The Power Grid.

With my health issues and being constantly skint, I can't see me being able to live off grid any time soon.

I was actually thinking the other day about selling this place and buying a camper and travelling. That way I would be able to take my time finding a more suitable property somewhere I really liked, rather than being under pressure to buy somewhere after contracts exchanged, which doesn't leave much time. I'm starting to live more minimalistically at this stage of my life and have started decluttering. There's so much "stuff" that just takes up room and doesn't do anything useful. So ... out it goes! (Although, it is a gradual process. Some things I can't quite part with yet).

 

I used to accumulate a lot of stuff, especially vintage and antique items. But they weren't practical items, just stuff I loved the look of, things that were aesthetically pleasing. Not any more.

 

That's the way to go.

I started a garden here for veggies when I first moved in a couple of years ago but we've had months and months and months of no rain whatsoever. That means all the kangaroos, wallabies, possums and bandicoots haven't been able to get much tucker, so they raid the garden and eat what they find. I've even had kangaroos bounding onto the verandah outside. It gets up the ramp, eats the plants in pots, then bounds off again. You can imagine how the sound of Skippy doing a workout on the verandah in the middle of the night arcs up the pooch! Because of the shape of this property, I can't really fence it off as the veggie garden has to be near the water tanks, so I stopped putting veggies in until I can work out a satisfactory way to prevent all the wildlife eating them.

I've already lost 2 olive trees to the little buggers, as well as raspberry plants. (Well, some of the kangas are massive, actually). The only thing they leave alone are the citrus trees. Everything else is fair game. It's really annoying to go outside and find bandicoots have dug up and eaten the roots of my herbs. GGGGrrrrrr!

Another really, really annoying thing the possums do (of course in the middle of the night) is raid the macadamia nuts, take them onto the roof (which is tin), then drop them. You hear them rolling down the side of the roof, which then clutters the gutters. I don't know if you have the same maltesers ad over there, but if you do, it's just like that. Big, brown nuts, rolling around, like the maltesers rolling across the table.

I seem to have gone off topic again. Apologies. I'll get back to the cricket!

 

Self-defense ... what if it is against your "friendly" neighbors?! When people panic, they get strange ... and violent.

Know what to do when former "friendly people" come trying to break down your door?! How much ammunition do you currently have? How long can you hold out?!

Here in the States, there will be NO region spared of attacks. Rural farms WILL be attacked -- this is a 100% true statement. Many attackers will die, but then, irrational people engage in unimaginable violence to feed their children. These attacks will last for months, because some farmers and even some survivalists are insufficiently armed.

"Why Your Neighbors Could Be a Bigger Threat Than You Think"

https://www.mypatriotsupply.com/blo...hbors-could-be-a-bigger-threat-than-you-think

"As much as we want to be friendly and love our neighbors, this may be more dangerous than we realize.

"We notice our neighbors’ habits – even if we are merely acquaintances.

"We notice who gets tons of deliveries and who has a garage filled with tools.

"And that’s a problem…should SHTF.

"While there is no getting around the fact that you will inevitably share your preps with the people you love, you don’t necessarily want the people living nearby to know what you have in your emergency stockpile.

"MI5, the UK’s security service, believes society is only “four meals away from anarchy.”

"If SHTF, there will be anarchy.

"After 1 week, you can expect people to make decisions based on desperation."

--------------------------------------------------------

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2116738

---------------------------

https://www.atour.com/forums/history/15.html

Quote

...

Soon the movement spread to Kemer, Kilissekeuy, Kinick, Pergamos and Soma. Armed bands of Bashibozuks attacked the people residing therein, lifted their cattle, drove them from their

farms and took forcible possession thereof.-

The details of what took place harrowing, women were seduced, girls were ravished, some of them dying from the ill-treatment received, children at the breast were shot down or cut with their mothers.-

Not content with driving the rayahs out, these blood-thirsty emissaries of a �so called Constitutional Government� then attacked the property of foreigners driving out their employees lifting their cattle, and looting their farms. In answer to complaints made to the Authorities the reply was �let foreigners go and buy farms in their own lands�.-

From Pergamos the bands advanced to Dikili driving out the people and looting the town, then, dividing forces, some bands took the direction of Menemen and others went south towards Phocea.-

In the Menemen district the villages of Ali-Agha and Gerenkieuy were partly sacked after having been looted, the affrighted inhabitants fleeing in all directions.-

At Serekieuy, a village in the same district, the people determined to resist and a fierce fight took place lasting from 8 � at night till about one o�clock in the morning when the villagers� ammunition having failed a hand to hand struggle was sternly fought in which most of the defenders, who were by far the minority, fell, after having heroically fought for their lives and for the honour of their women.-

...

