PGE: Safety Shutdowns

Busta Nutz

Busta Nutz

Well-Known Member
Anyone living in Areas where PGE has begun doing emergency grid shutdowns to negate or lower the risk of fires in CA?

Blows my mind that in a span of 25 to 30 years of defunding the Logging industry and timber maintenance we have seen "woodwork" be limited to a catastrophic decline of services.

I know from over 40 years of living on the coast that environmentalists and Logging industry never always saw eye to eye...and their always was a compromise somewhere in the middle that should have been made. I grew up in a family that got our money from my dad working at the lumber mill, However I wasn't about hacking every tree i saw either. Trees like all plants have a cycle...its sad to see none of it going to use do to Corporate carelessness.

I don't work for the power companies...but my understanding is that some have training in logging and trimming with the intent of clearing limbs and making paths with safe lines. Not an easy task if you have seen Northern Cali. PGE Inability to keep trained professionals fully staffed and funded to secure these " danger spots" is the issue.

Last point, it blows my mind to think that it is Lawful in this country to be mandated and regulated by the State and federal gov. To provide Utility services ultimately be responsible for catastrophic failures within their system...Then deny your Highest paying Customers within a 50 state Country who pay 28 cents peak kilowatt per hour...its insane...I'm just a recreational grower...but these " safety shutdowns" can totally fuck up your grow. It honestly is fuckin with alot of business in general.

Anyone?
 
I'm in Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. Some folks in our province lose power for days or even weeks at a time due to storms of the hurricane or snow variety. We took that into consideration 30 years ago when we bought our house. We are on the same distribution line as some 'essential' services, the firehall, community policing center, and school are on the same line. It's also used by an old age home down the road. What that means is that our power restoration is a high priority. When Dorian hit in early September taking out the power for more than 80% of the province, our power was only out for half a day. There were folks without power for over two weeks.

Knowing the power failure situation, and suspecting that it would get worse over time, we took steps to mitigate the failures. The first was the choice of where we live. The second was the acquisition of a 5Kw Diesel generator. Our vehicle is a Diesel as well, and we use oil to heat our home. The Diesel choices were made as in an emergency situation, we can fuel our generator and vehicle with furnace oil. The generator is large enough to power everything in our home with the exception of the stove and dryer. Yes, my grow tent's power needs are covered as well. We keep the furnace oil tank full, meaning we are self sufficient for at least two weeks - even in the dead of the winter. BTW: We have an 1800w induction hot plate so we can cook in the house, a propane camp stove and BBQ so we can cook outdoors, so meals are covered.

I don't know about your area, but if our power utility cuts the power for maintenance or a situation like yours, they are required to inform all of their customers in advance. That allows us to switch to our emergency supplies before the power loss.
 
Not a good thing in California. I have family back there that has been effected. The problem is that California put ALL the blame for the Huge fire that took Paradise. I grew up in that area and know it well. PG&E might have created the spark. Bad forestry management caused the fire to spread and become huge.

But they made PG&E pay Billions in fines and law suits. No way they can not protect themselves in the future. The only way to do that is to shut down power. Plus you have the fact that they did get fined BILLIONS. They are not going to forget that shit. This is just the first year since the Paradise fire. Things are going to get worse out there before it ever gets better. PG&E won't back down. It is easy to work from a power position when you OWN the power.
 
The current situation is the result of decades of poor forestry management - the USFS has been more interested in grazing and timber leases, thousands of acres of plantation trees that have become beetle-infested due to extended drought conditions, and an arrogant “public” utility that has a history of deferred maintenance and multimillion dollar bonuses for executives.
The fines and wrongful death lawsuits were the obvious consequence. The public deserves better for paying some of the highest rates in the US. If PG&E doesn’t get their shit together, California’s PUC should make them a truly public utility instead of a corporate monopoly.
 
FelipeBlu said:
California’s PUC should make them a truly public utility instead of a corporate monopoly.
Click to expand...

That might be difficult. Ontario had an NDP government that severely overspent. The next government was forced to sell Ontario Hydro to pay the NDP bills. Now that province is getting nailed with much higher power costs. Buying it back will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. It's not something the province can afford to do.
 
