Electricity Shortage Warnings Grow Across U.S.

[arakboss]

We're PP&L. Our last bill was $195.00. Seemed higher than usual. But Wifey takes care of that. There's nothing I can do about any of it anyway. We supplement with wood in our all electric house. Baseboard heat. I'm sure the neighbors people next door think we're destroying the planet. The people with the new 60K electric car, heat pump, electric lawn mower/string trimmer, and grass/weeds knee deep before they do anything about it.

Our last electric bill for our condo was $300. The next bill will be worse.

 

[Mikej]

And the dopes want to keep adding demand through electrification of everything.

PSE customers asked to conserve energy to 'reduce strain on the grid' during frigid temps

komonews.com

It's easy to see how dilapidated the electrical infrastructure is becoming by simply looking at old rusty transformers and rotten poles. Only new stuff is being buried. I'm really worried if this ice storm is more than about 1/4-3/8".
I have a feeling that it's not only our ROAD & Highway's infrastructure that's mostly been ignored for years. I say it's time to get dems out of office, or at least less than the majority. Geezus, what's been allowed to happen just in potland when you try to get around town. The bicycle Nazi's believe we're all supposed to ride bikes or busses, with no concern for older people. We don't get dims out of office, in a few years brown outs will be the norm at the rate we're going.

Our last electric bill for our condo was $300. The next bill will be worse.

That's crazy! Electric heat, obviously?

 

[arakboss]

It's easy to see how dilapidated the electrical infrastructure is becoming by simply looking at old rusty transformers and rotten poles. Only new stuff is being buried. I'm really worried if this ice storm is more than about 1/4-3/8".
I have a feeling that it's not only our ROAD & Highway's infrastructure that's mostly been ignored for years. I say it's time to get dems out of office, or at least less than the majority. Geezus, what's been allowed to happen just in potland when you try to get around town. The bicycle Nazi's believe we're all supposed to ride bikes or busses, with no concern for older people. We don't get dims out of office, in a few years brown outs will be the norm at the rate we're going.

That's crazy! Electric heat, obviously?

Yep and bonus son runs portable AC 24/7 along with his gaming computer.

 

[The Heretic]

The bicycle Nazi's believe we're all supposed to ride bikes or busses, with no concern for older people.

Or disabled or injured or sick people of any age. Or young babies/toddlers/children. Or those people who have to drive 30 miles to get to work.

 

[Provincial]

We are all supposed to live next to the trolley lines and get jobs along those same trolley lines. Only the elites can have vehicles, and those will be electric. And the elites will have dachas in the pristine forests. And jet airplanes.

 

[WAYNO]

More electric vehicles. That'll fix our electricity shortage.

 

[Mikej]

But just in the warmer climates...

How does cold weather affect electric vehicles?

Teslas and other electric vehicles may be the way of the future, but many EV owners are having trouble dealing with Chicago’s bitterly cold temperatures. Here's why.

www.fox32chicago.com

And I'd like to know what kind of range those fancy battery powered cars get when it's real cold and they use the heater? Producing heat with electricity uses a lot of electricity. Maybe a small GAS heater?

 

[Xaevian]

But just in the warmer climates...

How does cold weather affect electric vehicles?

Teslas and other electric vehicles may be the way of the future, but many EV owners are having trouble dealing with Chicago’s bitterly cold temperatures. Here's why.

www.fox32chicago.com

And I'd like to know what kind of range those fancy battery powered cars get when it's real cold and they use the heater? Producing heat with electricity uses a lot of electricity. Maybe a small GAS heater?

About half that is listed

 

[The Heretic]

And the elites will have dachas in the pristine forests.

I guess that makes me an "elite".

From what I have seen - the "elite" have fancy house/apartments/condos in the city. I guess they don't like commuting long distances any more than I did, but it was worth it to live in my "dacha" in a "pristine forest".

 

[The Heretic]

But just in the warmer climates...

How does cold weather affect electric vehicles?

Teslas and other electric vehicles may be the way of the future, but many EV owners are having trouble dealing with Chicago’s bitterly cold temperatures. Here's why.

www.fox32chicago.com

And I'd like to know what kind of range those fancy battery powered cars get when it's real cold and they use the heater? Producing heat with electricity uses a lot of electricity. Maybe a small GAS heater?

The batteries require cooling - I don't know if they use that cooling system to provide heat, but from what I have read, heating the passenger compartment does cut down on range, and cold temps do significantly impact the range due to lower battery performance.

 

[The Heretic]

BTW - ice/snow on its way to the Willamette Valley - in two hours.

 

[Mikej]

About half that is listed

That's something I never hear them talk about? I wonder how many people that live in Montana and Wyoming drive EVs? Those states get their first/last freeze is Sep and late June. With a lot of single digit temps in between.

 

[Mikej]

BTW - ice/snow on its way to the Willamette Valley - in two hours.

I've been watching it. Have a huge pile of wood in the house. And got the Coleman stove W/fuel handy. But looking at the percentages through the hours it doesn't seem like there's a ton of this coming in.

