Blackout fever continues long after Sandy
They are called "brownouts" here, which means blackouts that only last anywhere from 2 to 6 hours. In this reasonably prosperous area we have had three of these in the last month, all occuring from sometime around dinnertime or later in the evening, usually no later than 9pm. Why they are called 'brownouts" is unknown to me. They are periods of no electricity when nothing works, just not for a multi-day duration. I guess that's the semantic difference.
Like last night they happen in perfect weather for no visible reason and with no warning. Weather charts show no disturbances anywhere in a multi-mile area. Why is this happening? I of course have some answers that may be correct. Sandy demolished the antiquated and mismanaged, or should I say unmanaged, power system of Nassau County New York. With a population of approximately 1.4 million people, 90% were left without power by the storm, and while some issues were resolved within four or five days, many took as long as several weeks. Our power restoration came after 11 days, some of which involved a snowstorm.
The Long Island Power Authority(LIPA), its union, and its trustees are still in place. National Grid has been hired to essentially run the system but the trustees, all patronage appointees and only one with some minimal utility experience and the over compensated union employees with benefits way beyond anything in the private sector are protected, so the same generally incompetent crowd is still in place and being directed by another firm. But that doesn't explain why we still have regular blackouts.
When Sandy had done its job, utility crews from all over the country came to help out. LIPA was so inept that they did not have the information to use them effectively. One eager crew from Tennessee waited for four days before being directed to a work site. It was well meaning but poorly managed chaos. Those LIPA employees who happened to be competent, hopefully a meaningful percentage of their workers, and the many out of town crews helping out worked to patch together the system so that eventually it worked, not perfectly but after about three weeks everything was up and running.
Problem is that these patches were not ever meant to be permanent solutions, and there is little evidence that any significant progress has been made on that front except in some beachfront areas where everything was so wiped out that the fix had to start from scratch. The same partronage scum are apparently still trustees and being paid as there has been news to the contrary, even as National Grid is paid to guide their "work". This is Long Island, and this type of union and management behavior is just part of the culture.
So the conclusion here is that regardless of weather conditions, our electricity reliability will still be shaky, not third world like but not up to most generally expected U.S. standards.
Our 200amp generator is now in place at the back northwest corner of the house, and all of the electical work will be done this Wednesday and Thursday if all goes well. This is not an inexpensive exercise, but we have come to view it as essential. Whenever we leave this town, I don't think a first rate whole house generator will hurt our sales price. These electrical system issues are going to be long term, and most long term weather prognosticators forecast more unpredictable and powerful climate events in the coming years.
Last night was warm and worse yet we missed "Elementary" and I did not bother with any late night treats. All was well by 3am, so I walked the house turning out lights and then the morning was fine. So after Sandy this was nothing, irritations clearly minor, but the regularity of this is getting tiring. We maintain flashlights in our den, living room, and the bedrooms in use as a matter of course. If the generator works as planned, this will just become an expensive and annoying memory.
Like last night they happen in perfect weather for no visible reason and with no warning. Weather charts show no disturbances anywhere in a multi-mile area. Why is this happening? I of course have some answers that may be correct. Sandy demolished the antiquated and mismanaged, or should I say unmanaged, power system of Nassau County New York. With a population of approximately 1.4 million people, 90% were left without power by the storm, and while some issues were resolved within four or five days, many took as long as several weeks. Our power restoration came after 11 days, some of which involved a snowstorm.
The Long Island Power Authority(LIPA), its union, and its trustees are still in place. National Grid has been hired to essentially run the system but the trustees, all patronage appointees and only one with some minimal utility experience and the over compensated union employees with benefits way beyond anything in the private sector are protected, so the same generally incompetent crowd is still in place and being directed by another firm. But that doesn't explain why we still have regular blackouts.
When Sandy had done its job, utility crews from all over the country came to help out. LIPA was so inept that they did not have the information to use them effectively. One eager crew from Tennessee waited for four days before being directed to a work site. It was well meaning but poorly managed chaos. Those LIPA employees who happened to be competent, hopefully a meaningful percentage of their workers, and the many out of town crews helping out worked to patch together the system so that eventually it worked, not perfectly but after about three weeks everything was up and running.
Problem is that these patches were not ever meant to be permanent solutions, and there is little evidence that any significant progress has been made on that front except in some beachfront areas where everything was so wiped out that the fix had to start from scratch. The same partronage scum are apparently still trustees and being paid as there has been news to the contrary, even as National Grid is paid to guide their "work". This is Long Island, and this type of union and management behavior is just part of the culture.
So the conclusion here is that regardless of weather conditions, our electricity reliability will still be shaky, not third world like but not up to most generally expected U.S. standards.
Our 200amp generator is now in place at the back northwest corner of the house, and all of the electical work will be done this Wednesday and Thursday if all goes well. This is not an inexpensive exercise, but we have come to view it as essential. Whenever we leave this town, I don't think a first rate whole house generator will hurt our sales price. These electrical system issues are going to be long term, and most long term weather prognosticators forecast more unpredictable and powerful climate events in the coming years.
Last night was warm and worse yet we missed "Elementary" and I did not bother with any late night treats. All was well by 3am, so I walked the house turning out lights and then the morning was fine. So after Sandy this was nothing, irritations clearly minor, but the regularity of this is getting tiring. We maintain flashlights in our den, living room, and the bedrooms in use as a matter of course. If the generator works as planned, this will just become an expensive and annoying memory.
posted by John Borden at 7:40 PM
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