Length of powe outages

[ultrarunner]

A few years ago, Western WA had over 30 days of continuous precipitation and then a bad windstorm hit in January followed by snow.

Power was out in some areas for weeks.

In Olympia, we were out for over a week... I'm underground from the road... the problem was some roads were impassable due to toppled trees and some lines were down at every pole.

The old fireplace insert sure came in handy and the Generator Panel kept the essential circuits going for the well pump and a range element or oven...

A day or two is the most I have previously endured and it was not too bad... a week is altogether different.

The bright side was more time with family, card games and early to bed...

 

[Greg H]

Central CT.
We used to have fairly regular outages. During Gloria ('85) people we out for 2-3 days. Then they improved the infrastructure to the point where we might have an outage lasting all of 2-3 hours.
Bought a generator anyway, (just had to have one) and did nothing but exercise it monthly for the last 6 years.
Then came Irene and we were out of power for 6 days, some folks as much as 9 days. That was the exception rather than the rule. It will probably be another 10 years before we get an extended outage. Then again it could be this winter.
Total cost of generator and hook up $1200, gas $80, being able to take hot showers, keep food cold, cook dinner, and flush toilets when all the other houses were dark.... Priceless.

 

[dodge man]

We live in rural area for the last 14 years, but are with in a few miles of a town of 20,000 people. I would say our rural power system is pretty average in terms of quality of service. In 14 years, we have had maybe 3 to 5 outages that have lasted a day. One of those was for 2 days, and we were lucky it wasn't longer due to an ice storm. Some people were without power for a week. We have had maybe 15 to 20 outages that have lasted a few hours.

 

[MossRoad]

I hear people make comments such as "My power outages only last two or three hours". I think that almost any area can have long power outages. If there is a common wide area event such as a hurricane, ice storm, snow storm, many tornados, etc., the resources used to fix this can be overwhelmed and delayed. Certainly if you live at the end of a long line and you are the only one on it, that can delay power return. Perhaps if you share power feed with a hospital or other high priority costumers you may get power sooner. I think it is risky to think that because all of your past power outages were short, then all future outages would be short. Does anyone feel they live where they are at low risk for power outages or long outages? Why do you think this?

As soon as we bought our house in the county (well water vs city water) I invested in a 4000W gas powered generator. I wanted to be able to flush my toilet and take a shower daily. :thumbsup: The longest we went without power at our house was a little less than one day. However, we had a pretty bad tornado outbreak and my in-laws' had no power for three days. I ran their home with my generator. They have had wood heat for decades, so if our power would go out in winter all we would have to do is go over there. Now we have a wood burner, too. No electricity required. It provided about 80% of our heat last winter.

So, to answer your question, I think we are at low risk for long outages, but it CAN happen, so why not be prepared? As someone mentioned, all it takes is to lose ONE freezer load of food and you could have bought a generator.

 

[woodswolf1]

I live in central IN. In 05 we had a nasty ice storm that killed power for 5 days. I got a whole house generator after that. I'm total electric out in the sticks, so I got the 15KW air cooled Generac. I splurged the extra money for the transfer switch that uses my breaker box. I don't have to choose what ten circuits I want to run. Once a week, the generator kicks on and runs for 12 mintues. I just replaced the original battery in both mine and Mom´s. She has natural gas, so she got away with a 7KW. Mine has to run on propane. I got a 250ga tank for it that will run the entire house, full tilt, for roughly 5 days. It has never had to do that. Full tilt is geothermal, well pump, all lights in house, barn, garage, stove, oven, washer, dryer, hot water heater.
Before the ice storm, I constantly had power outages. They lasted anywhere from a nanosecond to several hours. After the ice storm, they had to replace so many lines, power outages are rare. The most I've had the generator run is about 6 hours. I don't worry about the house freezing, or food going bad in the fridge. One night I woke up when the power kicked out. Thirty seconds later, the Generac kicked in and took over. I slept peacefully in the A/C while my neighbors sweltered in 80 degrees. I woke up to find everyone around me still in the dark, wishing they had showers and coffee. A couple of neighbors dragged out their portable gennies. I found out later that the power was off for 6 hours.
We get tornadoes and nasty storms. Power could go at any time. Heck, we had a goose take out a main power line that took 5 hours to fix! They couldn't figure out what had happened until the linemen found his cooked little goose self under the snapped line. So you just never know. But I gotta tell you, the peace of mind of a whole house stand by generator is priceless!! I highly recommend them!

