The United States is not prepared for a catastrophic power outage, according to an alarming new report from the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC).
The report, titled Surviving a Catastrophic Power Outage, explains the findings of the council, which is tasked with examining the nation’s “ability to respond to and recover from a catastrophic power outage of a magnitude beyond modern experience, exceeding prior events in severity, scale, duration, and consequence. Simply put, how can the nation best prepare for and recover from a catastrophic power outage, regardless of the cause?”
It begins with a grim statement in the Executive Summary:
After interviews with dozens of senior leaders and experts and an extensive review of studies and statutes, we found that existing national plans, response resources, and coordination strategies would be outmatched by a catastrophic power outage. This profound risk requires a new national focus.
The NIAC defines a catastrophic power outage as:
- Events beyond modern experience that exhaust or exceed mutual aid capabilities
- Likely to be no-notice or limited-notice events that could be complicated by a cyber-physical attack
- Long duration, lasting several weeks to months due to physical infrastructure damage
- Affects a broad geographic area, covering multiple states or regions and affecting tens of millions of people
- Causes severe cascading impacts that force critical sectors—drinking water and wastewater systems, communications, transportation, healthcare, and financial services—to operate in a degraded state
Actions that all levels of government need to take to prepare are discussed in the report, as summarized in this chart:
Here’s more from the 94-page report (emphasis ours):
The NIAC was challenged to think beyond even our most severe power disruptions, imagining an outage that stretches beyond days and weeks to months or years, and affects large swaths of the country. Unlike severe weather disasters, a catastrophic power outage may occur with little or no notice and result from myriad types of scenarios: for example, a sophisticated cyber-physical attack resulting in severe physical infrastructure damage; attacks timed to follow and exacerbate a major natural disaster; a large-scale wildfire, earthquake, or geomagnetic event; or a series of attacks or events over a short period of time that compound to create significant physical damage to our nation’s infrastructure. An event of this severity may also be an act of war, requiring a simultaneous military response that further draws upon limited resources. For the purpose of this study, the NIAC focused not on the cause, but rather on the consequences, which are best categorized as severe, widespread, and long-lasting.
While most of the report’s focus is on actions that government agencies need to take, the report (on page 14) does mention preparedness for individuals as well:
People no longer keep enough essentials within their homes, reducing their ability to sustain themselves during an extended, prolonged outage. We need to improve individual preparedness.
Most preparedness campaigns call for citizens to be prepared for 72 hours in an emergency, but the new emerging standard is 14 days.
For example, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii have a standard that individuals have enough food and water to support themselves for 14 days. These efforts could serve as a model for federal and state preparedness resources, campaigns, and training.
The idea of individual preparedness is not a new concept. Civil defense, an older term used to elevate a level of individual preparedness and activate communities, used to be be more widely accepted.
FEMA offers a number of tools, resources, and guidance on emergency preparedness, including recent efforts focused on better financial preparedness for disasters, and working with interagency partners on activity books and courses to educate students on emergency preparedness.
The NIAC is not the only group that has recently issued a report that contains dire warnings for the US. Just two weeks ago, the U.S. Air Force Electromagnetic Defense Task Force (EDTF) published a report that claims “electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and other electromagnetic threats pose an unprecedented threat to U.S. military power and national survival.”
“Based on the totality of available data,” said the report from the Air Force’s Air University, “an electromagnetic spectrum attack may be a threat to the United States, democracy, and the world order.”
The EDTF report examined threats from across the electromagnetic spectrum, including nuclear and non-nuclear EMP, geomagnetic disturbance (GMD), lasers and optics, directed energy (DE), and high-power microwaves (HPM), along with management of these threats.
Dr. Peter Pry (who served as chief of staff of the Congressional EMP Commission, on the staff of the House Armed Services Committee and at the CIA) highlighted some of the report’s findings in an article for The Daily Caller:
- Protracted blackout of the electric grid could cause U.S. nuclear reactors to “go Fukushima” and contaminate vast regions with radioactivity, crippling U.S. capabilities to mobilize and project military power and threatening the lives of the American people.
