Who gets the electricity and who makes the decision?

[Leadeye]

A day doesn't go by without something said about the grid, but I've never heard what happens when demand passes supply and who gets what. I know you just can't reduce voltage and spread it around so is there some sort of "electrical czar" who decides between light and dark?

 

[XDdreams]

Interesting question. Could this person decide "who" gets priority in scarcity situations and who doesn't?

Would they have to justify it in some type of terms?

-Economic contribution to local industry
-Perceived value to society
-Social status
-Essential workers

 

[Magyars]

The California's used brown outs....or localized blackout for short durations.
All I know for sure is we should all be ready for elec outages..

 

[Creedmoor]

A day doesn't go by without something said about the grid, but I've never heard what happens when demand passes supply and who gets what. I know you just can't reduce voltage and spread it around so is there some sort of "electrical czar" who decides between light and dark?

Why do you think that at first they just don't reduce voltage to the consumer?

 

[Brandon]

Anyone with the extra box on their ac or power company provided smart thermostat is probably front of the line*


*they offer it as a discount usually for like 20 bucks a year.

Somone in a nice office with air conditioning monitoring how much power an area is using decides to disable your compressor for a few minutes here and there.

 

[dsol]

I will be willing to bet a dollar or two that politicians will be a part of the essential group that will not have power reduced.

 

[racegunz]

For all the inefficiency of solar power, it’s the best (in my opinion) for such possibilities. A 10k watt system will bridge the gap for brownouts and with planning get you by in the zombie apocalypse. Another upside is reducing your current bill and not having to store fuel that will run out in a few weeks at best. Ymmv.

 

[Brian's Surplus]

We are just a major cyber attack away from EVERYONE losing power, for a LONG time.

It's also quite possible to knock out the majority of power in the 48 states with a coordinated physical attack on multiple substations.

I won't be surprised at all if the power goes out soon, and doesn't come back on for a long time.

 

[XDdreams]

We are just a major cyber attack away from EVERYONE losing power, for a LONG time.

It's also quite possible to knock out the majority of power in the 48 states with a coordinated physical attack on multiple substations.

I won't be surprised at all if the power goes out soon, and doesn't come back on for a long time.

It's been stated multiple times that Chinese/Russian hackers have already gained entry into our infrastructure systems and are lying in wait. Just a matter of when they get their orders to flip the switch.

 

[Creedmoor]

We are just a major cyber attack away from EVERYONE losing power, for a LONG time.

It's also quite possible to knock out the majority of power in the 48 states with a coordinated physical attack on multiple substations.

I won't be surprised at all if the power goes out soon, and doesn't come back on for a long time.

If that happens, we'll be rolling coal through the fields to Greentown.
We will bring lots of fuel, food and fun with us.

 

[Cameramonkey]

For all the inefficiency of solar power, it’s the best (in my opinion) for such possibilities. A 10k watt system will bridge the gap for brownouts and with planning get you by in the zombie apocalypse. Another upside is reducing your current bill and not having to store fuel that will run out in a few weeks at best. Ymmv.

Plus solar is much lower profile than generators. You could hide those if necessary. I could see .gov pulling a Katrina-esque roundup of generators to get those in the hands of those they deem more worthy of power. (Like they confiscated guns "for safety") Or neighbors that think they deserve it more.

We are just a major cyber attack away from EVERYONE losing power, for a LONG time.

It's also quite possible to knock out the majority of power in the 48 states with a coordinated physical attack on multiple substations.

I won't be surprised at all if the power goes out soon, and doesn't come back on for a long time.

And it might not be the commies that do it. We are nearing the end of the Solar Maximum cycle and as you may have noticed the sun is getting mighty sporty recently. And its expected to get worse. It should calm down by June of 2026.

On top of the doozie that hit us and gave us Aurora conditions a bit ago, they observed a huge CME that luckily was facing away from the earth when it blew. Big enough that although we didnt get hit by the blast, it was still enough to make GPS go a little wonky and kill the ham radio bands. So big that even though it wasn't even a glancing blow, there was enough energy at the extreme edges to still give us problems.

A direct hit from a big CME like that could cause a Carrington Event Part II Electric Boogaloo for at least whatever hemisphere was pointed at the sun when it hits. Taking down power lines, blowing countless transformers, etc. And some of the transformers you cant just throw together. There is one monster that they use that under normal conditions takes 18 months to get. So pretty much TEOTWAWKI. Even on the far side of the earth from the hit life would change due to supply chains, global political power shifts, etc.

