Posted on 09/03/2013 11:52:01 PM PDT by TexGrill
The cut struck a dozen of the South American country's 24 states and caused traffic chaos in parts of Caracas and other cities.
The OPEC nation's oil refineries, which are powered by separate generator plants, were not affected.
A senior Venezuelan Energy Ministry official said a fault occurred in one of the national grid's major transmission lines, which caused power cuts in the west and center of the country.
"It's going to take several hours to restart the generation plants so we can restore national service," Franco Silva, vice minister of electricity development, told state television.
President Nicolas Maduro said he had ordered the armed forces to help ensure security while power was restored. He said his political opponents may have been behind the blackout.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Venezuelan blogs have been complaining for years that the government has been absconding with the money that is supposed to go to upkeep and expansion of the power grid in the country.
If they had only gone to wind or solar they would have been darker.
Sounds like that evil George W. Bush again, right?
BTW...I’ve thought of that happening here in the US....over a cold winter...so I have concerns most of all about heat as am all electric here...is my only recourse a generator of some sort?
Currently my only backup for heat...are a stash of candles and Hurricane lamps.
Well, well, well! What have we here?
Sounds like that evil George W. Bush again, right?
Back-up?
When we lived in Wyoming, most people were going for pellet stoves. If you live in apartment, storing the pellets could be a problem though.
Venezuela has not been hit by a blackout, it has been hit by socialism.
Chavez, Hugo - “There will be no more meritocracy,”
Take a look at kerosene heaters. If you use highly refined fuel there’s almost odor from them. Some models will also furnish heat for cooking.
One drawback: the room they’re used in needs to be ventilated, which means letting in cold air. Maybe there’s a unit available now that uses ducted air for combustion, reducing (but not eliminating) the need for ventilation.
What hath Hugo Chavez wrought? Some legacy for what should be a very wealth country. Socialism kills!
Heat can use a lot of electrical power. You would be spending a lot on a generator and associated fuel for an extended power outage.
If you can consider a more direct heating source (fuel to fire rather than fuel to combustion to generator to electrical heater) you would get more performance for your dollars.
A wood stove and a very small generator for fans to move the heat would be far more cost effective.
The need for ventilation with a kerosene heater depends on how old and drafty your house is. When I used to use one, it wasn’t an issue. Old place. Single pane windows. Not airtight in the least.
A dry run for here.
Congresswoman: “100% Chance of a Severe Geo-Magnetic Event Capable of Crippling Our Electric Grid”
Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don’t add you to the list...
This “green” technology stuff is a weakness in the power grid, every dollar wasted there is a dollar not spent in upkeep of the grid.
People should have some kind of back-up.
When I lived on an island in Puget Sound, our electricity went off frequently. Once for an entire week during the coldest part of winter. (Not as cold as Wyoming.) But thank goodness we had a little old-fashioned wood stove in the kitchen, looked like it had been there for 80 years, took those little wrapped phony logs. Kitchen was large enough to basically live in. We lit candles, hunkered down by the stove, read books about string theory. Sort of a nice contrast, no?
All in all, a very pleasant weeklong vacation.
We have a kerosene heater for emergencies.
Perfect! Thanks....
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