I would imagine that you are glad you’ve moved or are in the process of moving off-grid. Saving money on your power bills and being able to keep the lights on when your neighbors suffer power outages from storms and other problems make it well worth the time you’re putting into becoming self-reliant. You probably already have very little faith in the power monopolies to keep the electric grid functioning properly, and I have some news for you today that will reinforce that opinion.
Did you know that the only way the Federal Emergency Management Agency is legally allowed to provide funds to power utilities following a damaging storm is if the utilities replace “in kind” the electrical components that failed? In other words, the government in its infinite wisdom has decided that the best way to deal with the problem of antiquated and unreliable power grid components is to replace them when they fail with equally antiquated and unreliable components. Is anyone surprised that four weeks after superstorm Sandy struck the East Coast that some people in New York and New Jersey were still without power?
Check out this Wall Street Journal, “In Sandy’s Wake, Time to Upgrade the Power Grid.” In this piece, former New York governor George Pataki spells out the numerous and serious problems with our electrical infrastructure – referring to it as “perhaps the greatest flaw underpinning the American way of life” – and offers solutions that include burying electrical distribution networks and modernizing the transmission systems that carry high-voltage electricity from large power plants to the local distribution level.
The solutions offered by Pataki are sound ones, but he acknowledges that they will be very expensive to implement at a time when many people are already overwhelmed with bills. What he did not mention is something we all already know – the real answer to the problem is getting off the grid.
What did you think about the article’s assessment of the U.S. power grid? Do you agree with the solutions that were proposed? Do you think people will be willing to pay even higher utility bills than they already do in order to enact the proposed changes? I’d love to hear from you about this subject.
Recommended Today
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Tags: energy crisis, Frank Bates, power4patriots
Leave A Reply (3 comments so far)
richard1941
17 days ago
I agree with Christi Dea about the riots. Next time the power goes out, I will not bother with candles, camp lanterns, or power from the inverter I carry in my truck. I will go out and RIOT (but I will not try to loot any Korean-owned businesses, as that can lead to bullet holes).
My off-grid resources are limited, but I have gotten started with a motorcycle battery and a small solar panel. It is enough to keep small things running (ham radio, cell phone, snailbook computer), and once I used it to jumpstart my car. I little juice goes a long way when things are down.
What I really would like: a system that feeds surplus power back into the grid when the sun is shining. The solar power marketing people are eager to install such a system, in exchange for a lien on my property and a high interest rate loan… but they use the grid itself as a battery, charge controller, and regulator. What happens when the grid goes down? They avoid that topic.
I have a tool shack in the back of the property that needs power. I think a 2 kW inverter, a couple of batteries, a charge controller, and a modest solar panel could operate all of the power tools there, and be cheaper than the cost of a unionized electrician running grid power out there. In an emergency, that power could be brought to the house. Coming soon…
I wish WATER was as easy; I have no idea how to drill and manage a water well. Without water, I have to go 5 miles to the Pacific Ocean for seawater. Not exactly survivable.
Christi Dea
84 days ago
I just watched FoxNews last night and they had an expert on Cyberwarfare on the show that said that the Chinese could attempt to hack into our power grid and shut it down basically any time they want. He said it was called “prepping the field” before launching a traditional ground war, although one has to wonder if a ground war would even be necessary. They could just shut down the grid and sit back and watch as the riots broke out
JEFFREY SEVITS
91 days ago
I agree to getting off the power grid! I plan to somehow do this and am just starting to find out now, the energy is there and available. To utilize it and keep the hardware working will be less expensive.
I need to find the resources which will work.