- U.S. military bases depend upon the civilian power grid and would be paralyzed by a protracted blackout.
- Communications, transportation, food and water that sustain both the U.S. military and the civilian population are all at risk to electromagnetic threats.
- “Based on the totality of available data, the Task Force contends the second- and third-order effects of an EMS [Electro-Magnetic Spectrum] attack may be a threat to the United States, democracy, and the world order.”
Both reports should provide an incentive to prepare for a grid-down event, if you haven’t adequately prepped already.
There are a few (totally insane) things you can expect during a grid failure.
If you are looking for a simple guide for beginners or for more advanced preppers to help you prepare for the possibility of a power grid failure, try reading The Prepper’s Blueprint. Written by Tess Pennington, the book expertly lays out effective ways everyone can begin to prepare for any apocalyptic situation.
“If we have learned one thing studying the history of disasters, it is this: those who are prepared have a better chance at survival than those who are not.” -The Prepper’s Blueprint
I wish everyone the best of luck..
Yeah so we’ve heard this story time and time again but what’s gettin done about it? Absolutely nothing.
I just read all the comments below. Seems like there’s alot of experts throwing in their knowledge.
Frankly, I don’t give a damn if the grid goes down. Interesting times are a comin
It is counter intuitive to think the Deep State Police State and NSA and NWO would WANT an EMP type power out event. They lose ALL of the technology that allows them to control the narrative and people when their phones and internet stop working.
TPTB NEED AND REQUIRE the power grid to work for them to remain in control. Without the technological slavery they hold the population with, they can do NOTHING.
I’m thinkin the deep state has their own power source(s). They have their own everything else. If they do, they could just shut down the grid and say it’s an emp
So what? How do you control the masses if you cant reach them because their technology is useless junk? TPTB are entirely reliant on keeping the masses under control by keeping them on the short electronic leash. Embedded chips…will be fried so useless also. How do you communicate and influence the masses that no longer have TV or Internet or smart phones? they would have to come out of their burrows and do it in person..and you know better they aren’t going to do that either…so what if their junk works in their holes.
“How do you control the masses if you can’t reach them cause their technology is useless junk?”
You starve them Neal
I’m all off the grid way out in the boonies secure in my BOL / few acres compound, all on private land and roads leading into here and on a private canal, and miles of swamp around me. Nobody is coming from that direction. Get your No Trespass signs up now, and have a few more on reserve when the grid system collapses. Your No Trespass signs on your property, and around the parameter, is notice that you will prosecute or shoot as necessary. One of the first questions that will be asked in court is: Did this person you shot have a right to be on your property, and what warning did you give them in advance. A No Trespass Sign covers your ASS legally.
Also here in FL, if someone trespasses on my property with a firearm, I can arrest and detain them. Yeah, After I shot them, because I feared for my life.
Well I’m sure as hell glad we have the .gov here to tell us these things. OMG are we so screwed if we expect FEMA of the .gov to come to the rescue If/When….UGHHHH!!!!
Talk about STUPID, they on one hand say 24 or 14 days, and in their own report say “Long duration, lasting several weeks to months due to physical infrastructure damage” Good friggen luck with that……
I’m not convinced that the 14 day is accurate and more likely a number pulled out of the air. Something of this nature, beyond geographically confined caused by a storm, may last months. If its war, forever because it’s improbable that it would be confined to just an EMP weapon. It would be a great benefit if the big food box stores received tax breaks for having added inventory of non perishables.
Kevin 2. Agree with your assessment. It’s like the latest to come out about how we are supposed to expect “anomalously” hot summers staring in 2018 until 2022. Where did they come up with 2022? And where did the come up with an adjective that means “deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected.”
If we are lucky then this is just more fear porn. If not, then in just 4-short years we are cooked, but good. And 2022 is the date that will be carved on our head stones.
These same climatologists are predicting Saudi Arabia’s temperatures to reach 175-degrees (F) by 2100, which means all of the Middle East and most of Africa. But why 2100? Where did that number come from? Is this just the government’s way to desensitize the people to the forced invasion of millions of George Soros sponsored illegal caravans and boat people?
the actual tabletop exercises I’ve been privy to have shown repeatedly the timeline is six months to several years.