End quote

============================================

20th October 2023

"UK food shortages may trigger civil unrest"

"A study by the University of York predicts civil unrest in the UK in the coming decades, due to food shortages caused by extreme weather and a range of other factors."

https://futuretimeline.net/blog/2023/10/20-future-food-uk.htm

Begin quote:

Food shortages caused by extreme weather could lead to civil unrest in the United Kingdom (UK), according to a new study which has surveyed some of the country's leading experts on food security. Inadequate supplies of the most popular carbohydrates – such as wheat, bread, pasta, and cereal – are most likely to trigger such turmoil, according to the experts, whose work spans academia, policy, charities, and business.

The new analysis of frailties within the UK's food system has been led by researchers from the University of York and Anglia Ruskin University, and is published this month in the journal Sustainability.

In the study, civil unrest is defined as:

"[...] violent injury of more than 30,000 people in one year, due to e.g. violent looting, strikes, demonstrations, or crime including hate crime (i.e. roughly one in 2,000 people are injured, which is 10 times greater than the number of injuries in the London riots of 2011)."

Just over 40% of the food experts surveyed believe that civil unrest in the UK is either possible (38%) or more likely than not (3%) in the next 10 years. However, this increased to nearly 80% believing civil unrest is either possible (45%), more likely than not (24%), or very likely (10%) in the next 50 years.

The participants were then asked, if disruption to the food system was to cause the unrest, was it likely to be due to not enough food being available overall, or problems with food distribution, preventing it getting to the right places and creating isolated pockets of hunger. They were asked to consider both questions over the two time frames, 10 and 50 years.

The results show that 80% of experts believe that logistical distribution issues leading to shortages are the most likely food-related cause of civil unrest in the next 10 years. But, considered over a 50-year horizon, they said catastrophic failure resulting in insufficient food to feed the UK population, rather than distribution problems, would be the most likely cause.

End quote
--------------------------

 

Many Amerikan families eat take-out food from fast-food restaurants. Me, I find that risky, because I'm not in any way impressed with the work ethic of their staff and thus the hygienic atmosphere where they prepare food.

These families eat-out multiple times per week. How do they afford this? Truth is that as prices hit the stratosphere, they can't afford continue pulling this life shortcut. This is why many urbanites and suburbanites are getting punched in the gut by inflation. My take: "Too bad. So sad."

So, even if they could cook, they'd need electricity or natural gas to do so. When it hits the fan, they'll neither have the skills nor the resources to prepare the food to sustain themselves and their kids.

Snacks run out rather rapidly.

They'll go mad.
.

 

Information via telephone - The electrical grid supplier company for my area has warned someone within my tribe , expect a disaster in my area April 8th. " next month " . The power grid company's computer model is showing a hoard of people swarming into my area to see the sun eclipse . They are expecting it to be so bad a month ahead , they are already planning to stop movement of trucks that are owned by the power grid company , that day . -- It ain't just the eclipse , the power company is reporting a huge increase in people wanting to install electrical supply poles for new residence in the hills . This is a huge electrical grid supplier company , suppling electricity to multiple states and the requests are popping up for the same area . I sit in the bulls eye as people are evacuating and relocating to be near me , to homestead , prepare and try to survive for S.H.T.F. . Sure not all will be preppers , by my standards . but nearly all would far surpass the qualifications to be dubbed a prepper by folks across most of the globe . --- April 8th. - I will mark on my calendar , to be sure to not move from my survival retreat .

 

Me, I want masses of people, a veritable swarm of humanity, to go out and purchase electric vehicles.

Why?

This will cause a very beautiful light show at night as EV owners charge their cars.