Old Salt said:
That might be difficult. Ontario had an NDP government that severely overspent. The next government was forced to sell Ontario Hydro to pay the NDP bills. Now that province is getting nailed with much higher power costs. Buying it back will cost hundreds of billions of dollars. It's not something the province can afford to do.
Click to expand...
once it's gone it's gone.

soon as faceless massive corporate entity gets hold of something in the public domain, they strangle the goose and general public for all they are worth.

fun fact : in the entire history of privatization of public assets, there has never been a single instance of the resulting corporate entities providing equal or better service, or charging less than a public one. not one

that always stuck with me as it was taught by a very pro conservative business leader in a post-secondary lecture.
 
Busta Nutz said:
Hell no...dude I'm so behind the project...its all good I'm just bummed a little...I'll put my shit outside sex it and bring it back in...subject it to the elements..idk what to do at this point...so young the humidity won't bother them
Click to expand...

I hope everyone gets it together soon. There have been fires in California every year I can remember. It seems to me that it's costing more to repair the damage after the fires, than it would to prevent most of them.
 
As someone who has lived here for 40+ years...its totally their fault. Save a buck to give zero fucks.

Lady said today gas station lied and said no regular or supreme at pump...only super...then she pushed reg button and of course they have it...fuckin crooks all of them. Them being those with power.
 
My experience is out of date. I bought a 5Kw Diesel generator through Northern Tool 15 years ago for about $750 USD. It has a 10HP German designed, Chinese built engine. The first five years it ran for about 100 hrs. / year. Since then it has run about 20 hrs. / year. So it has about 700 hrs on it, and is still running like new. Northern Tool no longer carries them, and the new Kubota Diesel generator for sale in California will run around $6,000 USD including shipping..
 
Big lack of powerline maintenance here too that's why it goes out every second time there is a windy day.. Definitely a generator is in order. I use a Honda eu7000is. It was around $5500 CDN. Super quiet, runs at least 12 hours on a tank of gas, 120v / 240v out, man portable and seems to be reliable. Had to replace the CDI ignition thingy at around 500 hours but it was under warranty.
 
I don't have quite the electrical problems that Cal does. Still looking for a generator for the house to run backup power and heat when it is cold. They get power back on fairly fast here when it goes out. You just never know though. It gets so damn cold here at times being with out heat can be a big problem.

The new gas/propane generators they are advertising on TV have caught my interest. I think they are called Generex. Costly I am sure. The idea of having everything plumbed in so you don't have to haul gas/diesel gives these a real appeal. I don't know how much they are needed now. What does the future hold? How is power going to be regulated 10 or 20 years from now? Might be best to cover my ass while I can still afford it.
 
Jackalope said:
I don't have quite the electrical problems that Cal does. Still looking for a generator for the house to run backup power and heat when it is cold. They get power back on fairly fast here when it goes out. You just never know though. It gets so damn cold here at times being with out heat can be a big problem.

The new gas/propane generators they are advertising on TV have caught my interest. I think they are called Generex. Costly I am sure. The idea of having everything plumbed in so you don't have to haul gas/diesel gives these a real appeal. I don't know how much they are needed now. What does the future hold? How is power going to be regulated 10 or 20 years from now? Might be best to cover my ass while I can still afford it.
Click to expand...

This is why I went with Diesel. My home is oil heated, and my vehicle is Diesel as well. I can use furnace oil in all three, although the generator and vehicle require an additive. I don't have to haul the fuel in, it's delivered. I just keep my oil tank full.

Generacs are available in all fuels. Electric based heat, including heat exchangers, require huge amounts of power making the generator required to heat your home huge, and expensive. I recommend a stored fuel such as wood, propane, or oil as a primary or backup home heating system. If your fuel supply (ie: natural gas) is plumbed in from a utility, it will also be subject to interruption.
 
:goodluck: You got it! You may want to lock as much as you can in the trunk of your vehicle, so you can bug-out faster. I hope it's unnecessary.
 

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