US A Quarter of Americans at Risk of Winter Power Blackouts, Grid Emergencies

A Quarter of Americans at Risk of Winter Power Blackouts, Grid Emerge…

archived 17 Nov 2022 21:19:20 UTC

archive.ph

Large swaths of North America are at risk of blackouts and other energy emergencies during extreme cold conditions this winter, along with potential disruptions of power-plant fuels, according to a US regulatory agency.

The electric grids at most risk of supply shortfalls are in Texas, the central US system stretching from the Great Lakes to Louisiana, New England and the Carolinas, the North American Electric Reliability Council said in its seasonal assessment Thursday. Severe weather may stress grids by causing demand to soar while supplies of natural gas, coal and back-up fuel oil are all tight, leaving little room for error, according to the report.

The central US grid managed by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator has tight power supplies after a large number of generators shut last winter and its Gulf Coast plants haven’t done enough to protect against cold weather, NERC said. New England’s perennially constrained gas supplies are even more strained this year because Europe is scrambling for every molecule of the fuel to keep warm.

NERC’s warning touches at least a quarter of Americans, who are poised to see already high utility bills soar even more this winter. Electricity demand has rebounded faster than anyone anticipated after the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns. Prices of gas, the No. 1 power-plant fuel in the US, are high because of below-average stockpiles and strong exports to Europe as Russia wages a war on Ukraine. A possible railroad strike also threatens to impact coal supplies.

Overall, though, the report is less dire than the one heading into last winter. The outlook for winter hydropower generation in the West has improved and the Southwest Power Pool has added new gas and wind generation. In Texas, efforts to prepare the gas infrastructure and power plants does reduce the risk of a repeat of the widespread blackouts during February 2021 that lasted for days and left more than 200 people, NERC said.

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Remember: three blasts for white walkers.

 

[Dr. Henry Armitage]

Stock up on canned food, beans and rice especially. make sure you have ways to cook without electricity. Wool socks and blankets are good options that'll keep you warm. learn local water sources and learn to filter and purify it. keep jugs of water on hand for cooking and washing. I believe it's 1 gallon per person per day. Stock up on batteries and get a flashlight. if you can afford it get a generator or a portable power station and solar panel to keep it charged. Get a gun and learn to use it in case you need to defend yourself and your family. Be prepared as best you can.

 

[Bland Crumbs]

if you can afford it get a generator or a portable power station and solar panel to keep it charged.

Just to add to this:
If you get a generator do not let some jackass at Home Depot talk you into wiring it into your house improperly(yes someone watching you buy one might do that).

Know what appliances you can run on your generator and keep your generator maintained. Pull it out now and then and run it for awhile.

Rotate your gasoline out on a schedule that is written down.

Have a place to run your generator. I built a generator shed that keeps it protected from weather and theft. I mean if someone really wants it they are going to get shot going to take it.

 

[KiwiFuzz]

Just to add to this:
If you get a generator do not let some jackass at Home Depot talk you into wiring it into your house improperly(yes someone watching you buy one might do that).

Know what appliances you can run on your generator and keep your generator maintained. Pull it out now and then and run it for awhile.

Rotate your gasoline out on a schedule that is written down.

Have a place to run your generator. I built a generator shed that keeps it protected from weather and theft. I mean if someone really wants it they are going to get shot going to take it.

Also, put it somewhere where snakes can't hide under it.

 

[Bland Crumbs]

Also, put it somewhere where snakes can't hide under it.

Yes this is good advice.

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

I'm not saying that people should understand the perks of cannibalism. But I am saying you should probably get all your online research done before the frost settles in if you don't want to be as obvious a suspect as some of your neighbours when it comes to that.

 

[Niggs Monaghan]

I'm not saying that people should understand the perks of cannibalism. But I am saying you should probably get all your online research done before the frost settles in if you don't want to be as obvious a suspect as some of your neighbours when it comes to that.

Prion tentacles typed this post.