What light show?

Power lines will be unimaginably over-taxed with electric current, resulting in overheating to the point of glowing in the dark. This will be amusing ... until the grid melts down ... literally. The liberals could claim that they did this in worship of their Goddess Gaia.

Melting the grid! We did it to honor you Oh Holy Gaia!

 

Good point.

And, these vehicles are heavy!

"EVs are much heavier than gas vehicles, and that's posing safety problems"

https://www.axios.com/2023/04/28/evs-weight-safety-problems

Begin quote

Vehicles are adding poundage as the auto industry goes electric — and that's problematic for traffic safety, parking garages and roads.

Why it matters: Gas vehicles are slowly giving way to electric vehicles as investors, regulators and consumers clamor for more environmentally sustainable transportation.

State of play: Electric vehicles can be anywhere from hundreds to thousands of pounds heavier than similarly sized gas vehicles because EV batteries are so much heavier than engines.

• For example, the 2023 GMC Hummer EV, a full-size pickup, weighs more than 9,000 pounds, sporting a 2,900-pound battery. In comparison, the 2023 GMC Sierra, also a full-size pickup, weighs less than 6,000 pounds, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Threat level: Safety watchdogs are raising concerns after the recent deadly collapse of a parking garage in New York City called attention to the challenge of creaking infrastructure.

• Traffic safety is particularly concerning. In crashes, the "baseline fatality probability" increases 47% for every 1,000 additional pounds in the vehicle — and the fatality risk is even higher if the striking vehicle is a light truck (SUV, pickup truck, or minivan), according to a 2011 study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
• "Since we’re seeing pedestrian and roadway fatalities at record levels, the introduction of more weight into crashes via EVs will complicate any attempts to reduce the ongoing fatality crisis that has showed no signs of abating," Center for Auto Safety acting executive director Michael Brooks tells Axios in an email.

Flashback: In a speech in January, National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy praised the effort to reduce carbon emissions by switching to EVs but warned of the "unintended consequences" being "more death on our roads," the AP reported.

End quote
=========

Also, as everyone is discovering, you can't put out a EV fire unless enormous amounts of water is used -- water ONLY cools the battery compartment, water doesn't put out the fire itself ... can't.

Damage to EV batteries can cause a fire hours or days later. If there is potential damage to your EV's battery assembly, then don't park your EV in your home's garage if you wish to keep your house.
.

 

EVs are a fad that, I am convinced, will pass. One only has to look at the early development of cars to see that petrol won out over electric due to charging difficulties and "range anxiety". Electric cars have come back and brought back exactly the same problems they originally had.

 

I just found and bought some clean kerosene for all of my lamps. It was on sale and radically so, $11/gal. Found a deal on the "Klean-heat" product below. Haven't tested it yet, but temperatures are going below freezing beginning of coming week = maybe I'll give it a go.

Oh, these are 1 gal per plastic jug. I bought multiple; will put them in workshop out back.

Me, I've all my years been around kerosene lamps and heaters. Not only do I not mind the smell, I like it (same with burning coal). My wife can't stand the smell (plus, there's lung issues in her family, her dad died of emphysema). For me, I'd just buy industrial kerosene and use that -- cheap, very cheap. I might just buy some of that crap anyway. Survival is survival.

I was once a smoker and inhaled the smoke of cigars, unfiltered cigarettes, and pipes -- just like the men who influenced me in my youth. Since infancy, I inhaled smoke. Cleaned the yellow tar off the wallpaper of family homes.

One doctor told me that my lung-scarring was minimal, so what the sh##!

If you buy lamp oil in most stores it is VERY expensive and is scented or has citronella oil in it (to attempt to repel mosquitos; wifer doesn't like citronella, go figure). Most clean kerosene isn't clean and my wife's nose picks that up (again, I couldn't care less; my grandmother's chest plaster recipe had kerosene in it; on and on ...).

