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Nomadac
Posts: 902 Senior Member
What would happen if we lost our Power Grid?
Nomadac
Posts: 902 Senior Member
Threat's to our nation's power grid.
I recently watched "Welcome to a special edition of Justice - I'm Judge Jeanine Pirro. Tonight - an hour long investigation into the dangers facing the U.S. power grid. What would it take to bring it down? And if our system did break down - how would you survive? And what would it be like in the dark?"
http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/02/24/our-death-toll-would-be-staggering-judge-jeanine-power-grid-threats
This was a very sobering wake up to how vulnerable our Electrical Grid is to a solar flare, a electromagnetic pulse, a nuclear device, Cyber attack, or a simple physical assault.
Imagine if all electrical power failed. What would you do?
H.R. Rep. Andy Harris (R.MD.) on the EMP Caucus spoke about H.R. 2417 The Shield Act.( Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act) to protect the bulk power system and electric power infrastructure critical to the defense and well-being of the U.S. against man made EMP threats and vulnerabilities.
This is sitting idle in committee and needs to get attention and passed. Based on what I have read and heard I recommend contacting your HR.Rep. and Senators to take action, as this will take time to implement.
There has already been "Sniper attack at California power plant video: Dry run for terrorists?"
http://www.examiner.com/article/sniper-attack-at-california-power-plant-video-dry-run-for-terrorists
A recent TV show called Revolution http://www.nbc.com/revolution depicted the power grid being shut down and the after effects. Even though it was a science fiction show, the results demonstrate what would or could happen if this did happen.
Are you prepared?
I recently watched "Welcome to a special edition of Justice - I'm Judge Jeanine Pirro. Tonight - an hour long investigation into the dangers facing the U.S. power grid. What would it take to bring it down? And if our system did break down - how would you survive? And what would it be like in the dark?"
http://nation.foxnews.com/2014/02/24/our-death-toll-would-be-staggering-judge-jeanine-power-grid-threats
This was a very sobering wake up to how vulnerable our Electrical Grid is to a solar flare, a electromagnetic pulse, a nuclear device, Cyber attack, or a simple physical assault.
Imagine if all electrical power failed. What would you do?
H.R. Rep. Andy Harris (R.MD.) on the EMP Caucus spoke about H.R. 2417 The Shield Act.( Secure High-voltage Infrastructure for Electricity from Lethal Damage Act) to protect the bulk power system and electric power infrastructure critical to the defense and well-being of the U.S. against man made EMP threats and vulnerabilities.
This is sitting idle in committee and needs to get attention and passed. Based on what I have read and heard I recommend contacting your HR.Rep. and Senators to take action, as this will take time to implement.
There has already been "Sniper attack at California power plant video: Dry run for terrorists?"
http://www.examiner.com/article/sniper-attack-at-california-power-plant-video-dry-run-for-terrorists
A recent TV show called Revolution http://www.nbc.com/revolution depicted the power grid being shut down and the after effects. Even though it was a science fiction show, the results demonstrate what would or could happen if this did happen.
Are you prepared?
Replies
What would it take to bring it down?
A solar flare of sufficient magnitude could do it easily. The contingency to keep electrical generation from being destroyed would be to shut it down before the flare hit. We'd have a whole 8 minutes warning it was starting. And maybe a day to get ready. :silly:
A coordinated attack on transmission could also do it. Too much trouble to do it at the generating stations. Much easier to do it away from them. And that's all I'll say about that.
I'm glad I live way out in the country. Got food and means to cook it. And means to protect it. And a good water supply.
― Douglas Adams
Ditto.
Adam J. McCleod
I think there's more than a few of us that can say the same.
All sky-is-falling speculation aside, 9 months afterwards, literally to the day, we'd have a world class, blue ribbon, record setting baby-boom. Enjoy.
Dave Gardner 1959
:jester:
Jerry
We like it that way, it will make it easier when we secede from the union!
AKA: Former Founding Member
I am also watching 2012 reruns of Revolution from the beginning on Netflix. Although there is a lot of BS on the program, it probably represents at least in part what would happen if a scenario like that were to actually happen.
If it happened by way of an EMP, we would be in trouble as everything with an integrated circuit in it would be fried.