 

[Alligator Alcatraz]

I am confused how does Europe's issues impact New England's gas supply? Or is it that Europeans are buying gas in excess so New England gets slim pickings?

Didnt Donald Trump shift the US to relying more on it's own oil? What happned to that?

 

[Toolbox]

Prion tentacles typed this post.

Real photo evidence enclosed

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

Prion tentacles typed this post.

Paranoia is bad for you. And also makes your flesh excessively chewy.

 

[Hitman One]

I am confused how does Europe's issues impact New England's gas supply? Or is it that Europeans are buying gas in excess so New England gets slim pickings?

Didnt Donald Trump shift the US to relying more on it's own oil? What happned to that?

America sells excess supplies to Europe so there is less in reserve. Who cares if people freeze to death as long as the energy companies are profiting, to suggest otherwise is dangerously antisemitic.

 

[The Big O]

I am confused how does Europe's issues impact New England's gas supply? Or is it that Europeans are buying gas in excess so New England gets slim pickings?

Didnt Donald Trump shift the US to relying more on it's own oil? What happned to that?

New England states foolishly export much of its LNG overseas now. And we did have energy independence while Trump was in office, but that was foolishly squandered away by Biden and the executive branch over nebulous "climate change" reasons. Doesn't help that Biden has also emptied out our strategic petroleum reserves as an attempt to try and keep gas prices down before the midterms concluded, so in a true FEMA-tier emergency this winter, many places are going to be shit outta luck.

 

[Coldgrip]

Paranoia is bad for you. And also makes your flesh excessively chewy.

...

Now I'm not saying @Morethanabitfoolish might be a wendigo, but perhaps we need to burn his heart just to be sure.

 

[Tsukasa Kadoya]

INB4 the red states are choked for power first to punish them for voting wrong.

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

...

Now I'm not saying @Morethanabitfoolish might be a wendigo, but perhaps we need to burn his heart just to be sure.

Look. These days apparently the name of that creature is racist to say in some areas. Many A&N posters probably already know people near them who they'd at least consider eating in an "us or them" context. They could survive and become a living slur, are you really going to tell me some of them aren't thinking about it?

Now if I was pointing out things like seasoning is probably cheaper than body wash at the moment so you should all start using it instead both to save money and to be a better neighbour when the inevitable happens maybe you'd have a point.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

I'm not saying that people should understand the perks of cannibalism. But I am saying you should probably get all your online research done before the frost settles in if you don't want to be as obvious a suspect as some of your neighbours when it comes to that.

You're talking about this like you have experience. Are you Issei Sagawa?

 

[Toolbox]

INB4 the red states are choked for power first to punish them for voting wrong.

Implying red states are all Texas with a shitty ass unsustainable power grid. Blue states have set themselves up to be less stable during a true net lack of energy. Unless every power station is taken over and forcefully blacked out I don't see a power starve happening. Texas might be retarded enough to crumple on itself again if it gets bad enough though, especially since there are even more people in the state than when it happened.

 

[Fanatical Pragmatist]

Implying red states are all Texas with a shitty ass unsustainable power grid. Blue states have set themselves up to be less stable during a true net lack of energy. Unless every power station is taken over and forcefully blacked out I don't see a power starve happening. Texas might be retarded enough to crumple on itself again if it gets bad enough though, especially since there are even more people in the state than when it happened.

Texas also crumbled under a freak freeze event that was unpredictable (especially with "da experts" shouting how the world was melting and how we are all gonna die of heat stroke)

 

[Sexy Peach Emoji]

Also, put it somewhere where snakes can't hide under it.

Snakes need shelter too.

I am confused how does Europe's issues impact New England's gas supply? Or is it that Europeans are buying gas in excess so New England gets slim pickings?

Didnt Donald Trump shift the US to relying more on it's own oil? What happned to that?

We blew up nordstream 2 so we could sell new englands lng to germany.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Look on the bright side. Maybe Moviebob will find a hobby. Genocidal rants on Twitter don't count as a hobby.