Anyway, if you've got family and don't want to use regular kerosene, don't want massive amounts of soot, then here's one product:

https://www.bing.com/search?q="klean-heat"&qs=n&form=QBRE&sp=-1&lq=0&pq="klean-heat"&sc=11-12&sk=&cvid=EFB7D9799A954A7A805AE363AEB0EAF4&ghsh=0&ghacc=0&ghpl=

"Klean-Strip Klean Heat is the perfect choice to use in kerosene-burning appliances such as heaters, lamps and stoves. This premium fuel is safer and more convenient to store than kerosene. It contains less sulfur and aromatics, so it has NO kerosene odor - before, during and after burning. The clear formula burns clean to extend the life of your wick and limit smoke, soot and emissions."

 

Clean burning paraffin/kerosene is easy enough to find in the UK and Spain, keep your wicks trimmed and not turned up too high there is little aroma.

You can add fragrance https://www.milesstair.com/Sweet_Sm...text=One way to freshen the,9 as a nice scent!

Paraffin/kerosene oil has additives and don't burn well in pressure lanterns, don't use it stick with good quality paraffin/kerosene.

Heating oil will burn in lanterns and pressure stoves (as will diesel) but its 'dirty' fuel I'd only use if I have nothing else.

I found good quality paraffin at a local service station, 5l tubs for €10.50 picked up two tubs (cheaper than the UK), I really should pick up more. Turns out paraffin heaters are still quite popular in Spain for home heaters and I'll use the fuel in the garden in hurricane lanterns in the summer when entertaining outdoors.

Mason jar sealer has turned up but won't have a chance to use it until next week, I'll let you know how it goes.

 

As for as back up lighting , I stole a technique that I experienced in the backwoods of Alaska ., A place accessible only by float plane . I installed propane wall lights in my home and hooked them up to a 250 pound propane tank . If that was the only thing that I used propane for , those lights could burn for years . Other than the grid , also there is my outside solar panels that can operate lights until something goes sideways with the solar system . Candles maybe , but highly unlikely to be needed here . On my survival grounds we have several bee hives , which of course produce wax that could be used for candles .

 

I will ask as I was wondering , what type of string for candle making should I be looking for ? / I think I can cancel that question as I found rolls of candle wicks on amazon .

 

I've made and maintained lots and lots of candles.

The wider the candle, the thicker the wick. A wide candle has a slow burn-down time. There's more wax to burn, thus the wick must last. If my wax level in the candle jar is running low (flame getting too high) and the wick is still usable, I add more paraffin or Crisco (vegetable shortening; brand X works as well as Crisco -- we're not talking flavor now are we). For the primary candle, I always use paraffin in its manufacture; NEVER veg. shortening. Some might. I won't. Paraffin is much harder and thus holds the wick in it proper place.

Me, I default to using too large of a wick. I make my candles inside used cans or used glass jars. I wish no paraffin be wasted. I wish no paraffin dripping off the side, thus I always make my candles inside of containers. The large wicks I use mean that I have to put more paraffin or Crisco in as the original is burned away. If the candle wick thickness is too large, the paraffin will burn lower and lower, thus the flame will get higher and higher until it starts giving off soot / black smoke. Before this happens, when the flame is starting to get a bit too tall, I add more paraffin (or melted Crisco). I usually cut little chips of hard paraffin and put the chips into the melted wax until the wax level comes up to a height that creates the flame size that I wish.

Me, I'm OCD to the max., so this doesn't bother me -- it's just candle tending during its burn. I have wicking for my kerosene lamps and watch the flame to see if the wick needs to be trimmed due to too much charring. Too, I guess I'm a bit of a pyromaniac. All my life I've tended fires. Coal furnace flames, stoking a big house furnace, digging out the klinkers with 5 foot furnace tongsinnumerable fireplace fires, outdoor fires / campfires, cut limbs/bushes/leaves burn-off fires, wick type kerosene lamps, mantle-type lamps, BBQ grills, ... you name it. Heaven only knows how much paraffin, kerosene, and coal I've burned! Innumerable matches ... lighter fluid ... charcoal starter ... When I was in my pipe-smoking years, I'd always be fiddling with them as pipe-smokers are want to do. Packing tobacco into a pipe is an art -- too tight = won't burn; too loose = burns up too quickly. As a grammar school boy, I became a fireplace guru.