Till then...folks should have started sooner. Look at milk, beef, nuts (no, not us on the forum..
Just my $0.04...inflation, you know.
Matt
Strange you call them idiots, the experts that have examined the damage, including some SEALS did not think they were idiots It seems the underground bunker they got into and cut some cables indicated they knew what to cut.
The cables can be fixed in a day. Transformers are pretty much custom built; taking them out permanently guarantees a pretty long lead time to get replacements, + installation time, + $$$$ for cleanup. .30 cal. bullets from an AK type round won't penetrate the shell of most any switchyard transformer. Metal is too thick. They can be taken out, though, and very easily set on fire. There are other more high value targets in a transformer switchyard.
― Douglas Adams
Same reason nobody has put a couple of gallons of LSD in a municipal water supply tank; nobody has thought of it.
― Douglas Adams
Some places use wood poles with a crossbeam between them for 161 KV transmission. And some of those are in some really nasty terrain. But I digress. A .223 will drop a 500 KV line easily. The insulators are ceramic with imbedded metal inserts on each side. They are strong in tension, but brittle as glass. Crap; I just told you how to shut down a power plant. :tooth:
― Douglas Adams
I have been in the dark before, it did not kill Me, and people that might get killed and use needed medical equipment, usually have emergency power back up.
Big woof, before Y2K that had so many panties in a knot, I took several computers and turned the clocks ahead, and nothing happened, this chicken little the sky is falling, pfffttttttt, the grid is redundant and hardier than that, the greater danger is summer time power usage, not EMP or other far fetched malarkry.
This is like the time I had a word with a Physician that claimed he did not approve of marijuana for terminal cancer patients because they could get addicted, I then pointed out they would have to get better before they would need to worry about addiction problems.
OH WOW !!! in 1776 EVERYBODY DIED ! THERE WAS NO ELECTRIZZLY !!!! are We really that stupid ?
There is power prioritization, redundant systems, hard-wire back ups, etc, GET A GRIP PEOPLE !
Using a storm as a guide isnt the right senario because when a hurrcane hits FL, power, phone and cable trucks roll from NY, PA, OH, along with replacement parts, generators and manpower. BTDT a few times. If the outage is nationwide, or anywhere close to it, those truck and parts will not be leaving their home states. The parts will be used in the home states and there is not enough manufacturing to build a few thousand transformers in 2 days.
Actually it was to get away from regulation. However the TX power grid only supplys 75% of the area in TX and they are also maxed out. TX is not immune to a EMP either.
Edited to add: one thing to consider for hospitals and the like regarding backup power: those things need fuel to run them. Generally the fuel requires electricity to pump it out, electricity that may or may not be available after a natural disaster/power outage. Also, shipping post-disaster power outages can get much more problematic with traffic lights and the like down.
Also, people can get by on canned and dry goods after an outage, but that requires preparation and foreknowledge that it's going to happen. A sudden loss of power would leave a lot of people in a lurch, and they couldn't get it from the store as most stores wouldn't be open due to... lack of power.
:fan::silly::popcorn: :tooth:
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and politician
Scary thought if it happened.
After sandy, we were without power for up to two weeks in certain areas. Things were getting tense when people realized they couldn't get gas, the grocery stores were cash only and the ATMs were down.
My guess is that my area would go into complete meltdown within a month on no power.
1. Gasoline would become priceless.
2. Foodstuffs would become priceless.
3. Ammunition would become priceless.
4. About 3,000,000 people who could not login to play World of Warcraft would venture outside for the first time in 8 years and be ravenously destroyed for what commodities they had.
It would be simple in the chaos... you'd be my ally or you'd be my enemy. No gray area. And presumption of the latter would be the default.
:spittingcoffee:
edit;
I have asked the guys at the national centers when we are involved in a High Speed Internet cut "Do you have any idea how many teenage romances we are going to destroy? Not to mention the sprained wrists.."
One guy had to put down the phone
Here's a blast from the past of what happened in New York City in 1977. And this was an outage that only lasted 24 hours. Think what it would be like after a couple of weeks.
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/07/dayintech_0713
― Douglas Adams