Electric blackout - Is it all over Texas?

[Greenheadless]

SMH


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You know, I was joking right?

[Daddy D]

Lost power again here in Georgetown. Went out 7pm on the nose

[PondPopper]

Some insight from a man in the field:

This is coming from Me, a lineman. And I hope this maybe simplifies some things for some people who are very confused with the “rolling blackout” situation. And hopefully this post will help keep my phone from ringing so much, I know it’s frustrating for everyone.
Today I get home from work, and my electricity is off due to the rolling blackouts. My electric provider is Oncor. Oncor, like TNMP (who is my employer) is a big utility. At the other end you have the Electric Reliability Commission of Texas (ERCOT). Now ERCOT is who controls and manages the electrical grid in Texas. Now they see it from where the generation begins, then transferred to high voltage transmission lines, then eventually ends up in a substation where voltage is stepped down to be delivered to your home. So then you can have your Heat/AC, Internet, lights etc.
Times like this when temperatures are very low this increases demand to the system. Which goes back to those substations, transmission lines, then all the way to the generation stations. Increased load on the system can cause problems in several areas. Some equipment may not be able to take on all of the extra load which then starts leading to problems (power outages).
So what ERCOT initiates to break up the extra load that’s been put on the generation stations is a “blackout”. A “blackout” is a way to shed load, relieve the device of all the extra that it’s been taking on, before something breaks down and can’t be repaired. Sometimes entire towns lose power and sometimes is just part of a system. How they pick what they keep on and what they turn off I have no idea, it’s just what they do.
Once they see relief on the system they are able to get things back up and running again. Now this next part I’m sharing is from a friend who works with substations on a daily basis. This explains what happens once power is ready to come back on.
“The problem is the load that it puts on the system when everyone has their electric heat on. It is pure resistive load which in turn is a lot of amperage. The circuits have a limit just as our transformers do. So I am asking that everyone turn their electric heat off. When your lights come back, wait 45mins to a hour before you turn it back on. I know it’s cold and miserable but this will allow the load to settle down and not have the initial inrush current which causes more outages. Try your best to stay warm and be patient. We are out in it working and doing all we can to get your lights on as soon as possible.”
It’s a hard time for everyone. Bashing the lineman, our supervisors, the phone operators, ranting and complaining on Facebook, none of that will change a thing. At the end of the day us utilities have no say so when a “blackout” occurs that’s all on ERCOT. All we can do as Linemen is make sure when it’s time for the lights to come back on, they come on.
Hope this makes sense to some of you and answers a lot of questions. Stay warm and stay safe. And while you’re at it, say thanks to all those blue collar men and women out there. The mechanics keeping those oil and gas wells running, the ones out keeping the roads free and clear, and definitely don’t forget those healthcare workers!
L

[breadman]

been out since 5am in huntsville

[Tcooper93]

You know, I was joking right?

Gotcha...I’m trying to thaw out here lol


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[DUKFVR]

This is what happens when nutjob democrats want to do away with coal ,oil, etc power. lets go green. USA turning into a 3rd world dump because of all of this.

[DUKFVR]

Some insight from a man in the field:

