CA: Heat prompts power emergency in Calif. (Rolling blackouts in the offing?)

AP on Yahoo ^ | 7/24/06 | Jordan Robertson - ap

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Seems to me that California better get busy drilling off shore and building refineries along the coast to deliver all that power plants to run the electricity out there.

Seems to me that California better get off it's collective butt and build some nuclear power plants. If we get started now and run through the gauntlet of environmental-group lawsuits, new plants could be putting out power sometime in 2030. Even if the elderly have to suffer through the blackouts without A/C now, maybe those who manage to live for another couple of decades can get power when they need it most.

[The Blitherer]

The San Fernando Valley, Southern California. It was miserable. We're used to getting to about 110 during the summer, but not without power!

[Jeff Gordon]

More MSM nonsense.

California has plenty of power. The ISO forcast has been ahead of the curve all week and is today.

California ISO Forcast.

[dalereed]

The only way we will ever get more power plantsm hopefully nukes, is everyone refuse to conserve power.

If we have enough blackouts even the envirowhackos use power and will shut up about new facilities.

[BurbankKarl]

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged Los Angeles residents to cut their power usage.

In overheated Woodland Hills, residents scoffed.

"I have to use my air conditioner 24-seven. It's hard to sleep without it on at night," said Al Van Hook, a personal trainer. "Over the hill at City Hall it's automatically 10 to 15 degrees cooler than we are out here, so it's easy for them to say we should conserve…. If you're in 119-degree weather, who's going to turn off their air conditioner?"

[NormsRevenge]

We're a couple major power plants going off line away from blackouts, we've been very lucky so far. Here's hoping the luck continues.

[calljack]

My street lights have been out all week.
There was a reading of 119 in Woodland Hills Ca. over the weekend. It is HOT over here in Canoga Park.

[akorahil]

Highs in the 50s?

Man, Alaska is looking better and better each passing day.

[agooga]

I honestly can't fathom how anyone lived in my area (Burbank) before AC installed in the home. My home was built in '49 and had no central air-- and I don't think the window units came into use until the '60's.

The house is really cheesily built with scant insulation and single pane windows.

We have a nice new 12 seer central AC unit installed and so the house remains quite livable even in this heat-- but how was this possible when the house was built. What the hell were they thinking?

[BurbankKarl]

they had fans! that is what I had growing up in Van Nuys....I got a window unit when I was 17 from Adrays!

[ZGuy]

Just keeping you up to date :
We had three more blackouts over the weekend here at the house in Simi. The last one was three hours on Sunday from 4-7. What does that term "rolling" blackout mean anyway? I'm beginning to think it might be a variant of an old Indian word meaning "stick it to Simi Valley."

[basil]

I'm all for nuclear power plants--I just figured that CA would NEVER even consider them.

[BurbankKarl]

rolling blackouts are when the power company starts shutting off power in a deliberate manner, neighborhood by neighborhood, based on a certain order.

It sounded like Glendale was turning off certain areas the past two days, when they met the maximum capacity of the transformers....the way they explained it on the radio, if they let it go above maximum, the transformer could explode, and the repair would take days...

[ZGuy]

If it is a local capacity issue for transformers, that would make more sense as to why our neighborhood has gone through five 2-3 hour black/brownouts in one week and others haven't had any. I was being sarcastic when I asked what rolling blackouts were because I thought the power company was just knocking out Simi's power and not rolling them around at all (sharing the pain), but I like your suggestion better. At least that way I don't feel singled out.

At least one good thing happened yesterday though. Because we left the house when it got too hot, we ended up buying my four year old his first two-wheeler!

[AnotherUnixGeek]

I'm all for nuclear power plants--I just figured that CA would NEVER even consider them.

Hopefully the impact on the elderly might make some headway against the environmental groups. California is undergoing blackouts like some third-world nation because of them, and people will die as a result.

[basil]

Let's hope that the terrible blackouts will at least have the effect of opening some of those enviro-nazi's eyes!

[BurbankKarl]

State of CA on line saying power consumption 40% higher than during rolling blackouts.

[Arthalion]

Part of it is conditioning, part of it is changes in society. First, it isn't so much the temperature as the temperature change that gets to most people. When you walk out of a 79 degree building into 105 degree heat, the temperature change is drastic and your body has a hard time coping with it. It's a massive temperature adjustment in a short period of time, and the human body just isn't adapted to take that kind of stress. If you were to have NO A/C at all (not in your car, not in your office, not in your house), your body would adjust to the rising temperature as it climbed througout the day and have far less difficulty with it.

Another major factor is the change in society. In the 1940's and 50's, Southern California typically shut down during the hottest part of the day. Work was done early in the morning or in the evening, and few businesses were open in July after about 2PM. A/C eliminated the need for the afternoon siesta, and society adjusted to it by implementing an all-day workday. We expect to be able to go shopping at 4PM on a Wednesday, or visit the Dry Cleaners at 3PM on a Monday, and consider that to be "normal" society. That wasn't "normal" in 1950's California, and only became so after the air conditioner became common.

[glorgau]

Switch off the coffee maker at 10 a.m., leave a full pot a

Actually, I like my coffee cold. I brew the pot very strong and let it sit until it cools off. Then drink it with lots of sugar. Just a preference.

Although reheated coffee just tastes terrible..

[Mr. Jeeves]

"Democratic amendments, like Mr. Farr’s, have consistently dealt with major power grid vulnerabilities."

Never knew Pelosi was after Jay Leno's job. Pretty good comic material. ;)