Not sure where these people got their numbers, but “overly optimistic” is an understatement.
Agreed. If systemic grid failure occurs such that hardware needs to be replaced, these things are not in inventory to wholesale replace innumerable transformer failures. It would take years to do that. No industrial electrical company is going to build these devices ahead of time just in case they are needed. They make them largely upon predictable demand. They sure lack the employees to manufacture them.
Look at hurricane situations now in America. They always need electrical workers from outside the affected regions to come in and bail them out. If it’s systemic grid failure, most likely the urban areas containing 80% of the population get priority. That’s those folks who voted for Hillary and that leaves over 90 % of America’s land mass without power.
Maranatha
I have posted on here for about 10 years now off and on. I work in the power industry. You are correct about a large scale transformer failure. The power company’s do try to get the largest groups of people back in service first. Biggest bang for the buck you know. Regarding hurricanes and such. For years help comes in from other states due to the massive damage. Yes company’s run as lean as they can but with major storms they would need help anyway. Just too much damage. You have so many poles and cross arms broken. It just takes time.
The major problem is the large transformers. We do have extra in stock. Not sure how many though. I know there were two spares at a local sub station. There were 7 in service in that particular station. The transformers are manufactured mostly overseas now. Takes months to get a new one.
I’ve been watching a number of videos available for view on YouTube including “a plain truth” and others.
The video documentation shows a preplanned event using lasers to incinerate homes, and their occupants, leaving lawns, trees, and flimsy articles like mailboxes and garbage cans totally unharmed. Vehicle’s and the occupants lasered leaving a hole where the laser was aimed. Witnesses saw a school bus laser burned and children killed immediately after children entered the vehicle.
How do you prepare if this was the test run for Agenda 21/30 which it seems to be. It follows the exact pattern on a map.
Other than moving out of the places being set up as wildlife reserves, and moving into a “smart” city with apartments like the projects that the blacks used to be housed in during the fifties and sixties which looked descent at first but turned into shithole slums.
Trump announced that it was the “calm before the storm” when asked what that meant he said, “You’ll find out.” And so we have.
How do we prepare for this?
_
With the ability to utilize infrared and hear signatures I am skeptical of wilderness settings to avoid their agenda of destroying us.
Maybe the space agency is already in existence. Maybe President Trump was just announcing it after the fact.
Maybe it’s not our space agency, but somebody else, and we are under attack.
Both option present even bigger questions. Not only how do you prepare for something like that? And how do we know it’s our own government?
Maybe that’s what all the chemtrails are about. The directed energy weapons can’t shoot through an atmosphere that is obscured.
If it was an enemy attacking us why haven’t the nukes gone off on our side?
If it is our own government testing their new toy out on their own citizens and the chemtrails is just testing a possible defense, then our own government needs to be considered an Enemy of the People.
iz that your little friend in the wood chopper
“U.S. military bases depend upon the civilian power grid and would be paralyzed by a protracted blackout.”
BS. I went through a super Typhoon in Guam. We had no regular power for months and we were fully operational. Ate lots of “C” rats, shit in trash cans lined with trash cans, did not not shower a lot, but we were operational.
” trash cans lined with trash cans”
S/B trash cans lined with plastic bags.
All critical military infrastructure is designed from the bottom-up to be completely self-sufficient and self-reliant. That means diesel generators and buried 10,000 gallon diesel fuel tanks. Military bases can immediately switch from public to private utilities in a heart beat.
Fuku shima and the entire Nuclear scare may be nothing but a hoax.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki are booming cities and invite you to visit.
There is no radio activity, no Cancer, no problem.
Japan was bombed like Dresden with incindiary bombs.
The Pacific West Coast is not suffering from radiation and neither is Japan.
_
There’s a reason they call Dresden “Dresden.” It was firebombed. for real. Read “Slaughterhouse 5.”
B from CA
“Fuku shima and the entire Nuclear scare may be nothing but a hoax.”
Not a hoax. The radiation produced by a nuclear weapon has a both a short half life and is minimized due to the air burst. No one will be living next to Chernobyl for several lifetimes.