This is coming from Me, a lineman. And I hope this maybe simplifies some things for some people who are very confused with the “rolling blackout” situation. And hopefully this post will help keep my phone from ringing so much, I know it’s frustrating for everyone.
Today I get home from work, and my electricity is off due to the rolling blackouts. My electric provider is Oncor. Oncor, like TNMP (who is my employer) is a big utility. At the other end you have the Electric Reliability Commission of Texas (ERCOT). Now ERCOT is who controls and manages the electrical grid in Texas. Now they see it from where the generation begins, then transferred to high voltage transmission lines, then eventually ends up in a substation where voltage is stepped down to be delivered to your home. So then you can have your Heat/AC, Internet, lights etc.
Times like this when temperatures are very low this increases demand to the system. Which goes back to those substations, transmission lines, then all the way to the generation stations. Increased load on the system can cause problems in several areas. Some equipment may not be able to take on all of the extra load which then starts leading to problems (power outages).
So what ERCOT initiates to break up the extra load that’s been put on the generation stations is a “blackout”. A “blackout” is a way to shed load, relieve the device of all the extra that it’s been taking on, before something breaks down and can’t be repaired. Sometimes entire towns lose power and sometimes is just part of a system. How they pick what they keep on and what they turn off I have no idea, it’s just what they do.
Once they see relief on the system they are able to get things back up and running again. Now this next part I’m sharing is from a friend who works with substations on a daily basis. This explains what happens once power is ready to come back on.
“The problem is the load that it puts on the system when everyone has their electric heat on. It is pure resistive load which in turn is a lot of amperage. The circuits have a limit just as our transformers do. So I am asking that everyone turn their electric heat off. When your lights come back, wait 45mins to a hour before you turn it back on. I know it’s cold and miserable but this will allow the load to settle down and not have the initial inrush current which causes more outages. Try your best to stay warm and be patient. We are out in it working and doing all we can to get your lights on as soon as possible.”
It’s a hard time for everyone. Bashing the lineman, our supervisors, the phone operators, ranting and complaining on Facebook, none of that will change a thing. At the end of the day us utilities have no say so when a “blackout” occurs that’s all on ERCOT. All we can do as Linemen is make sure when it’s time for the lights to come back on, they come on.
Hope this makes sense to some of you and answers a lot of questions. Stay warm and stay safe. And while you’re at it, say thanks to all those blue collar men and women out there. The mechanics keeping those oil and gas wells running, the ones out keeping the roads free and clear, and definitely don’t forget those healthcare workers!
L

Thank You for the info & to all of Y'all doing your best!

[Greenheadless]

This is what happens when nutjob democrats want to do away with coal ,oil, etc power. lets go green. USA turning into a 3rd world dump because of all of this.

Spot on. Come to find you unicorn dust and fairy farts don’t generate power.

Oh, and Texas is turning into California apparently. It is a sad state of affairs for sure, being the ‘energy capital’ of the US.

[speck1]

Power down again on the east side of Boerne as of 7:15 pm.

[curtintex]

Some insight from a man in the field:

This is coming from Me, a lineman. And I hope this maybe simplifies some things for some people who are very confused with the “rolling blackout” situation. And hopefully this post will help keep my phone from ringing so much, I know it’s frustrating for everyone.
Today I get home from work, and my electricity is off due to the rolling blackouts. My electric provider is Oncor. Oncor, like TNMP (who is my employer) is a big utility. At the other end you have the Electric Reliability Commission of Texas (ERCOT). Now ERCOT is who controls and manages the electrical grid in Texas. Now they see it from where the generation begins, then transferred to high voltage transmission lines, then eventually ends up in a substation where voltage is stepped down to be delivered to your home. So then you can have your Heat/AC, Internet, lights etc.
Times like this when temperatures are very low this increases demand to the system. Which goes back to those substations, transmission lines, then all the way to the generation stations. Increased load on the system can cause problems in several areas. Some equipment may not be able to take on all of the extra load which then starts leading to problems (power outages).
So what ERCOT initiates to break up the extra load that’s been put on the generation stations is a “blackout”. A “blackout” is a way to shed load, relieve the device of all the extra that it’s been taking on, before something breaks down and can’t be repaired. Sometimes entire towns lose power and sometimes is just part of a system. How they pick what they keep on and what they turn off I have no idea, it’s just what they do.
Once they see relief on the system they are able to get things back up and running again. Now this next part I’m sharing is from a friend who works with substations on a daily basis. This explains what happens once power is ready to come back on.
“The problem is the load that it puts on the system when everyone has their electric heat on. It is pure resistive load which in turn is a lot of amperage. The circuits have a limit just as our transformers do. So I am asking that everyone turn their electric heat off. When your lights come back, wait 45mins to a hour before you turn it back on. I know it’s cold and miserable but this will allow the load to settle down and not have the initial inrush current which causes more outages. Try your best to stay warm and be patient. We are out in it working and doing all we can to get your lights on as soon as possible.”
It’s a hard time for everyone. Bashing the lineman, our supervisors, the phone operators, ranting and complaining on Facebook, none of that will change a thing. At the end of the day us utilities have no say so when a “blackout” occurs that’s all on ERCOT. All we can do as Linemen is make sure when it’s time for the lights to come back on, they come on.
Hope this makes sense to some of you and answers a lot of questions. Stay warm and stay safe. And while you’re at it, say thanks to all those blue collar men and women out there. The mechanics keeping those oil and gas wells running, the ones out keeping the roads free and clear, and definitely don’t forget those healthcare workers!
L

