As I am generally not a news watcher, and I have been spending the majority of my personal time huddled under an air conditioning vent, I have only today learned of the major power outage in Queens, New York. All I have to say is YUCK.
First, I feel bad for the folks that have been without power for about a week, in what seems to be the hottest week of the year. Secondly, I feel bad for the kind of press that Con Edison workers are getting. I can't speak from first hand knowledge, but I would have to imagine that great portions of the power infrastructure in New York are seriously old. Also, when a power system is underground it becomes highly succeptible to heat. Here's the breakdown.
Underground power systems are weaker in hot weather. High amounts of electrical current generate heat in the metal of the electrical cables. Since these cables are underground, they have no fresh air to release the heat to. The same goes for all the transformers that are underground. When everyone is using electricity, and the weather is hot, and the cables are hot, a weak point WILL FAIL.
Linework is hard work. More difficult still, is underground linework. Mostly because you can't see the big picture. All you have is the hole that you are working in. You have to rely on the skill and competence of the worker that came before you. If the cables are marked incorrectly, you could create a short circuit during repairs. In short, when things go very wrong in an underground system, they take a very long time to repair. I can't imagine the stress that all the workers of ConEdison are feeling right now.
I don't have a lot of experience in linework, only 5 years. Even so, I can't imagine just what has gone wrong to create a weeklong power outage. It must have been BAD.
If there was a way to make customers fully appreciate the reality of power systems limitations, then possibly they wouldn't be as angry at those who are trying to help them.
Here's a couple of videos. Video One. Video Two.
2 comments:
I've been thinking about you these past days, hearing of the heroics of our lineman across the country. Thanks for the info and sensitivity to your co-workers in NYC. Due to g'ma Nadine's hospitality, my parents are not one of the fatality statistics. The AC went out on their trailer so they fled to Fresno when it became 98 inside. The neighbor checked later and it went up to 114 but they've been staying cool w/ g'ma instead. I hear that you're buying everyone's airfare to TN. SWEET!!!
I guess I have a hard time when I hear people badmouth utility workers. I saw a video of some lineworkers in Queens. One of them was asleep in the background. The news made it seem like they didn't care about the people who were without power. I can't know for sure, but it is likely that those guys had been working for more than 24 hours. That is often the reason we try to make ourselves invisible when we try to rest during a storm or other catastrophe.
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