Imperial Valley electrical power out.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a massive power outage affecting the Southwestern United States, particularly San Diego and parts of Arizona and Mexico. Participants share personal experiences, speculate on causes, and discuss the implications of the outage on daily life and infrastructure.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants mention that the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant shut down two units as part of standard procedure during the outage, raising questions about the appropriateness of such a shutdown during a power outage.
  • Several participants speculate that the outage may be related to increased air conditioning usage due to a heatwave.
  • One participant humorously claims responsibility for the outage after recently installing an air conditioner, suggesting a connection between their actions and the power failure.
  • Concerns are raised about the widespread nature of the outage, with one participant noting that it affected traffic systems, businesses, and communication channels.
  • Another participant shares anecdotal evidence of the chaos caused by the outage, describing a post-apocalyptic scene with no lights or operational businesses.
  • There are references to a technician's actions at a substation in Yuma, which some participants believe may have triggered the outage, although details remain unclear.
  • Participants express frustration over the lack of immediate information regarding the cause and extent of the outage.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the exact cause of the outage, with multiple competing theories and personal anecdotes shared. The discussion reflects uncertainty and speculation rather than established facts.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various assumptions about the power grid's reliability and the potential impact of individual actions on such a widespread outage. There are also references to the limitations of communication during the outage, affecting the flow of information.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those following infrastructure reliability, power grid management, and the social impacts of power outages, as well as individuals experiencing similar outages.

OmCheeto
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My sister lives in San Diego and posted on FB that much of the SW US is out of power.

Have been snooping around for news for the last 10 minutes and ran across the following:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Massive-Power-Outage-Hits-San-Diego-OC-129498468.html"
...
At the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant, two units went off line around 3:38 p.m. The shutdown was part of standard procedure during a power outage, Edison said.
...

During a level 9 earthquake, it kind of makes sense to shut down the reactors, but during a power outage?

But then again, maybe they just disconnected from the grid, and "shutdown" is just news babble. (crossing fingers)
 
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Air conditioning, I'll bet.

http://news.yahoo.com/power-millions-calif-ariz-mexico-002048883.html
 
Evo said:
Air conditioning, I'll bet.

http://news.yahoo.com/power-millions-calif-ariz-mexico-002048883.html

:bugeye:

Uh oh.

I bought my house in 1989. I have never had an air conditioner, until two weeks ago.

I installed it last night, and left it on..., all night.

/me raises hand. It was me.

:redface:
 
OmCheeto said:
:bugeye:

Uh oh.

I bought my house in 1989. I have never had an air conditioner, until two weeks ago.

I installed it last night, and left it on..., all night.

/me raises hand. It was me.

:redface:
AHA! So you were the one that blew the fuse!

Oh those poor people in that heatwave.
 
OmCheeto said:
/me raises hand. It was me.

:redface:

Such reckless abandon.
 
Wow, it's really widespread. Poor MiH! (And all other PFers affected!)
 
I was wondering why people hadn't posted about it, laptops have batteries, during one outage my laptop kept me sane until the battery ran out, and now people can connect via cell phone and car chargers will keep your cell phone charged. Surely we must have at least one member in the affected area with the ability to connect?
 
This should have been confined to the Yuma area according to this link. Most of AZ has power.

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Power-out-for-sweltering-Calif-Ariz-Mexico-2161966.php

The old power grid has a mind of its own. The last time we had a prolonged outage in AZ it started when a tree touched a power line in Idaho.
 
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edward said:
This should have been confined to the Yuma area according to this link. Most of AZ has power.

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Power-out-for-sweltering-Calif-Ariz-Mexico-2161966.php

The old power grid has a mind of its own. The last time we had a prolonged outage in AZ it started when a tree touched a power line in Idaho.
I sure would hate to be THAT employee.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — An employee at a power substation in southwest Arizona likely caused a massive outage that left more than 2 million people without electricity across the Southwest and northern Mexico.

Power officials in Arizona said the employee was carrying out a procedure at a substation in North Gila northeast of Yuma. They didn't immediately explain the procedure.

I can see it now, Hank goes home for dinner with his wife, 2.1 children and 1.5 pets, sits in the barca lounger, kids come rushing in, daddy, daddy, what did you do at work today?

Daddy - well kids, I killed power to the entire southwestern portion of the United States! Wow, daddy! They must be so proud of you!

Daddy - Yes, they were so impressed they told me that I don't have to come back anymore. They don't think any other person can top what I've done.

Oh daddy, can we tell about it at school tomorrow?
 
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  • #10
Evo said:
I was wondering why people hadn't posted about it, laptops have batteries, during one outage my laptop kept me sane until the battery ran out, and now people can connect via cell phone and car chargers will keep your cell phone charged. Surely we must have at least one member in the affected area with the ability to connect?

Never mind. Sissy says San Diego has power back as of seven minutes ago.

But I did tell her that I'd be down soon with solar panels and other nonsensical things for the next time this happens.

Her beer was about to get warm!

o:)
 
  • #11
Evo said:
I sure would hate to be THAT employee.

I can see it now, Hank goes home for dinner with his wife, 2.1 children and 1.5 pets, sits in the barca lounger, kids come rushing in, daddy, daddy, what did you do at work today?

Daddy - well kids, I killed power to the entire southwestern portion of the United States! Wow, daddy! They must be so proud of you!

Daddy - Yes, they were so impressed they told me that I don't have to come back anymore. They don't think any other person can top what I've done.

Oh daddy, can we tell about it at school tomorrow?
:smile:
I love short stories.

Especially at bed time. Thank you Evo.

Night all!

10pm?

:cry:
:zzz:
 
  • #12
The lights are coming back on, now, but it was the freakin' Day the Earth Stood Still here. Traffic was mega congested during rush hour because all the traffic lights went out. The city trolley system which is electric, came to a halt with thousands stranded where they were. Then all the stores started closing because they had no juice to operate cash registers. No stopping at the corner market for a bottle of coke. Bars and coffee shops: closed. Cars were pulling into gas stations that had no power to pump gas. Some just sat there, knowing they didn't have enough gas to get home and hoping the juice would come back soon.

When the sun went down it was like a post-apocalyptic cityscape: no light anywhere, but the occasional flashlight of the odd pedestrian. At home: no lights, no TV, no internet. Even if you had a fully charged battery in your laptop, the cable companies had no power to operate their system. (It might have been possible to get online through a landline with dial up, but I don't have that anymore.)

My neighborhood came back on the grid at 10:00PM, but there was still no TV or internet for a couple hours. It's looking like downtown is all lit back up. I went out exploring and it seems the 7/11's jumped right back open as soon as they could, but they had no coffee or ice for the soda.

No one could get access to the news and we had no idea what caused it or how widespread it was. One guy told me it extended into Arizona and Texas. Another guy told me a huge, strategic transformer in Az had blown up. Now I read it was caused by some technician changing out a part in Yuma.
 

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