-
Hard Lesson
December 14, 2012 | 23 comments
-
Headline of the Day
October 29, 2012 | 1 comment
-
Russia to the Rescue?
October 19, 2011 | 6 comments
-
Useless in a Real Emergency
August 24, 2011 | 5 comments
-
S&P Solution
August 9, 2011 | 8 comments
The Spectacle Blog
Just so we all (a million or more) know — that was no ordinary thunderstorm last Friday night. It was a “derecho” — a meteorologist’s fancy word for a line of storms. Fast-moving and violent, a line more than 240 miles long with gusts of 60 mph or more. By all accounts, more than a million customers in the D.C. area lost electric power and many at this writing are still waiting for Pepco or one of the other distributers to turn them back on.
Speaking of Pepco, and I seldom do, some years ago my neighborhood went 8 days powerless. A vice-president of the company came by, took a look at a tree that had sheered some powerlines, and declared there was nothing to be done, at least for the moment. Fortunately, a neighbor across the street had a guest who drove down a major thoroughfare and happened across a crew of linemen and their New Jersey truck. (It was bad enough for Pepco, then as now, to import repair crews from other states.) The visitors averred they had nothing to busy themselves, Pepco having told them the work was about finished. “Ah, no,” said the visitor. “Just up the street is an entire neighborhood that’s been powerless for more than a week.”
Sure enough, the visitors drove up, saw the tree, fixed the wires, and the neighborhood lights went on! After eight days of darkness.
Power companies are now saying the remains of the derecho may be with some of the tens of thousands of victims for seven days or more. Much of the damage was done by uprooted trees and repairs have called for crews as far away as Oklahoma.
Of course, losing power in hundred degree heat is more than inconvenient; it is life-threatening.
There is a solution. It is seen (or unseen) in every new division or subdivision being established these days. The wiring is all underground. How expensive would it be to put all the wiring underground? Trees could then be decorative but not utility bearing and the next derecho that comes along would not have the disruptive power of this last one. Expensive? Darn right. Worth it? Right again. An expensive project that would put wires out of the jeopardy of willful winds and save millions from the sort of grief that stalks today.
View all comments (10) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Reid Collins
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/07/01/god-forbid-a-derecho
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Eugenic Abortion 2.0
- Inside the Gates of Eden
- Of Wizards and Weapons
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Kingofthenet| 7.2.12 @ 1:01AM
But you Conservatives hate infrastructure spending? What you baggers need is BIG box of Bootstraps!
JP| 7.2.12 @ 9:42AM
And why should taxpayers foot the bill to bury private power lines? You may find this hard to believe, but private consumers foot the bill for power lines.
Capt G| 7.2.12 @ 8:52AM
Utility companies have set up automated call lines that meet their needs, and not necessarily their customers. After the initial outage, calling in is largely a waste of time.
At my former residence, we always seemed to be the last to see power restored. Driving around to find one of the repair crews was always the solution. Friendly, courteous, and understanding...in short everything the utility itself was not...they'd usually have the power back on in minutes. The consistent problem was, the street I lived on showed up as a different street, a county road not a part of the city, only because the charts the crews operate off of predate the interstate system. Our residences always showed up as the responsibility of the crew to the west of us, who showed up only to find a street dead ending up against a highway. The east side crew was tasked to go to the corner, a block away from the interstate, and so, that block always stayed dark.
A box of donuts and a thermos of coffee don't hurt, but aren't exactly required, when you find the guys leaning over the hood of a truck scanning charts. You will be surprised, more often than not, that he is surprised to find your lights are not yet on. Apparently, it's an inexact science. No matter; he'll wave his hand and Joe or Mike will drive over and check it out. At a minimum, you'll get an authoritative estimate on restoration.
fmm| 7.2.12 @ 8:59AM
Two comments:
We have underground wiring in our area and it goes out all the time due to leaks in the cabling - so not really the great solution you envision particularly at huge expense.
Wonder how the human race survived hot weather before electricity and air conditioning.
SCPOret| 7.2.12 @ 9:51AM
Just an update - Crews are leaving Houston this morning to assist on the east coast.
John Navratil| 7.2.12 @ 10:42AM
I mean no disrespect to all y'all good people way up east,
but those of use who have lived through hurricanes and week-long power outages in the South where daily highs are rarely below 90 for months on end don't wonder how you will survive. You will.
irish19| 7.2.12 @ 11:53AM
And there you have it. People survived for millenia without central air and electricity.
However, if you are one of those souls who is currently without power (in which case how are you reading this?) do remember to check on neighbors, especially the elderly. Good time to start some local community building.
Dai Alanye | 7.2.12 @ 12:53PM
Burying power lines is also a partial defense against EMP. It's something power and communication companies should be strongly encouraged to do. As far as leaks when lines are underground, these can be handled with more sophisticated design. You know, like putting in gravity drainage systems
lsudolemite| 7.2.12 @ 2:44PM
My brother is a safety supervisor for a local utility company, who insists that burying all old power lines on a large scale is prohibitively expensive, especially since power companies have invested most of their money in equipment to construct and maintain lines above ground that would have to be replaced.
This is an argument that comes up all the time when we have a hurricane ravaging the Gulf Coast every few years. Back in 2008 Gustav decimated the entire state of Louisiana, and my brother told me he had no idea how a single tree was left upright in the state. Every time we get one of these, power companies have to completely replace large sections of poles and power lines. One would think that burying lines would be much cheaper over time than having to replace large chunks of infrastructure every time, but that apparently isn't the case.
And 7 years later I still get hurricane surcharges from Katrina every month.