revision3fan
05-07-2009, 05:18 PM
In the last two Tekzilla episodes, Patrick & Veronica mentioned two separate incidents involving electricity grid quality:
1) Patrick mentioned a case in the S.F. Bay area (?), Josh's case, where someone on a transformer made an improper connection and caused considerable damage to all connected appliances for a city block; and
2) Veronica mentioned another electric utility error, possibly made by the utility's own repairmen, causing a wide outage in Southern CA.
A larger issue is poor maintenance of the grid itself. A few years ago during a big heat wave, hundreds of transformers in L.A. blew out due to the heavy loads. These incidents reflect an attitude of indifference by electric utilities concerning the quality of the grid.
Inspections of these grids must be conducted by either a government agency or the electric utilities with government oversight. These inspections must include physical connections of all circuit paths along with voltage measurements to see if there are any inappropriate losses. I am sure there is a HUGE loss of voltage due to old wires and transformers, corrosion, and poor connections between the generators and the utility's consumers. This adds a considerable overhead load on power plants. Even though this extra load doesn't show up on a customer's meter as more energy used by the customer, customers certainly pay more in the form of higher fuel costs.
What does everyone think?
1) Patrick mentioned a case in the S.F. Bay area (?), Josh's case, where someone on a transformer made an improper connection and caused considerable damage to all connected appliances for a city block; and
2) Veronica mentioned another electric utility error, possibly made by the utility's own repairmen, causing a wide outage in Southern CA.
A larger issue is poor maintenance of the grid itself. A few years ago during a big heat wave, hundreds of transformers in L.A. blew out due to the heavy loads. These incidents reflect an attitude of indifference by electric utilities concerning the quality of the grid.
Inspections of these grids must be conducted by either a government agency or the electric utilities with government oversight. These inspections must include physical connections of all circuit paths along with voltage measurements to see if there are any inappropriate losses. I am sure there is a HUGE loss of voltage due to old wires and transformers, corrosion, and poor connections between the generators and the utility's consumers. This adds a considerable overhead load on power plants. Even though this extra load doesn't show up on a customer's meter as more energy used by the customer, customers certainly pay more in the form of higher fuel costs.
What does everyone think?