They didn’t know how long the electricity was going to be off. In our case we were notified that the rolling blackouts would last 15 to 45 minutes. that did not happen. Instead it was turned off for days. empty buildings like schools and businesses had no idea it was coming. People in homes never dreamed they would be left in this nearly 0 temperatures with no heat. In their panic I suppose they never thought of turning off the water.
I’m in Upstate. I would crack a faucet if our utilities shut down. We’ve been without a week. One of the differences here in NYS is that service lines to the house are below the frost line. But occasionally, there are still problems in a deep freeze.
“After the gas was shut off:
The houses without gas would rapidly lose heat and quickly become unlivable.
Anyone who had any kind of electric space heater would plug it in.
That would blow the electric grid.
An electric utility call confirmed a sudden, albeit short-lived, increase in electric load for space heaters would probably blow the already critically strained electric grid.
The electric grid in areas well beyond the gas shutoff area probably would be blown also.
Widespread blackouts would impact not only shut off gas customers. It would kill the electric blowers in furnaces that could still get gas. How many? No way of knowing.
Lots and lots of people are in the cold and in the dark.
Many would probably get in their cars for heat and try to ...-———————————————
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