 

[Brian's Surplus]

Plus solar is much lower profile than generators. You could hide those if necessary. I could see .gov pulling a Katrina-esque roundup of generators to get those in the hands of those they deem more worthy of power. (Like they confiscated guns "for safety") Or neighbors that think they deserve it more.



And it might not be the commies that do it. We are nearing the end of the Solar Maximum cycle and as you may have noticed the sun is getting mighty sporty recently. And its expected to get worse. It should calm down by June of 2026.

On top of the doozie that hit us and gave us Aurora conditions a bit ago, they observed a huge CME that luckily was facing away from the earth when it blew. Big enough that although we didnt get hit by the blast, it was still enough to make GPS go a little wonky and kill the ham radio bands. So big that even though it wasn't even a glancing blow, there was enough energy at the extreme edges to still give us problems.

A direct hit from a big CME like that could cause a Carrington Event Part II Electric Boogaloo for at least whatever hemisphere was pointed at the sun when it hits. Taking down power lines, blowing countless transformers, etc. And some of the transformers you cant just throw together. There is one monster that they use that under normal conditions takes 18 months to get. So pretty much TEOTWAWKI. Even on the far side of the earth from the hit life would change due to supply chains, global political power shifts, etc.

It's a matter of when, not if, something like the Carrington event occurs again. It might be decades, or even centuries. It might happen in the next few months (as you pointed out, the sun is going through it's solar maximum, increasing this likelihood). It WILL happen at some point.

 

[Cameramonkey]

It's a matter of when, not if, something like the Carrington event occurs again. It might be decades, or even centuries. It might happen in the next few months (as you pointed out, the sun is going through it's solar maximum, increasing this likelihood). It WILL happen at some point.

Yep. its like a guy on a merry go round firing a gun outward randomly and repeatedly. He may not hit a bystander right away, but eventually the trigger is gonna get pulled when its pointed in the right direction, and somebody is gonna get hit.

 

[Leadeye]

Anyone with the extra box on their ac or power company provided smart thermostat is probably front of the line*


*they offer it as a discount usually for like 20 bucks a year.

Somone in a nice office with air conditioning monitoring how much power an area is using decides to disable your compressor for a few minutes here and there.

Why do you think that at first they just don't reduce voltage to the consumer?

I remember from my mexico manufacturing days that reduced voltages are hard on electric motors. I would imagine that you can only get away with this to a certain degree. Magyars mentioned brownouts and I remember those, are computers different than industrial motors? Do they continue to work reliably if line voltage drops?

 

[Creedmoor]

I remember from my mexico manufacturing days that reduced voltages are hard on electric motors. I would imagine that you can only get away with this to a certain degree. Magyars mentioned brownouts and I remember those, are computers different than industrial motors? Do they continue to work reliably if line voltage drops?

Yes, dropping voltage in significant number is hard on elec motors and electronics. Some things can take a pretty wide up and down with voltage some stuff cant. I'm sure a few of the IT guys here will chime in.

 

[JTKelly]

I doubt they are going to "drop" many of those new power hogging data centers. They are the main concern for right now.

I imagine places with names like Huron, Mitchell, Glenwood, and Shoals are not high on the priority list.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Yes, dropping voltage in significant number is hard on elec motors and electronics. Some things can take a pretty wide up and down with voltage some stuff cant. I'm sure a few of the IT guys here will chime in.

voltage dips cause weirdness in computers. Thats why a UPS will boost your voltage to keep things behind them running happy.
Though some things will still run fine at lower voltages. I had a CCTV camera back in the day that was rated at 24VDC Passive PoE. But when I talked to the manufacturer, they said it would run just fine down to about 10.5v. So you could easily power it with a car battery. I suspect the 24v was because they also made a lot of other gear that also used the same PSU.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Notice which geographic area is at high risk of electrical supply short falls...

Tech giants' self-made AI energy crisis

For years tech giants have been helping climate catastrophists shut down reliable fossil fuel electricity. Now the grid they've helped gut cannot possibly supply their growing AI needs.

alexepstein.substack.com

 

[Twangbanger]

I will be willing to bet a dollar or two that politicians will be a part of the essential group that will not have power reduced.

The Eastern Patrician Elite got their "zero carbon" electricity supplies (read "nuclear plants") permitted and in the bag before Three Mile Island occurred.

Those of us out here in Country Bump Land got ours canceled.

The elites will suffer not one whit.

 

[Ziggidy]

I will be willing to bet a dollar or two that politicians will be a part of the essential group that will not have power reduced.

If you are white, straight, conservative and christian, you will be first to be cut. Everyone else, including illegals will remain on the full grid.