Awoke this morning to the sound of the power going out (my carbon monoxide dectector gives out a death shriek at the moment of disconnect), and the chilly thought of the five-day outage two years ago. About 45 minutes later, the power came back on.
It’s amazing how powerless we modern humans feel in the absence of the power.
It took them 9 days to get my electricity on. When there is a power outage now, I get a real sense of dread.
That is why I purchased a 5 KW generator this year for my Christmas present even though I may not use it for the next five years.
In December 2006, we lost power for 5 days. My neighbors only for 3 days. My circuit breaker box shorted out in the storm and had to be replaced (Insurance paid for it thank goodness and we were lucky the house did not catch on fire as one of the 2x4s behind the box was scorched!) so I had the new box with a ‘mechanical’ switch so I can plug my generator directly into the house and run the furnace.
When we had the outage, my neighbors let me plug an extension cord in so we could watch TV until the box was replaced as we had gotten tired of winding up our little emergency radio every 10 minutes.
What if PSE were your provider, would the turn around time be different do you suppose?
GW Bush, speech given at the opening of the retirement White House and Presidential Bookmobile in Bidet, United Arab Emirates, June 7, year 1 EO (Era of Obama)
I like how quiet it is when the power’s out.
@3
Where I’m at we have a small co-op for our power, its always done a great job for us.
“It’s amazing how powerless we modern humans feel in the absence of the power.”
I don’t. I deal with it.
You had your warning already Goldy. In the event of a REAL disaster, 5 days will seem like nothing. It is the responsibiliy of every able bodied citizen to be able to take care of themselves and (if able) be prepared to help those that cannot in an emergency situation. The City of Seattle’s response to the snow should clue all in as to how poorly they can respond……and that was just snow.
Those that will not prepare……….tough shit. Enjoy the cold and the lines.
drool @6,
What a sad, lonely, every-man-for-himself world you live in.
Goldy,
wasn’t that an episode of Lost?
Ooh. In 2006 after The Big Windstorm, we were without power for 9 days. It was cold, and Puget Sound Energy had a schedule for getting people back on line that was eerie. We came back on line per schedule – 9 days out. That always bugged me. How did PSE know 9 days out how long it would take? What were they prioritizing? Cuz the truth is, I don’t live out in the boonies. It’s right at the border of Bellevue and Kirkland. I always assumed that I lived in civilization…. not out in the sticks. Good to know PSE won’t tell anyone why they decide to do what they do.
So. We have a tendency now to fill the bunker with dry staples (and kibble cat food), and insist on having as much propane on hand as the Fire Department will allow for the BBQ/Stove. Next is to acquire the crank radios and flashlights instead of battery powered ones.
We are not expecting the Apocalypse, but we really don’t have a lot of faith in PSE, either.
Hope the power has been successfully restored. Happy New Year!
Pud @ 8- It was actually a Twilight Zone episode- The Monsters are due on Maple Street.
Look it up. A true classic.
Wow! What about that great westcoast earthquake we keep getting warned about? Maybe it’ll come at the same time as the snow storm.
Goldy, What about “be prepared to help those that cannot in an emergency situation” didn’t you understand? Remember the “It takes a village theme”?
Fer crissakes, not everybody that takes care of themselves is some wingnut living in a bunker eating MREs. I just think folks that are able should be able to cope. I came from parents that were in England during a war so maybe I have a jaded perspective.
sdfsdf