Submitted by pimpwalkjohnson t3_zorrdi in Maine
I’m wondering how, in a state with this climate, 5 inches of snow can drop power to 15,000 people in one county alone. Why is the infrastructure in this state so bad? Why does this happen every year? I lost power for 18 hours during a mild snowstorm, an inconvenience for me, but a possible death sentence for someone medically attached to electronic devices. What, if anything can be done?
Buried cables would be ridiculously expensive for the entire network. Bury them where trees can't be cut back. More money needs to be put into cutting back trees near power lines.
There are very specific regulations on how much can be cut. And anytime the utility starts to get more aggressive with his tree cutting programs people have a cow because they don't want to lose any of their trees. These same people bitch like crazy every time the lights go out during a storm. In my very humble opinion your best bet is to get a standby generator and have an electrician hook it up properly so it doesn't electrocute the line workers when they're out there trying to fix stuff.
Holy shit, a reasonable person!
That's what we did. The generator is large enough to run the house with no issues, and is electric start. We're at the end of a long run into town, on a back road with only our home on it. We accept that we'll be a low priority, and plan accordingly.
Let's be happy it wasn't windy. It would have been way worse.
No one has a beef with the workers at CMP. They are Mainers true and true. We just don’t like the idea of a company in the country Spain running our grid. Our politicians let us down by letting this happen. It has to be the most stupid decision made in the history of Maine. We don’t hate the Spaniards, we just want them to get lost and go home.
Got news for you. Virtually the entire New England grid is owned by either the Spaniards or the Brits. Some of it is owned by the Canucks. We're in a global economy and currently there is no regulation at any level that forbids foreign ownership of a company. I don't like it either, but that is the way it is.
Energy should be kept in the village. I don’t care where a plastic toy is made.
Energy is free to make….
Canadians are our neighbors, we are like family. We are family. The British and Spaniards are are only annoying foreigners living the life of a Soap Opera.
Some of the pine boughs around my house were sagging over 10ft with over a foot of snow and ice weighing them down. That’s how. Water is a hell of a force of nature.
My pines take a beating with wet snow but boy they look lovely also. Some droop so low they make snow rooms.
It’s a big ask, but… -don’t keep electrical infrastructure above ground (eliminating wind/tree/weather interference, as it does, quite often at my house) -don’t let CMP call the shots (wait until you see the rate hikes in January 🥺) -go off grid
Most of us are at the mercy of a very fragile, yet expensive system. Hopefully, this will create some innovation and opportunities for us to improve. In the mean time, a dual-fuel generator (maybe one that can tie in to your home’s panel) is a great contingency plan. Solar bank, wood stove, outdoor wood boiler, wind turbines…all things on my mind to help be more self-sufficient.
That’s the answer but the costs would be insane
We say that, but how much money and time is lost repairing the network year after year after year due to relatively predictable events?
The cost of underground utilities is indeed insane. There have been a multitude of studies done on this. Essentially imagine adding $100 a month to your residential electric bill in perpetuity. The cost of repairing the infrastructure that's already in place is much less than the cost to bury everything.
That’s cost over time though. Putting things under ground would take a ton of investment upfront.
It would, and when the underground equipment would at some point inevitably fail, it would take a hella long time to repair it.
They've had 50+ years to be innovative yet have still not arrived at that stage.
>They've had 50+ years to be innovative yet have still not arrived at that stage.
And what data do you have to back up this claim? Are you saying SCADA, fault detection and sectionalization devices, and advanced metering are not innovative?
Do tell us what you think they should be doing. Start with your qualifications for making such claims.
Did not realize I needed a PhD to have life experience. Maybe you should start with the post to which I commented. Then take your acid and go find some pepcid.
>Did not realize I needed a PhD to have life experience
Thank you for proving your ignorance on this matter. I gave you three examples of electric grid innovation and you come back with a personal attack. Sweet.
Those innovations do not prevent long stretches of power outages now, do they?
SCADA, sectionalizing, and fault detection absolutely can help to shorten outage duration so you are wrong again.