“Protracted blackout of the electric grid could cause U.S. nuclear reactors to “go Fukushima” and contaminate vast regions with radioactivity, crippling U.S. capabilities to mobilize and project military power and threatening the lives of the American people.”
Who comes up with this nonsense? Nuclear power plants have back up in house diesel generators for what is called in the industry “station service”. The coolant pumps are “defense in depth” with motors, and turbines. The turbines can idle down on the decaying enthalpy (steam energy) after a scram. Coolant is maintained.
following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011.Immediately after the earthquake, the active reactors automatically shut down their sustained fission reactions. However, the tsunami disabled the emergency generators that would have provided power to control and operate the pumps necessary to cool the reactors. The insufficient cooling led to three nuclear meltdowns, hydrogen-air explosions, and the release of radioactive material in Units 1, 2 and 3
I’m well aware of Japan. A catastrophic event, a Tsunami shored out the pumps and flooded the area. US reactors have defense in depth with steam turbines and diesels. Believe this, they’ll get diesel fuel. Regardless the turbines powered coolant pumps, in effect Boiler Feed Pumps in the fossil pumps industry will run on lower and lower steam energy (enthalpy) as the heat decays in the scrammed reactor. To melt down the pumps / prime movers would have to be inoperable. Thats not the case in a grid failure.
You sound like someone very knowledgable, and I am always more likely to believe a trained craftsman than others. But your argument hinges upon the delivery of diesel fuel. How? In a systemic grid down situation, if I were president, I’d have to prioritize defense and nuclear plants due to multiple issues but refineries need power and then you need incredibly organized trucking,rail, river barges, etc to delivery goods.
Therein lies the diesel delivery problem. Not to mention getting state governors not to commandeer whatever in state resources they have. If you are the governor and you have a critical resource, would you allow it to leave your state? I doubt it without absolute protection of delivery plus a one-sided business deal making it worthwhile.
The diesel is a non issue as the steam turbines can supply cooling water with decaying enthalpy (press & temperature). If diesel pumps augments it a 1000 HP may be needed, likely less. Thats about 80 GPH of diesel figuring about 20% efficiency. Uncle Sam will get the US Army to hand deliver 2000 or so gallons of diesel per day for eternity.
I retired as an operations supervisor of a 60 MW power plant and hold a Gold Seal (unlimited capacity) Engineers License.
Nope. Hoss, the problem is how will the refinery make diesel? Delivery is only a fraction of the problem and based upon taking critical resources from the military exactly when they need it.
How will city water pressure to 80% of urbanites be maintained in the absence of fuel for generators?
How will farmers get diesel to operate equipment?
In the first month, figure all of the nursing home residents and mental hospitals and other people dependent upon prescriptions to perish. Figure upon all those incarcerated to have last dibs on resources and likely perishing.
Understand that each nuclear power plant may need 2000 or so gallons per day for the diesel. How many bbls are in storage? Refineries, which I know a tad about virtually all have a powerhouse that generates electricity / steam (co-generation). Get one generator to control frequency and stand alone. We did from 1917 until the mid 1980s when we phased into public power. Regardless nuclear power plants have turbine powered coolant pumps too. After the reactor is scrammed, control rids put in the heat starts decaying. The turbines powering the coolant pumps put out less accordingly but also need less HP. The turbine is a multiplier that will put out higher water pressure on the pump than the throttle steam pressure.
The nuclear power plants will not melt down if the grid goes and stays down. They will “China Syndrome” only if the coolant pumps are damaged and not operational as what happened in Japan. Redundancy is incorporated throughout the US nuclear industry. Put one on a earthquake fault line and you’re asking for trouble.
That 60 MW power plant serviced a 200,000 BBL/Day Oil Refinery.
There’s a reason Fukushima has entered the nuclear disaster vocabulary.
Indeed. The renewable profiteers needed an excuse to stymie further nuclear power and calling an accident in which no one died a ‘disaster’ was essentially that.
Yes but the word needs to be used accurately.