Thank you for an excellent explanation.

[kenfa03]

Some insight from a man in the field:

This is coming from Me, a lineman. And I hope this maybe simplifies some things for some people who are very confused with the “rolling blackout” situation. And hopefully this post will help keep my phone from ringing so much, I know it’s frustrating for everyone.
Today I get home from work, and my electricity is off due to the rolling blackouts. My electric provider is Oncor. Oncor, like TNMP (who is my employer) is a big utility. At the other end you have the Electric Reliability Commission of Texas (ERCOT). Now ERCOT is who controls and manages the electrical grid in Texas. Now they see it from where the generation begins, then transferred to high voltage transmission lines, then eventually ends up in a substation where voltage is stepped down to be delivered to your home. So then you can have your Heat/AC, Internet, lights etc.
Times like this when temperatures are very low this increases demand to the system. Which goes back to those substations, transmission lines, then all the way to the generation stations. Increased load on the system can cause problems in several areas. Some equipment may not be able to take on all of the extra load which then starts leading to problems (power outages).
So what ERCOT initiates to break up the extra load that’s been put on the generation stations is a “blackout”. A “blackout” is a way to shed load, relieve the device of all the extra that it’s been taking on, before something breaks down and can’t be repaired. Sometimes entire towns lose power and sometimes is just part of a system. How they pick what they keep on and what they turn off I have no idea, it’s just what they do.
Once they see relief on the system they are able to get things back up and running again. Now this next part I’m sharing is from a friend who works with substations on a daily basis. This explains what happens once power is ready to come back on.
“The problem is the load that it puts on the system when everyone has their electric heat on. It is pure resistive load which in turn is a lot of amperage. The circuits have a limit just as our transformers do. So I am asking that everyone turn their electric heat off. When your lights come back, wait 45mins to a hour before you turn it back on. I know it’s cold and miserable but this will allow the load to settle down and not have the initial inrush current which causes more outages. Try your best to stay warm and be patient. We are out in it working and doing all we can to get your lights on as soon as possible.”
It’s a hard time for everyone. Bashing the lineman, our supervisors, the phone operators, ranting and complaining on Facebook, none of that will change a thing. At the end of the day us utilities have no say so when a “blackout” occurs that’s all on ERCOT. All we can do as Linemen is make sure when it’s time for the lights to come back on, they come on.
Hope this makes sense to some of you and answers a lot of questions. Stay warm and stay safe. And while you’re at it, say thanks to all those blue collar men and women out there. The mechanics keeping those oil and gas wells running, the ones out keeping the roads free and clear, and definitely don’t forget those healthcare workers!
L

Thanks for that. Quick question. How is the power from different types of generators, wind, solar, fossil fuels separated once it hits the grid?


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[drop dead fred]

Going on 15 hrs without electricity here in north west Montgomery county, pipes are now frozen, and when you look up our address on Entergy it shows no return ETA, thank the lord we have gas stove, and a generator. Scared to see what mess we may have on our heads in a few days when it all thaws out.

