India-Style Blackout Could Strike The U.S.

Forbes ^ | 8-6-2012 | Aaron Jagdfeld

[Sir Napsalot]

....

Fixing our power grid is no simple feat. The best estimates put the price tag for a new grid at two trillion dollars, or about 14% of our current gross domestic product. There is no legitimate national plan to create a new grid, nor are there public funds available to fix the grid we have.

American utility companies are as constrained as the government when it comes to meaningful investment in grid improvement. The 3,200 utility companies that touch the power grid are regulated by an equal number of agencies, many of which exist solely to minimize cost to consumers. This is undeniably good for consumers in most cases, but it has left us with a broken power grid that no one is responsible for (or capable of) fixing.

To address the frequent power outages we’ve been experiencing, we must secure a massive commitment of resources from both public and private sectors. In the absence of such a commitment, Americans must prepare for outages, blackouts, brownouts and chaotic power reliability. We must commit ourselves to the knowledge that long-duration power outages are not something that happens elsewhere. India is only geographically distant from us; its current power outage is actually far closer than we might think.

Preparation will take many forms. Families must have a supply of food and water that is not dependent on electricity to store or prepare. Businesses must back-up data and maintain secure facilities that don’t require grid-based power to remain viable. But these are the very first steps.

.....

There is no perfect solution to address our electrical grid’s disrepair or our nation’s increasingly poor power quality. Fixing the grid is staggeringly expensive at a time when our nation’s budget is tight. .....

[James C. Bennett]

Due to erratic power supply in India, a large proportion of the homes there have back-up UPS systems powered by truck batteries, and private businesses almost always have gensets for back-up.

Reliable power supply in the US means that most here are unprepared for when the power supply is knocked off the grid. On top of that, reliance on electricity here is acute.

[Revolting cat!]

We all could die!

[meatloaf]

Generally a prime rating for a well built generator is the load it can supply running continuously. Standby is a higher load rating that can be supplied on a short time basis. Running on a standby basis usually causes more heat buildup in the generator windings and will damage the generator if the unit is operated at that load over a longer period.

Some mass market generators have specific warranty exclusions for continuous (prime) use. Running them continuously is considered a non-residential mode and voids the warranty.

If you live in an area with the potential for a long power outage, you don’t want a generator only rated for standby use unless you can get by only running it intermittently. If you need to run it 7/24 for an extended period, it won’t survive.

[Lurker]

Thanks very much for the information. I appreciate the help. I’ll have to dig back into my owners manual and warranty information.