Off topic we had a debate in work. A co worker was a Vietnam vet and said, “Those RPGs will blow a turret off a tank”. This conversation centered on terrorists potentially attacking the refinery using them .I said no it won’t. He said, “I was there, I seen it”. I said, “You seen a rocket set off the cannon ammo in the turret and that blew off the turret”. This applies to the Japanese reactor. They had a Tsunami that made the equipment unusable. No grid is an entirely different scenario.
Kevin everything you said is correct. The problem in my opinion would be fuel for the diesel generators. Most Nukes have around a 30 day supply on hand. The reactor’s themselves are not the problem. Even if they melt they melt down under the dome. The problem would be the cooling pools for the spent fuel rods. How bad a problem I am not sure. They would run out of coolant after about 30 days.
Just not sure how bad that situation would be. Maybe you know. I have asked friends I work with that have worked at Nukes. They are not sure. My experience is mostly with gas and coal.
IMO, TPTB are trying to force us into the cities like rats in a cage, contained, and the areas bordering the cities for the overflow, preferably sick, unarmed, scared, and impoverished.
If this is the case why hasn’t the government prepared properly? Or do they not care about the populace? In a worse case scenario Look at all the government benefits that wouldn’t be paid after 90 % of the population is dead . The government benefits! Its almost worth it for them to do a self-EMP. Folks,we are on our own in any case.
How exactly does the government benefit if 90% of the population is dead? The bulk of the population are the worker bees that keep the government and elite in money because we do the mundane tasks and chores they don’t have time or the inclination to do.
Now I can see this scenario being true decades down the line when technology becomes so advanced as to make human beings and their labor obsolete. But we are not quite there yet.
The BOL and all of the families homes nearby have solar systems for backup and can switch over easily once the grid is lost. Fireplaces and woodstoves for heat/cooking plus a lifetime supply of firewood. Several cords of firewood already in storage. One part of the property borders on a year-round creek with good water. Nice deep well with flojak pump for backup. We’ll make it one way or another.
So what you’re saying is my Subscribe & Save items from Amazon might arrive late? Not sure what to do if that happens…
1- Obama gave the Chinese and the Russians full unfettered access to our GRID and infrastructure [research GRID EX II];
2- Stock up on flashlights and batteries and keep them all in separate locations, protect lights in Faraday cages;
3- If President Trump could sign an Executive Order ordering protection of all of our Grid Assets that would be great;
4- In the meantime, stock up on headlamps, flashlights, lanterns, and all the other stuff we are “advised” to have “prepped for”.
I have no fears,with the Q-37 Explosive Space modulator and a army of child sex slaves with suicide vests will survive!
Now that’s a thought that’s going to fester.
Blame,hope you realize tis a reference to a cartoon and a put down of a practice of some followers of a certain religion!
My comment was meant as sarcasm. Left off the brackets. Thought you were smart enough to see it. My mistake.
Yup. Just put it on the pile with the other electrical grid EMP assessments!
Predictive Programming —> WHEN they start losing control, they’ll bring down the power-grid to keep your attention OFF THEM, and otherwise “occupied”.
A major power outage could be good news. Think of all the people getting a life again with no cell phones and Internet.
Aside from it being all too similar to taking a whole population of heroin addicts and cutting them off cold turkey…Yeah. I agree. I agree all the time with cutting off TPTB from the population through their tech controlling ways. Its the greatest faster liberation of people from their voluntary enslavement that they love, and personally I would DELIGHT to see them suffer withdrawl symptoms from the life of ease and sloth they live in now. id love to see them become slaves instead to personal responsibility. That would be AWESOME.
“That would be AWESOME”
Like cancer and the plague would be awesome.
The commercial system would collapse, no food delivered, children and the old are the most vulnerable. Medical care would go from substandard with an appendix being lethal again to completely non existent. Millions just in the US would die.
AWESOME?
GTFOOH
Padded handcuffs are still handcuffs, but suit yourself. People cannot handle personal responsibility because it requires them to be honest and self supporting….Can’t have that now can we?
Millions dying? I’ll take what I have now thank you.
I damn sure ain’t going to lose sleep over it.
