NotYou007 t1_j1hf1oc wrote
I'm in Maine and a tad over 248,000 are still without power. Didn't help we had excessive winds which prevented linesmen from doing their jobs. Thankfully I never lost power but 2 miles down the road it is a different story.
A lot of people in Maine have generators and wood stoves but a lot of others do not and right now it is 20 degrees and the high for today is 21 with a low of 12 and we won't get above freezing till Thursday so for some, this could become a life threating situation.
asdaaaaaaaa t1_j1hfiup wrote
>A lot of people in Maine have generators and wood stoves but a lot of others do not and right now
It's probably going to become as "normal" as a fridge or HVAC in housing for some areas in the future. Climate's changing, and expected temperatures/extremes are changing. Not much else someone can really do when you effectively know you're going to get weather like this and the infrastructure isn't going to handle it anytime soon. I know many people who already had their own large generator/solar installed to their houses due to that, many people know it's going to be something they want and don't want to wait until everyone's rushing to have theirs installed.
TheodoeBhabrot t1_j1ho0yt wrote
These big outages are cyclical in New England, we have a ton of trees and above ground lines, the power companies trim them the best they can in the summer but a big enough storm comes through and nature culls the ones they didn’t get to, causing these outages.
Then it’s usually a few years before the trees get to a state where they’re susceptible to this again, at least from pure wind.
mant12 t1_j1hpx7h wrote
Wood stoves have always been common in Maine, might see more generators but the issue with those is cost. This has been a problem in Maine as long as I’ve been alive. Heavily wooded landscape does not bode well when there are high winds or lots of snow.
SadElkBoy t1_j1idg0q wrote
Yeah southeast Idaho doesn’t seem to have the same issues with widespread outages, but a big part of that is that the snake River plain doesn’t have a ton of trees
jdjvbtjbkgvb t1_j1jto2d wrote
Free idea for the people in charge: dig the power wires underground
fragnoli t1_j1juh75 wrote
They do, but it’s a lot of extra work to secure them properly. Lots of concrete and need special (more expensive) wire. Then something eventually happens, but they have no way to track down exactly where the issue is. It ends up being cheaper to run new poles and lines over the underground ones than to fix.
jdjvbtjbkgvb t1_j1jz3tb wrote
Sure, I quess it's more expensive to do it, until you count all the death and destruction you get with the cheap option.
pzerr t1_j1l9rjt wrote
Not really. Say it would cost a trillion dollars to bury them all. Put that money towards new hospitals and you would save factors more people.
jdjvbtjbkgvb t1_j1laf9k wrote
Until the hospitals run out of power... What kind of comparison is that?
pzerr t1_j1lbb26 wrote
Hospitals have generators. Nearly every one of them.
jdjvbtjbkgvb t1_j1lbt33 wrote
Yes I agree you need hospitals. You also need reliable power infrastrucrure. You can put part of it underground, some parts overground, make back-up lines. Reliable power infra is possible to achieve. And you do not have to give up your hospitals.Yet you do not seem to want changes to the infrastructure? I am at a loss.
I am quessing that 1) the infrastructure is actually privatized 2) even the hospitals you speak of are privatized. And in that case, sure, you can just calmly count the dollars and say stuff like that. Hospitals have generators...
pzerr t1_j1mhjs3 wrote
Anything is possible to change with enough money and labor. What industries do you take that labor from that doesn't hurt us in other ways?
SadElkBoy t1_j1jy442 wrote
Until the lines break and it’s a massive PITA to fix them
[deleted] t1_j1kc48l wrote
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[deleted] t1_j1jxm6h wrote
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Fun-Gap4015 t1_j1hrnv6 wrote
Mainers are doing just fine thanks, we've had a winter or two
holyhellsteve t1_j1ibab1 wrote
Missing the good old days like the ice storm in 98. Three family's staying in our little two bedroom for 12 days because we had the furnace plugged into the neighbors generator.
Fun-Gap4015 t1_j1ii92x wrote
I'm hoping to get enough maine girls over for a full set of teeth. THEN we can cuddle for warmth
flaccidcolon t1_j1ibgxw wrote
We had a terrible winter storm a few years back and nearly froze. Because of this, we installed a wood stove in our house. Now I don't worry nearly as much during the cold months.
asdaaaaaaaa t1_j1ibonn wrote
Yep, been hearing the same in a lot of places. Either a stove, or the fancy people getting entire backup-generators. They don't help much if the infrastructure (specifically gas, in their case) goes up though. I think some people are confused and think I meant only in Maine, where most people already have some form of backup heat. Plenty of places don't though, although people are learning quite quick it seems.
flaccidcolon t1_j1ibx1y wrote
Yeah I'm in the pnw and it does snow a little here but our entire city was without power for days and days. Even the hotels were powerless. So we invested in the woodstove and I'm glad we did!
pzerr t1_j1laabw wrote
It is pretty rare to lose gas. Being buried as it is. I recall speaking with a technician in my area about this. Wondered what happened if we lost a major compressor. He stated there was enough capacity between distribution and feeder lines to last three colder days and that there was multiple compressors that needed to fail for this to happen. Worst is a line break normal due to digging but that typically effects few people.
I can't think of a single instance where we last gas in my 50 years. Do recall days of no power. Mind you that is pretty rare now.
AdorableTrouble t1_j1k94dz wrote
We've got a couple of kerosene heaters and always keep some fuel for them on hand. One thing about power out in the winter is not usually worrying about our outside freezer.
pzerr t1_j1l9m1x wrote
Solar does not help in a power outage. Have solar installed myself. Batteries are not viable in any way but for a few hours.
[deleted] t1_j1i3s4k wrote
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Desner_ t1_j1i89ik wrote
There was a push of hot air in the north, in Québec we got snow yesterday morning, then a bunch of rain before it turned to snow again. Meanwhile Texas was freezing. Pretty odd indeed.
Azudekai t1_j1iclif wrote
Maine isn't that cold, mostly wet and windy from coast proximity.
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