London Bridge is Falling Down…

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It’s not very funny.  Especially if you live in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area.  But,  here’s the  “joke” that I cracked last week.  (This post was written on 4 August 2012.)  Dominion Power and Pepco are thrilled at the recent events.  India proved to the world that these two (Dominion and Pepco)  were not the worst utility companies in the world.  After all, they only blacked out one region of the US with a million or so residents.  India blacked out 18 states and 680 million people.

It’s not funny.  I lose power at least once a year- for at least several days.  This last power outage only lasted for 5 days.   And, we didn’t have one downed power line on our portion of the grid.

Nope, this time was just a warning for America.  The steel power grids (you know, those tall towers holding up the power lines) were bent and crashed like twigs during the wind/rain storm that preceded the 4th of July week.  This also happened in the Boston area.  It happened to California last year (September 2011).  And, it’s going to happen all over America.  More and more frequently.  For longer durations.  Because we are NOT maintaining our infrastructure.

Our roads, our bridges, our power system.   This is what our governments should be spending our money maintaining and upgrading.   But, no, instead we have folks who want to cut spending on anything but “defense”.  Let me get this straight?   What modern country can exist when the power doesn’t work?  No factories.  No computer networks.  No phone systems (even the phone company needs power- and, in Metro DC, even the plain Jane [POTS] phones didn’t work in July (nor did the 911 system- because Verizon “saves” money by not replacing its standby batteries to insure continuity, but that’s another matter-).

Our current power system is maxed out.  And, it’s old.   Both conditions are not ideal for a First World Country that deems its technological toys critical.   Couple these facts with the failure to upgrade security (so any hacker in any country can invade the control systems and turn off the power), and we have a recipe for a five-course disaster.  (Yes, Big Business and the Chamber of Commerce were instrumental in watering down the Cybersecurity bill that failed last week (as of this writing)- because what was proposed, after their modifications,  would provide no benefit whatsoever- just cosmetics to appease the masses.)

You see the power companies don’t want to upgrade their systems because that money comes from their investors.  Who want big dividends.  Instead, they want to sock the costs to us- their customers.  Which they already do on an amortized basis.  (It’s why the utilities don’t want to bury their power lines.  The costs to bury the lines is theirs- to be repaid by us over 10 years.  The estimate for those costs in the DC area is $ 226 over 120 months or about $ 2 a month; still a bargain compared to their depreciation.   When a power line fails and the utility company has to repair it– that’s a current cost that is 100% included in their rates; no charge to their investors and all costs are billed to us to insure the utility makes a profit over and above its costs.)

Within five years of so, we are going to be suffering power interruptions that will cost some $ 70 billion nationally  or about $ 565 per household.   So, why aren’t our governments demanding this upgrade?   And, why are we not spending our tax dollars fixing our roads- or do we want to see more bridge collapses like the one in Minnesota.   You remember the  one that killed 13 and injured 145- and shut down an Interstate for months.  The disasters coming soon will shut down the interstate Highway System.

I can hardly wait!

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21 thoughts on “London Bridge is Falling Down…”

  1. The current emergency procedure in my neighborhood is that everyone meet in my garage for libations as we all discuss what to do next, if you can make it, it will be a wonderful time. 😉

    I see what you are talking about and my family has discussed this many times as things have cropped up. Frankly, I think it is part of the reason why so many people doomsday prep in America these days. I mean I know preppers, in my little area…and it boggles my mind. It is not that I don’t agree that we are facing some terrible odds with infrastructure problems (which is part of what killed Rome, poor management of it.) it’s that Mr. and Mrs. Mainstreet see the problems coming and yet the goverment doesn’t seem to. Nothing like putting things off until the last minute, or the minute after it’s needed.

    Great and informative post, Roy…as usual.
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  2. Hi Roy,

    Very enlightening post –

    It’s a sad truth the way the power companies operate. We have never lost power for more than a few hours, but I really feel for those that have suffered without it for days or weeks.