The biggest issue with a widespread and long term power outage is the lack of water and sanitation. Many will die from illness due to the inability to wash their hands properly after using the bathroom. Not to mention the sewage that will back up into homes if the power is out for months. This will force people to have to leave the refuge of their house and find shelter elsewhere as you cannot live in a house filled with raw sewage.
You can turn off the water supply line and install a back-flow prevention device to your sewer line.
People don’t know how to do basic things. I worked on an organic farm that had a wooden outhouse on a riser with a big drum underneath. Inside there was a bucket of wood chips and another with lime. After going, you threw in a scoop of each.
Even something as basic as oil lamps can be kept on hand. I have some old-fashioned oil lamps and I use high-grade ultra purified lamp oil (minimal smoke or odor). Yes, it’s expensive but they work. It was my experience, living off the grid, that you simply went to bed early and woke up early.
Solar and LED lightbulb technology has greatly improved. Don’t be like my neighbor who had 25 panels installed on a 12-year old roof and passed on installing a battery bank. What was he thinking? I have no idea. When he has to replace that asphalt shingle roof, it will be double the expense. Plus the expense of paying anyone to go up onto a second-story roof to make repairs or for maintenance. Some salesman is happy!
I replaced nearly 50 lightbulbs (interior and exterior including lamps) in my home with LED bulbs and saw an immediate $20 a month decrease in my gas / electric bill. I have the kind of LED bulbs outside that have sensors and come on at dusk, go off and dawn. Others have motion sensors.
I would be fine with one or two solar panels but there is no way I am going the way of my neighbor with 25 panels and NO battery bank! A small portable generator is another option. One I could take with me. I did notice one neighbor has a full generator on their house for when the power goes out. Went outside during the last power outage, at night, and their house was blazing like a Christmas tree!
I also stumbled onto a Home Depot that had a massive generator out back. Same thing. Power outage and it was the one place that had power. Walked around the back and was surprised to see a gen set the size of 40-foot trailer. Massive.
Take a look around during the next power outage. You may be surprised. My city also has a large gen set to keep the water pumps on. How do I know? I called them and talked to the head engineer.
Agreed. After 14 days, city utilities in a national grid down situations would run out of chlorination. That’s 80% of 330 million legal citizens. And that presumes that some how by a miracle city water pressure could be sustained.
Then you would see massive issues of things like Norovirus and death from contagion. After seven days, inertia is overcome by the realization that no one is going to bring these 80% of citizens their water. Some would begin an exodus and violence, theft, extortion, mayhem, and violence would ensue. Whole towns would block off the entrance to their towns as otherwose they would be overrun.
For any survival situation, it comes down to water and shelter FIRST. And every December-February, I get very wary as this is the worst time for a SHTF scenario.
You are on your own – always have been just did not know it
If you think a government any government will help you are delusional.
Remember – 95+% culling is the goal
Yep.
Take the Child molesters out first, look up the heat map of all the sex offenders in your area, get the addresses and get to know who these people are and what they look like. I posted an entire sexual predator mugshot list in a local park bulletin board one time when I lived in the city. Must have been 60 persons in my zip code. Days Later, I saw a few of the photos ripped off these profile sheets. They are out there folks, lurking in many public places as well. Keep your Situational Awareness up at all times. Especially when getting in and out of your vehicle.
None of this is news. Anyone that has been paying attention for the last 10 years already knows all of this. The only real news here is that some people only prepare for 3 days. I guess that is better than nothing but I have always viewed 12 months as my personal minimum.
On any night less than 60F, the grid smells like an old box of electronics parts (PCB’s). The stuff above our heads was rusting, before tract housing was installed. Smells of sewage when approaching manholes.
I don’t see any signs of responsibility being taken, for what we already have, on a good day, without any emergency.
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/040915/what-demandside-economics.asp
Beaumont
The deregulation of electrical generation started in the 1970s. This as a consequence cut funds to maintain distribution (the grid). The inherent “fat” already in the grid from sufficient funding was cut into. Everyone marbled how well this deregulation / supply side was doing while it was supported with previous expenditures. The rubber has met the road and we have seen outages caused by disruptions that would not have posed a problem 4 decades ago.