Getting clinkers out of a coal furnace results in your eyebrows and eyelashes melting. We're talking heat that can melt metal. As a little boy I did this when the fire was still going, but not when the blower was on. That could burn your face off. This was one of my chores.
https://heatingsystemwiki.com/what-is-a-clinker-in-a-coal-furnace/

Quality wicks last. Many candles one buys at stores have wicks with a wire through the middle. Watch out about that because the wires sometimes contain heavy metals = very bad thing, that.

Wick tabs help center the base of the wick to the bottom of the can. You can make your own, but these puppies are rather cheap. There are also wick tabs for wooden wicks. I like wood wicks, but that's just me. Buy a wood wick candle to see if you like them. As a wood wick burns, it crackles like an itty-bitty fireplace. I'd bought one (they cost too much at candle shops), tested it, liked it, so I bought wood wicks, made candles, now have several of these wicks left. For emergency candles, I just buy cloth wicking.



I buy large blocks of paraffin and rolls of wicking.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rolls+of+...=v320-1&iar=shopping&iax=shopping&ia=shopping

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=wireless+...=v320-1&iar=shopping&iax=shopping&ia=shopping

Wick size text:
https://www.procandlesupply.com/pag...rect-candle-wick-size-and-conduct-a-burn-test

On YouTube, there are innumerable videos on candle-making.

Wick size video:

 

.
"Life After Losing the Electric Grid"

https://www.griddownconsulting.com/life-without-electricity

 

You've inspired me to make some more candles. I've got a shite load of wax and wicks of different sizes, depending on the receptacle I use to make the candles. Might tackle that tomorrow, if nothing else crops up until then.

 

One of the for-sure upcoming events is MASSIVE power outages.

The Chinese and Muslim terrorists that the biden regime has aided in coming through Amerika's open borders have the know-how to shut down power grids -- indeed, such attacks could be one of their top priority missions. Too, shutting down a power grid (or multiple) could enable other terrorist nighttime attack modalities. Terrorists trained in China will have state of the art night vision equipment.

 

Well, that was certainly cheerful reading, on a cold, wet Saturday!

I reckon the bloke that wrote it is dreaming if he thinks that Russia and China may come to the aid of the US. I don't know what planet he's from.

 

Yep. That's what I thought.

 

In our area, we lost power yesterday into today. No storm. Guess it was just a power-company screw-up. Sh## happens.

Candles and kerosene came to the rescue last night. Nevertheless, what a bother!

Didn't use the generator. Had the outage gone longer, I'd have powered the fridge and the freezer for a time to keep that food good.

I'm old and now, it appears, rather spoiled. Did yard work yesterday and today only have one sore muscle. This morning it bothered me, but now that's gone.

Gonna take this as a lazy day. Only chores about the house. Finish needed yard crap before weekend. But I like being retired ... maybe. Never been old before. Don't believe in reincarnation, don't'cha'know.
.

 

Your area just got hit by a barrage of heavy thunder storms and tornadoes.

So, did y'all get stomped?

...

 

Correct-I am transmitting this morning using solar power . In the background I hear my gas generator running which my freezer and refrigerator is on . I am expecting it to be weeks before the power grid is back in my location . All of my tribe survived . My tribes structures are still standing .though my daughters house lost about half of their roof . We are fortunate . Some of the nearby houses the walls were pulled out , people sucked out and killed .

 

Great that nobody got hurt.

Yesterday and today, I've been watching videos of the destruction ... two waves of massive tornado damage within a week. Listening to people's stories. Ain't it a shame that the working poor are the people who get slam-dunked by natural disasters and meddling government goons.

The Red Cross is a racket. My departed father-in-law (great man, God's Mercy be upon him) didn't have a good word to say about the Red Cross. Red Cross leadership pull-down serious 6-figure salaries. Often, people helped by them end up getting a bill from them. Me, I give to the Salvation Army or donate directly to a charity, i.e. in person, or have taken relief supplies to their gathering point / storage area.
.

 

The Red Cross is often mixed in with intelligence agencies and so too certain church charities.

This is why so often in certain nations ...the Red Cross is not desired to be let into these countries. Because too often intelligence agencies operate within them....Church charities too.

This is beyond the thinking capabilities of most Americans with their television and or movie educaitons....that intelligence agencies would operate within charities....and agencies like the Red Cross...