 

[The Heretic]

I've been watching it. Have a huge pile of wood in the house. And got the Coleman stove W/fuel handy. But looking at the percentages through the hours it doesn't seem like there's a ton of this coming in.

TBD - prepare for the worst, hope for the best. So far I have not had any serious issues - not sure if the flickers in the lights have been due to the well pump coming on, or issues with the power lines.

Which reminds me, I should probably do some laundry while I still have full power.

 

[Xaevian]

That's something I never hear them talk about? I wonder how many people that live in Montana and Wyoming drive EVs? Those states get their first/last freeze is Sep and late June. With a lot of single digit temps in between.

And much more miles driven due the rural nature. A battery failure in between towns can be deadly in winter, especially if out of cell coverage.

 

[solv3nt]

And much more miles driven due the rural nature. A battery failure in between towns can be deadly in winter, especially if out of cell coverage.

How many self respecting Montanaites are buying that garbage? Montana is a place for self sufficiency, I don't think that type of a person is buying into the electric carp.

 

[Retired Guy]

Hertz plans to sell 20,000 of its electric cars

Hertz has announced that it plans to sell 20,000 of its electric cars (EV) – one-third of its EV fleet – and purchase more gas-powered cars. The move c

www.consumeraffairs.com

Hertz is cutting loose some electric vehicles. If there are any tax breaks out there, it could work out pretty cheap.

So if you want to look stylish....

Big point here is that they are buying gas powered cars to replace them.

 

[The Heretic]

Hertz plans to sell 20,000 of its electric cars

Hertz has announced that it plans to sell 20,000 of its electric cars (EV) – one-third of its EV fleet – and purchase more gas-powered cars. The move c

www.consumeraffairs.com

Hertz is cutting loose some electric vehicles. If there are any tax breaks out there, it could work out pretty cheap.

So if you want to look stylish....

Big point here is that they are buying gas powered cars to replace them.

until it becomes much more affordable to replace the batteries, I am not touching an EV. I would like to convert my pickup to an EV - if I keep the drivetrain (i.e., only replace the engine with an electric motor) and I could keep the weight down. I know I can replace the engine, but the batteries would add so much weight that it would take the curb weight right up to the GVWR. Plus the cost...

I don't mind the reduced range - if the minimum range was 100 miles, that would be okay as that is how I would use the pickup - for short trips to town and back home.

 

[Xaevian]

How many self respecting Montanaites are buying that garbage? Montana is a place for self sufficiency, I don't think that type of a person is buying into the electric carp.

The nearest Tesla service center is Boise, so those that have those are in for a real surprise! I see a few here, but they are rare, even though I work in the 2nd largest city in MT.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Once again, after 30 years in power generation at large utility companies:

Cost of Production:

Hydro - 0.5¢ per kWh
Coal - 2.5¢ per kWh
Nuclear - 2.5¢ per kWh
Natural Gas (Combined Cycle) 4.5¢ per kWh
Natural Gas (Steam Turbine) 10¢ per kWh
Natural Gas (Gas Turbine) 18¢ per kWh
Solar (PV) 25¢ per kWh
Wind Turbine 25¢ per kWh

The overall mixture of these technologies produces an overall wholesale cost of about 8.5¢ per kWh. When coal, nuclear, and hydro are removed from the mix, as is happening now, and replaced with solar and wind, the wholesale cost becomes about 12¢ per kWh. Thus retail cost goes from 15¢ per kWh to around 25¢ per kWh. So if your previous monthly bill was $300, after the changes are made it would come out to around $420.

But wait, there's more. Steam turbine, nuclear, and gas turbines provide a commodity or two that solar and wind can't. First there's "dispatchability", the ability to supply exactly the amount of electricity demanded at any given moment, otherwise known as load following. Due to the non-storable nature of AC electricity, when you take a whiz at 3 am and flick the light on, some spinning generator somewhere has to be ready to supply those 100 watts instantaneously. Wind and solar can't do that. The capacity to absorb load instantaneously is a commodity known as spinning reserve, and people get paid for providing that capability. If we rely on wind and solar for the bulk of our electricity then we need to pay someone else to provide that spinning reserve. Under the old model it was just automatically available.

The other commodity is voltage support. When electricity is transmitted over long distances the voltage begins to drop off. The capability to provide voltage support is a similar situation to the spinning reserve situation. Solar and wind are not good at providing voltage support, because mostly it is large generators at power plants that are operated as synchronous condensers that now provide voltage support. Solar and wind have no such capacity.

And since not many generating plants of any type are being built to replace retired nuclear and coal plants, what utilities hope to rely on for capacity is called Time Of Use rates. Time of use rates are used to smooth out the daily demand curve. You can get by with less generating capacity if you "encourage" people to use electricity at other than peak times, by making a kWh cost $2.00 at 6pm-8pm, and 5¢ at 1am-4am. You can make this doable with "Smart" appliances that can schedule themselves to do work at odd hours.

The other way to avoid building new generation is to use those same "Smart" appliances (like air conditioners) and remotely cause them to shut themselves off during peak hours.

This is America's future under "climate change" mitigation.