[Burnadell]

Some insight from a man in the field:

This is coming from Me, a lineman. And I hope this maybe simplifies some things for some people who are very confused with the “rolling blackout” situation. And hopefully this post will help keep my phone from ringing so much, I know it’s frustrating for everyone.
Today I get home from work, and my electricity is off due to the rolling blackouts. My electric provider is Oncor. Oncor, like TNMP (who is my employer) is a big utility. At the other end you have the Electric Reliability Commission of Texas (ERCOT). Now ERCOT is who controls and manages the electrical grid in Texas. Now they see it from where the generation begins, then transferred to high voltage transmission lines, then eventually ends up in a substation where voltage is stepped down to be delivered to your home. So then you can have your Heat/AC, Internet, lights etc.
Times like this when temperatures are very low this increases demand to the system. Which goes back to those substations, transmission lines, then all the way to the generation stations. Increased load on the system can cause problems in several areas. Some equipment may not be able to take on all of the extra load which then starts leading to problems (power outages).
So what ERCOT initiates to break up the extra load that’s been put on the generation stations is a “blackout”. A “blackout” is a way to shed load, relieve the device of all the extra that it’s been taking on, before something breaks down and can’t be repaired. Sometimes entire towns lose power and sometimes is just part of a system. How they pick what they keep on and what they turn off I have no idea, it’s just what they do.
Once they see relief on the system they are able to get things back up and running again. Now this next part I’m sharing is from a friend who works with substations on a daily basis. This explains what happens once power is ready to come back on.
“The problem is the load that it puts on the system when everyone has their electric heat on. It is pure resistive load which in turn is a lot of amperage. The circuits have a limit just as our transformers do. So I am asking that everyone turn their electric heat off. When your lights come back, wait 45mins to a hour before you turn it back on. I know it’s cold and miserable but this will allow the load to settle down and not have the initial inrush current which causes more outages. Try your best to stay warm and be patient. We are out in it working and doing all we can to get your lights on as soon as possible.”
It’s a hard time for everyone. Bashing the lineman, our supervisors, the phone operators, ranting and complaining on Facebook, none of that will change a thing. At the end of the day us utilities have no say so when a “blackout” occurs that’s all on ERCOT. All we can do as Linemen is make sure when it’s time for the lights to come back on, they come on.
Hope this makes sense to some of you and answers a lot of questions. Stay warm and stay safe. And while you’re at it, say thanks to all those blue collar men and women out there. The mechanics keeping those oil and gas wells running, the ones out keeping the roads free and clear, and definitely don’t forget those healthcare workers!
L

That makes sense. Thanks!

[PondPopper]

https://youtu.be/lA46v_aMidQ

[Burnadell]

Nothing about this is political.

Natural gas is the answer, cold is the problem. Let me explain.
Part 1.
Cold weather increases gas consumption as people heat their homes, buisnesses and industrial complexes, both with nat gas and electric heat.
Part 2.
Most of ERCOT electricity comes from generation sites that make electricity by burning nat gas (most of the current problem is coming from Oklahoma City area)

Therefore...Demand for gas increases beyond capacity of drillers over the course of a few days. During which Prices go from 2.40 per Dth to 140 per Dth. Gas company tells users use less gas - commence switch to electric heat...increasing demand on ercot grid.

Freezing temps strain gas drillers equip. Causing it to trip. Then before they are able to get electricity back online their drilling equip freezes. Down goes the well. (Remember electricity is produced by burning nat gas)
Step 3. Fewer rigs drilling means less gas for power gen plants, they begin to diminish electrical supply to grid. Boom there goes a generation plant...then another...and another.

Less electricity available on grid, more wells trip, less gas, then less electricity.

All the while ERCOT is scrambling to curb demand by rolling brownouts, but wells keep dropping and generation plants continue to drop offline.

Tonight should be interesting. ERCOT IS continuing to decline in supply and demand is going up now that the sun is setting.

I think we have a high probability of total blackout in the next 24 hrs.

It's not political. It's not even wind gen problem, nor solar.

Natural gas...plain and simple.

Pardon me, but I am not understanding what you are saying here. Can you perhaps elaborate or explain this so a dummy like me can understand how frozen gas drilling equuipment has any effect on the current supply of natural gas?

Natural gas is not produced and flowing into a gas pipeline until AFTER the well is drilled and hooked up to a gathering system and pipeline. The current supply of gas is not affected by frozen drilling equipment. This makes no sense.