    Appreciate the insights!

    ~Christine
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  3. Wow. I think you’re right about the importance of power to our country and yet for some reason we, as a country, do not invest in maintaining and improving the infrastructure needed to continue advancing. The same really is true of roads and bridges as well. I know we have budget cuts in most states, but I do sometimes find it frustrating HOW the money is being spent.

    1. Emily…
      What amazes me is that right now, we could borrow money at close to ZERO interest. And, folks are out of work. Which means prices will be the lowest and the carrying costs dirt cheap. What piece of logic is lacking in our government?

      Roy

  4. Roy: From your mouth to God’s ear…that’s the truth! I have a friend in your area who experiences the same frustrations. It’s really insane to think that we live in the greatest country in the world and have such antiquated infrastructure! Bridges, roads, power systems, mass transportation, etc. etc. — all need massive updating & greater security, to be sure! We (USA) best start addressing these vital issues or woe we’ll be!
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  5. When I was studying in India; operating without power on a daily basis was common. We were surprised if we had less than three hours of power but per day. It is a sad fact. But in India, living with power cut is quite normal. On a normal day, three to four hours was the “norm”. We have “schedules” for when the power will go (we usually do). But yes, the worst I have seen is a six day power cut with heavy storms and rains.

    I don’t know about US; but the condition fluctuates in India. Sometimes improving and on bad days – well, you just mentioned that.

    Here in the UAE we never have power issues. The worse we had was seven hours, they informed us about it; they had a valid reason – they were upgrading their systems.
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    1. Of course, even if it is planned, Hajra, productivity for business is affected. And, I’m impressed that the UAE has no problems. their lines are probably buried- and their system is certainly newer than the ones that obtain in the US.

      Thanks for your visit and comments.

  6. I think our country is in big trouble and your post confirms that. You didn’t mention sewage treatment plants in this post, but I am sure they are included in the outdated infrastructure that needs to be replaced.
    It is really frightening to think about how vulnerable our cybersecurity is. Time will tell how all these problems play out.
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  7. Roy, you tell really scary stories that are always thought provoking. I live in California where we have a governor that is solutions focused. While he is unpopular for some of the very hard decisions he had to make recently, he has taken all the federal money he could get and is putting people to work upgrading our freeways and main roads. We are getting new lanes added via an overpass to alleviate an over crowded, accident prone area and reinforcing weak spots, replacing old bridges. As a matter of fact, next month we are having Carmagedden II where they are closing the second busiest freeway in the state to repair the over passes.

    I don’t think they are working on the power grids yet. We do have some wind farms and a lot more solar power than many states. A few years back we were part of that four state power outage due to the western grid failure. That was scary.

    Our state senators, Boxer and Feinstein are in favor of upgrading the grid but I’m not sure if anything is being done yet. Like Amethyst, I’m stocking up on water 🙂
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    1. Julia…
      I had forgotten about Carmageddon… (It’s been a long time since I had a home in Long Beach…)
      Yes, you do have wind farms…
      And, (slightly) good news, the company that is responsible (?) for the industrial controls over our power system has just agreed to update its software to make it less prone to hacking attacks…
      May the force (or is that power?) be with you….

      Thanks for your comments. They are great additions to the conversation!

      Roy

  8. Very thought provoking article. Kind of reminds me of the commercials I keep seeing for the TV show were the world is suddenly without power. Not sure how you survive 5 days without power. The generator business must be booming where you live.
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    1. Thanks for the visit and the comment, Jeffrey.
      Ihad practice- after having to experience 9 days and 7 days- 5 was kind of a relief :-)…
      And, yes, the generator business IS booming- some with 8 hour a days, but many folks here have purchased whole house generators that can last for days on natural gas. I am just getting round to purchasing one of the 8 hour ones to keep my fridge running- one air conditioner (not the central one) and a few lights.
      But, hey- the power companies are making big profits!

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