The rubber has met the road.
Marveled not marbled
Darned spell checker.
In vintage newsreels and advertisements, people assumed that a real value was being provided, so were more proud.
I am not sure whether malaise caused the social decay or vice versa.
Kevin is right about deregulation. Now most utilities are regulated again. The government has become heavily involved forcing utilities to join regional grid operators. They manage who generates the power. They are managed by NERC. FERC. and SERC. I am not making this up. You can look up the organization’s. My utility is part of what is known as PJM. You can look it all up. PJM manages the power for VA up through the Northeast. They tell you when you can run, shut down, have an outage, and how much to generate. Each utility bids into it daily and they except the cheapest bids. This also causes cuts. Look it all up.
Mike in VA
We were phased into Atlantic Electric which was part of PJM. I actually did it in 1985 closing the OCB tying us in for the 1st time. We previously controlled our own frequency. Generation was the revenue maker that PURPA cut into, Distribution was funded through Generation. The Utility was cost plus, DEEP POCKETS. I’m of the opinion that electrical generation is too important to be left to the whims of deregulation.
U operations or maintenance?
Im in operations. Now a supervisor of operations. Was at 2 plants. An old coal plant that converted to gas and a brand new gas fired plant. They were built across the river from each other. I had two shifts one at each to look after for 4 years. Now they have put the old plant into cold storage.
Been doing it for 21 years.
How about you?
Operations just shy of 30 years. Cut my eye teeth stick and torch, riveted drum 400 PSI B&W. Graduated to a new Combined Cycle GTG plant ending up as a shift supervisor. Hold a Gold Seal Engineers License NJ. Retired early with a bum ticker after two heart attacks. Operated DeLaval / Westinghouse and GE Steam turbines 900 / 400 / 190 with patent dates starting in 1903 and HP from 50 up to 15MW steam, 30 MW GTG. Loved it, thinking job. Hated and never adapted to rotating shift work.
I understand. It has been proven that shift workers have more heart troubles. I had a heart attack as well at 44. The old plant I worked at had 5 on a shift and 4 operations shifts. Out of 20 people with me included 4 had heart attacks in there late 30s and early 40s.
Place I worked first opened in the 20s with two 15 MW units. The two units I ran were 80 and 170 MW units. The new plant I work at now puts out 630 MW.
Old plant had two BW boilers and Westinghouse Turbines. New plant has GE turbines and HRSG’s. I was an operator then a control room operator and then Supervisor. I actually started as a groundman on the line crew side before I went to generation.
The older I get the harder shift work is. Things have changed in the world too. I miss the old station and the older guys. Now things just get more and more politically correct. Most of the younger generation is different. Now I have diversity classes and sexual harassment classes I must attend. I bite my tongue half the time at the whiny young babies. I must go 7.5 more years to retire. Have to go to 58 to get insurance now thanks to a policy change.
To all on here they should be worried about all the coal plant closure’s. Not good getting out of all cold. When the polar vortex first came through the whole north east was 500 MW from having rolling blackouts. Most don’t know that. Some gas plants could not get gas at any cost to run because homeowners have priority on gas. Unless more pipelines are built we could be in trouble there. People have no clue how much extra money is spent in the name of global warming. Billions I know for sure. We have regulations that are so strict it is unbelievable. China and other countries do not. What do we do. Close coal plants that were highly regulated environmentally. Then ship the coal to China so they can burn it without regulations.
It should open everyone’s eyes to the fact that global warming is nothing but a power and money game to those in power. Yes we have warming and cooling cycles caused by the sun and then volcano’s and such. Always have always will. It is not man made. But politicians use it as a money and power tool.
Sorry went on a rant.