Weather related outages will happen. Utilities are always striving to improve reliability, bit they cannot control the weather. Learn to deal with it.
>can help to shorten outage duration so you are wrong again.
"can help" is passive but not the same as "will help" or "ends outages."
But pat yourself on the back for being... well, I dunno, a dick?
Well clearly you think you can do a better job operating the power grid. So by all means, apply for a job at the utility and show them how it is done. Dick.
>you think you can do a better job operating the power grid
My initial comment was as a direct response to another's re innovation. Had nothing to do with the strawmen you continue to throw up. Power outages have been an unsolved issue for power companies for decades. Maybe CMP can detect that tree falling over the lines more quickly now than they did in the 70's but as this thread clearly shows, folks continue to be without power in the dead of winter for days on end. Wake me up when the highfaluten innovation of your blessed power companies puts an end to that.
Learned the 3 energy source rule. Woostove plus attachments, propane and generator ( solar and gas both). That is my current set up. My S O has a huge genny on a trailer that we use in winter that plugs into the whole house. We only use that if it looks to be a long haul. The solar batteries can carry us for a few days. I won't ever depend on utility companies alone.
Nothing really can be done other than emergency preparation. Get food/water/blankets/battery packs/lamps/etc. you can deal with it. Some people resort to buddy heaters indoors, but remember they need good ventilation and a monoxide detector.
Like everyone else said. It's wet snow and ice. Also mind you these are real people repairing the grid. Working tirelessly and they are risking dangerous conditions to go quickly in restoration or determining the issue.
Just come up with a plan and treat it like a weather emergency. It sucks but that's all you can do. When I lived in NH I list power for like 4 days once during an ice storm.
Really its just part if living here.
Probably because we don’t clear trees back as far as we should. Heavy wet snow, even a mild storm, is going to fell some trees.
Is it because of the dispersed rural nature of the state that the network is so vast and therefore comparatively more expensive? Same as the roads?
You should probably move. You obviously don’t have a gaul to live here.
Change the elected officials. Look to help yourself if possible. CMP is a joke that needs complete restructuring.
Sorry, it's lesser of two evils from now until we are all dead. Vote blue and just accept the status quo... forever.
Term limits
Yea yea, we can all imagine a million ways things could be better. Congratulations.
Here is my counter offer....how about our leaders will continue to be corrupt and do what they want, while the will of the bottom 90+% have no statistical impact on policies.
No? Well, I don't care. You are going to keep voting to support it each year anyway. So just be quiet and keep doing your part.
Tress, debris and CMP are all problems, but the gas rate is high and your power is based off those prices. No one wants to cut back tree branches over the roadways which causes 2 issues, downed lines and poor road conditions. Maine is a poor hire state has been for a long time. The capable body's tend to leave for more pay and better conditions. Blame CMP all you want but the root is much deeper. Hydro out of Canada??? Biomass plants??? It's all there but people would rather overwhelm the system with 500 acres of farm/ forest field with solar arrays. Time to get a gen set if you can't handle the Maine conditions.
lol you can sum up this comment with “weather sucks” prob in the wrong place, flatlander
Quit griping and get a generator like everyone else. Until all electric is underground in a state filled with trees its gonna happen. Be prepared.
When I was living in Texas we got some ice and 1500 people died. we’re out power, some their houses because of freezing pipes. I moved here knowing that power problems happens during snow and winter storms. I was only out 8 hour and I live in a camper with a generator. I didn’t even have to run the generator before they had the power back on. Plymouth/dixmont/ Detroit area has done so well. This is the second repair they have done within 8 hours of power loss. Prepare for the worst.
It’s safer and quicker to shut the power down and get the tree workers and line men in and out.
Is it possible that right wing terrorists took it out as in other states?
It was a lot of white aggression but not that type.
Pretty sure there wasn’t an excessive amount of drag shows planned during a snow storm.
You need to step away from the internet for a few days. Or months. Go outside and make a snowman.
Mikerm3 t1_j0oxwh3 wrote
I’m all about the CMP hate train, but did you make a snowball out of the snow we got? that stuff was heavy as hell and it’s going to drop trees on power lines…