none the less being marginalized to ‘save money’. B. S.

[Hunton Peck]

Ohm my god!

[Bockscar]

Something tells me it will ‘disrupt’ more than clocks.

[DoughtyOne]

I’m honestly not sure how traffic lights are controlled. It would seem to be an area of concern, that some lights might be off by five to fourteen seconds per day.

Imagine what a three second variance could cost people at street intersections. Perhaps I’m not looking at this from the proper perspective/knowledge base.

If one direction were to leave three seconds early/late, ouch...

I suppose each light would be affected by the same electricity source with variations.

I think of my VCR/DVR and other digital clocks. Good Lord, having to reset them every stinkin’ day?

[jmcenanly]

These people must lay awake at night thinking up new ways to inconvenience people.

[bigheadfred]

Sweeping brown-outs won’t hurt a thing./s

Watch them start breaking areas into power zones. Some will have constantly regulated power. Others, and that will be the vast majority, will be subject to the will of the wind. Literally.

And that may be the final straw for me. Half-cooked chicken really pisses me off.

[Nowhere Man]

BAsically all our clock radios will lose track of time?

If it runs off of an A/C synchronous motor and/or otherwise uses the powerline frequency as a time base, yes, it will. Most digital clocks I know of use a quartz crystal to keep time so there should be no effect. Still, welcome to the Third World. BTW, I'm an amateur radio operator too.

[Cementjungle]

Watt are they thinking?

[Pearls Before Swine]

I think of my VCR/DVR and other digital clocks. Good Lord, having to reset them every stinkin’ day?

I doubt that you will have to. With today's electronics, I think many of them have a built in timing reference, like a 32 khz crystal. It's the old motor driven clocks that use synchronous motors that will have an accuracy problem.

[right way right]

Wheres the BS meter?

[brityank]

Something tells me it will ‘disrupt’ more than clocks.

Indeed it will.

How about the equipment in the hospitals or in homes that rely on that frequency for timing for monitoring or medications? Electric motors in your home appliances will have to work harder - creating more heat leading to earlier breakdowns.

But that's OK - we'll all get electric cars to tide us over!

[meadsjn]

First, we have this gem from Joe McLelland who heads the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (from AP article):

“Is anyone using the grid to keep track of time?” McClelland said. “Let’s see if anyone complains if we eliminate it.”

Watt's the matter with these people?

We'll be washing clothes in the rain barrel if we don't get these idiots out of office, soon.

[DivineMomentsOfTruth]

Leave it to government to mess with something that isn’t broken.

[Nowhere Man]

Welcome to Htrae, aka Bizzaroworld.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Worse, since plug-in alarm clocks don’t depend on proper toilet flushes to keep accurate time. Just because crystals “can” regulate to within a second a year doesn’t mean every clock design goes to the expense of using such a crystal. They didn’t have to, when it was a given that over time, cumulative cycle counts would always return to normal. Whoever came up with this asinine idea would be kicked out of even the most redneck electrical engineering department in the land (wherever that might be) with straight F’s. Is this intended to be able to accommodate dirt-cheap solar power stations, windmills, and other corner-cutting power generator designs that can’t bother to look to a super-accurate standard like the cesium clock at WWV to keep cumulative cycle counts “going down the middle”?

[brityank]

Sweeping brown-outs won’t hurt a thing./s

My power company has been trying to get us to move to "Smart Meters" - where they control your AC power feed. FU I said!

[Crim]

It will be burning up motors,transformers,electronics etc...

Especially large power users like manufacturing...