This is why Disneyland thinking is so important to many of these agencies.....to operate as a cover for certain activities.

And I believe this goes way way back into history.......even in activities of the Roman Catholic Church and their various intelligence gathering activities...through charities and the confessional...et al.

This is not a new history......but very very olde...


My non Ishmaelite .02,
Watcherchris

 

.
Current generations of Americans are spoiled to the core.

This place is massively overdue for a mega-Humbling. What is coming will make the sturdiest of souls gasp.

 

I saw the Govenor's helicopter flying over my house Shortley ago . Actually a green military helicopter .

 

I like flying machines, so I look up when I'm outside and they pass overhead.

Helos are all the time in the sky due to our living between two hospitals. The adjacent county (other side of our mountain range) has a HUGE teaching hospital with a helo pad atop. It has an adjacent tower built into one of its hospital buildings. That hospital has over 30 surgical suites (critical, i.e. not counting its many outpatient small surgical suites). The hospital in our rural county is actually rather large but not monster-sized. It too has helo rescue / dust-off capabilities. If injuries are severe or specialized surgery or intensive care is required, a helo dusts them off from here & xprts them to the major hospital across the mountain range -- its just a short hop, 48 klicks. Their choppers are also powerful, thus fast. Their wash thumps the earth.

We also have a small airport in our small town. There are many amateur pilots here. Due north there's a larger airport -- no major anything, just a regional.

Therefore, an aircraft cutting through the air is no rare event.

Got a coal freight-train rail only a couple hundred meters away, thus the rumble shakes the house three of five times a day. Monster loads of coal -- two or three jacks pulling a kilometer-long line of coal cars. Reminds me of my home-town way further south. That place was a railroad crossroad. Arteries of a nation. Without us Podunk, Nowhere folk, the cities would die. During the first Civil War, even though in the South, we were Republicans siding with Lincoln. We were called the Bridge-Burners due to guerrilla assaults and the burning of railroad bridges. The Confederacy finally sent-in cavalry units to suppress our activities up in the mountain passes. We gave aid to the Yankees -- how funny. Our folk HATED the Confederate leadership. They were arrogant control-freaks, plus they owned slaves which did NOT sit well with us locals ... being abolitionist Republicans. Slavery is anti-Christian. The Democrats have always been slavers. In the past it was the iron-chaining of humans. Today, the chains are made of welfare checks.

This governor in this state is a Republican (defeating the previous governor, a Democrat and has successfully blocked the pork-barrel politics of the Social Democrats. He's also done away with the communist indoctrination classes in our public schools. One of his undergraduate degrees was in engineering, plus he's been a leader in the business community = he can reason. Though not any kind of government-worshipper, I actually like this guy. Even small government requires leadership. The individual states can take care of their own business without being perpetually pestered by the federal government.
.
.

 

We have settled into our new No grid lifestyle , with every day finding new ways to make things more convenient .

 

The power from the power grid came back on shortly ago . I wasn't expecting the grid to back up this soon . Only three days off grid . Because of disaster situations of the past , I have come to expect to be non-grid for weeks .

 

As you are well aware, rapid grid repair times are a fleeting entity. Glad you got your power back. This was a training exercise for y'all.

Our power only went out for a day week before last. Our appliance insurance company is now in breach of contract concerning the repair of our washing machine. We've put a large plastic container in one bathtub for washing and rinsing. Should our dryer go out, we've still got clothesline posts out back and plenty of strong line to use as clotheslines. Got plenty of sunshine .... too much sunshine, but we're not in a drought. I have rainwater capture barrels in place. Everyone should have large rain-catch capabilities. Water is life for us and our crops.

We've discussed how power companies can no longer count on getting transformers. We are only beginning the storm season. Plus, we have absolutely zero idea if the sun is going to zap us again ... likely will.

Here's a thorough article concerning the U.S. transformer situation.

"A look at the great transformer shortage affecting U.S. utilities"

March 7, 2024 Anne Fischer

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/03...transformer-shortage-affecting-u-s-utilities/

Begin quote

An NREL team finds that lead times for transformers has grown fourfold in three years, with orders sometimes taking two years. Additionally price increases of four to nine times have been reported in the past 3 years.