 

[Larry Caldwell]

They have had wood heat for decades, so if our power would go out in winter all we would have to do is go over there. Now we have a wood burner, too. No electricity required. It provided about 80% of our heat last winter.

Excellent. People forget that 19th century technology provided comfortable homes with no electricity at all. Wood heat (not a fireplace) is inexpensive and ultra reliable. Add modern insulation and there is no reason to be cold if the power goes out.

During outages I only get the generator out on the second day, to run the freezer/refrigerator and take a shower. I can even take a bath without power, by heating bath water on the wood stove in a big double boiler and adding cold water in the tub. Low head gravity flow from a cistern provides flushing water and cold tap water in the kitchen. We cook on the wood stove, and even have a hand coffee grinder. That last was acquired after I was reduced to mashing coffee beans with a claw hammer one morning in search of a decent cup of coffee.

Another nice thing about wood heat is storage. If you don't empty the wood shed one winter, the wood keeps drying and will be even better the next year.

 

[grsthegreat]

The thing with me is I'm the only one in my area that i know of that has a generator. Either last xmas ... or the year before i cant remember, we lost power at night and it was out for 2 days. I was at a neighbors house when lights failed, and the party was moved to my house.
My generator also... for some reason .... (ill never admit) runs my exterior Christmas light circuit. So here we are....the entire area pitch black. My house is lit up and my xmas lights are on.

The next day my neighbor down the way comes over to talk to me about generator prices....and he told me he and his family were snuggling around a wood fire in the dark all night. I asked him why didn't he just come over....hes always welcome, but his wife didn't want to be a burden. Then he said..half joking..."I hate you..." hehe.

Mind you, he soon forgot to add a generator, and to this day he says he doesn't need one..till the lights go out again.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

During most storms like hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms etc your local utility is most likely overwhelmed as most company's have cut down on line crew numbers over the last 20 or so years , so most use what is called mutual aide from out of town mostly out of state crews, usually while waiting for the out of town line crews to arrive most smart utilities put their A-team line crews on restoring power to priority feeders such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools and restaurants and motels to feed and house the line crews when they get there. Another thing is where the line feeding your home is located, if it's on the road and truck accessible that usually is a quicker fix than if it's in your backyard with fences and dogs etc etc and everything has to be done by hand or climbed ie no equipment, their are a lot of variables, older generation lineman are few and far between this day and age and getting fewer by the day, we are losing a lot of good experience in this trade that isn't easily replaced. I have been on storms all over the US and have met a lot of good people, helping others is what it's all about.

 

[ultrarunner]

older generation lineman are few and far between this day and age and getting fewer by the day, we are losing a lot of good experience in this trade that isn't easily replaced. I have been on storms all over the US and have met a lot of good people, helping others is what it's all about.

The Husband of a lady I work with is a PGE lineman 45 years now...

They won't let him retire because he is their legacy link... people he trained are retired and he keep plugging away...

His wife said he just likes the big shiny lineman bucket truck parked in front of the house... he always gets the new one because he won't tear it up...

 

[BobRip]

During most storms like hurricanes, tornadoes, ice storms etc your local utility is most likely overwhelmed as most company's have cut down on line crew numbers over the last 20 or so years , so most use what is called mutual aide from out of town mostly out of state crews, usually while waiting for the out of town line crews to arrive most smart utilities put their A-team line crews on restoring power to priority feeders such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools and restaurants and motels to feed and house the line crews when they get there. Another thing is where the line feeding your home is located, if it's on the road and truck accessible that usually is a quicker fix than if it's in your backyard with fences and dogs etc etc and everything has to be done by hand or climbed ie no equipment, their are a lot of variables, older generation lineman are few and far between this day and age and getting fewer by the day, we are losing a lot of good experience in this trade that isn't easily replaced. I have been on storms all over the US and have met a lot of good people, helping others is what it's all about.

Many times Dominion Power has brought in outside help. It saved us during Isabel. The distribution system was largely destroyed. Thank you for your help during these events. If you have a very broad area event things could take a long time to restore. Everybody would be fighting their own fires.