Sorry getting out of all coal it should have said
Mike in VA
Our backgrounds, career path is virtually identical. Ringleman Smoke and O2 (keep it LOW) was our only concern in the 70s. Then came the NOX / CO fight (lower one & increase the other). We did a million lbs / hr @ 900 PSI – 850F, with GTG / HRSG (fired) and 3 300K conventional Blrs & 2 TurboDyne 15MW 400 PSI extraction steam turbines. I had 2 heart attacks, both with Vfib (cardiac arrest), damn near died. They sent me out to pasture with an early pension (medical included) with the 2nd, too much of a risk. There are boo-coo studies showing the high rate of heart attacks with rotating shift work. The job stress, boredom to chaos in 2 seconds, more with less, enforcing bullshit rules that do nothing but piss people off, seeing incompetent supervision showboat, it should all be training for government. The job however was interesting, loved trouble shooting, had some operators and instrument guys that had to be the sharpest on the planet. Degreed Engineers ME , ChemE were like pets. The EE, they’re in a class by themselves.
Trouble shooting is the fun part of the job. Actually doing the operating. I have had a lot of things happen to me while on the job. It seems that if something is going to happen it is going to happen to me lol
Great for experience I guess. Got a call at 3:02 one morning about a high heater level in the 2nd point heater. Told the operator that I was on my way shut the extraction if the level went out of the sight glass. Got there and he was struggling with the extraction trying to shut it. I said go call for help and I will continue closing the valve. Got it about 3/4 of the way shut and it went off like a shut gun. Stem shot out close to hitting me in the face. Now what do you do???
The heater did not have MOV’s. 45 minute minimum to isolate. I decided to trip the unit. Caused a big stir because if you have water induction with the unit on line then policy stated leave it on line and isolate the source of the water induction. Oh well my gut says I did the right thing. No one knows for sure.
Event went all the way up to senior VP level. After around 2 months of investigating nothing happened to me. Just a stressful two months. The whole policy was rewritten company wide. Start of the event 3:02. Decision to trip the unit 3:19. Monday morning quarterbacking 2 months lol.
Part of the job and yes it is fun when you have to make decisions based on experience and trouble shooting. That one was not too fun for me but I still thing I made the right call. No one will ever know for sure.
supposed to say think I made the right call sorry about the typing.
Been the MO to the V on too many occasions as the “motor” didn’t get the maintenance it needed. 1000 turns, all with a valve wrench, some with the addition of a bull pipe makes for a bad night work. Worked in 140 degree heat too back in the 1970s. OSHA? Never seen them. You go in, do two turns, get out and repeat. The power plant, loaded with asbestos was built in the 1920s.
Mike in Va
Unfortunately I would love to talk shop. If somehow we had another forum. Had many incidents that “Marmaduke Surfaceblow” from POWER could write about. Dug my heels in several times and pulled a Nancy Reagan “Just say no”. I couldn’t be coerced to do something that I knew was wrong. It cost me on a few occasions but it is what it is.
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/index.html
Look for R43604 and you will find an unclassified 2014 Congressional Report position paper on concerns of sabotage to the national electrical grid.
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R43604.pdf
There are often very important intelligence papers that citizens can access that were prepared to bring federal politicians quickly up to speed on technical details in bullet point form.
They are highly credible reports prepared by experts.
Similarly in 2014 there is a paper on vulnerabilities in nuclear plants. That’s why there’s consternation about crazy leftists around them.
I hate seeing this discussed on the net for fear of giving some nut case ideas. I suggest the conversation be dropped. It’s enough to know it can, there is no need to convey how.
I get your concern but this is a rather targeted audience given only 2% of all Americans are preppers. I’m showing folks that Congress routinely talks about it privately but often publically dismisses it. Why? Because of the scary reality that it might happen.
The globalists don’t have to be fancy to eliminate all the useless eaters to achieve their grotesque Georgia Guidestone goals. All they have to do is cut off the water. In a week, you have massive casualties.
Is always my fear as well because it is so simple if someone just knows how and the spots to do it.
I really appreciate your website and wish more people would take the eventuality of catastrophic failure of our infrastructure and resources seriously, especially since our government persistently fails to harden the power and communications grids.
But with all my research, very few, even preppers, are aware that the US has at least one of three North Korean satellites over us at any given time. They’re claimed to be weather satellites, but no one believes that. If more non-preppers knew about this, perhaps we could force the government to take serious action in hardening our infrastructure, or at least give individuals a good reason to put aside for an inevitable SHTF event.
https://www.n2yo.com/?s=39026
https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=39026