As the clean energy buildout continues to grow, one of the challenges looming over the industry is shortages and price increases in the global transformer market. National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) researchers produced the report, Major Drivers of Long-Term Distribution Transformer Demand, in order to quantify the long-term demand for distribution transformers.

“Distribution transformers are a bedrock component of our energy infrastructure,” National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researcher Killian McKenna said. “But utilities needing to add or replace them are currently facing high prices and long wait times due to supply chain shortages. This has the potential to affect energy accessibility, reliability, affordability—everything.”

Reasons given for the shortages and price spikes include increased raw material demand, pandemic-related shortages and backlogs, labor constraints, shipping issues, and geopolitical tensions. In some parts of the world, the shortages are acute.

The study found that utilities are experiencing extended lead times for transformers of up to two years (a fourfold increase on pre-2022 lead times) and reporting price increases by as much as four to nine times in the past 3 years.

They also consider step-up transformers, used for renewable energy resources and most battery chains, and manufacturers as distribution transformers. Step-up transformers are used to convert low-voltage electrical generation into high-voltage electricity for long-distance transmission. The demand for these will grow as they are needed to integrate wind and solar farms onto the power grid by adjusting voltages, improving efficiency, and enhancing grid reliability.

The analysis is based on estimating the peak demand that would need to be met by distribution transformers, which considers the increased electricity demand across the economy from scenarios outlined in NREL’s Electrification Futures Study.

End quote
=====================================

Old Gzr: Hey, let's all go out and buy an electric vehicle to help shut down the power grid!

 

We get power cuts here all the time. Anybody worth their salt has a lantern or two tucked away just in case.

 

When we lived in Tennessee, our power came from the federal Tennessee Valley Authority, plus during winters, falling trees routinely brought down the power lines. Thus, power outages were numerous.

Friend from work (electronics engineering and manufacturing site, huge) brought home a voltage graphing device that recorded on a round sheet of paper -- this was in the 1980s. The resultant graph showed that TVA power wandered all over the place voltage-wise ... next to zero consistency. Federal agency = we weren't shocked. Well, he was a bit, but then he was a genius and OCD, so expected higher standards. Both of us got equip. to provide cleaner / more reliable power feed to our home computers. At work, everything was mega-sophisticated, so this was no issue. Speaking of old technology, our mainframe in Engineering was physically large and had to be water-cooled. Today's home computers could dwarf the capabilities of that dinosaur and for a fraction of the electrical feed.

TVA power fluctuations, I wasn't surprised. TVA is another big government project. I had a great uncle who was a worker building those dams and electrical feeds back at their beginnings. He was electrocuted ... ZAP, dead. My dad's dad worked on the TVA projects for a short while. Dangerous days back then. Since the feds were using "worthless hillbillies", the lives of these men were not counted as being worth much. As far as Washington D.C. was concerned, they'd just hire another nobody from up in the hills.
.

 

Shoot, it may not be an EMP attack that brings down U.S. power grids. It could be air conditioning.

Me, I want to see electric cars mandated. It would be a delight in that this nation's power grid would melt ... maybe literally so.

"150 Million Americans Under Weather Alerts As "Potentially Historic Heatwave" Tests Major Power Grids"

https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/1...tentially-historic-heatwave-tests-major-power

Begin quote

Here are more forecasted highs this weekend (list courtesy of Axios):

• 118°F: Forecast high in Redding, Calif., on Saturday, tying the city's all-time high.
• 128°F: Forecast high in Death Valley, Calif., just 2-degrees shy of the hottest reliably measured temperature on Earth.
• 100°F: Forecast high on Friday in Portland, Ore., with temperatures at or above this level from Friday through Tuesday in this typically cooler city.

This all means that power grids will be under stress this weekend as high temperatures boost air conditioning demand. Bloomberg says that grids in California and Texas should be closely monitored for an elevated blackout risks.

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A cyber attack will be blamed on China, or Russia, or ... fill in the blank.

Any decent cyber attack will have high on its target list the American power grid.

https://rumble.com/v57lrp9-alex-jon...the-cyber-attack-will-begin.html?e9s=rel_v1_b

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