Vigilance Elite: The Power Grid
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About the Author: Patriotman
Patriotman currently ekes out a survivalist lifestyle in a suburban northeastern state as best as he can. He has varied experience in political science, public policy, biological sciences, and higher education. Proudly Catholic and an Eagle Scout, he has no military experience and thus offers a relatable perspective for the average suburban prepper who is preparing for troubled times on the horizon with less than ideal teams and in less than ideal locations.
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GUNS N GEAR
Extremely glad to see PatriotMan’s post with Shawn Ryan on the power grid. Great topic and interview – but I especially appreciate giving Shawn’s site some airtime. I’ve been following him since his first episode. His interviews with these heroes, their trials, and finding their path back to a productive life are just stunning – and very sobering.
I did not serve, but work with many that have. Us civies tend to think of our vets as an amorphous group, and that when they come home they can simply slip back into to civilian life no problem. I now appreciate the very unique bonds that exist within a military team – especially a SpecOps team – and that finding similar bonds can be extremely rare back in civilian life.
Shawn’s episodes VERY clearly remind us that each returning vet is an individual, each with a unique experience while serving, and each with a unique experience trying to re-integrate with ‘normal’ society. I truly hope his interviews bring some answers to those vets out there in need; and an understanding that not all those answers lie in ‘conventional’ medical wisdom. Shawn’s work is a true blessing – and demonstrates that military – especially SpecOps – training and attitude can remain just as applicable in civilian life – in SO many ways.
THANK YOU for this post – Laus Deo
A former USAFR sqdn member worked for NYSEG 15 years back. Told stories of entire shifts spent shuttling power around failed sections (aged-worn-out, storm damage, etc). He finally retired after multiple heart attacks due to stress. He said the entire grid was a patch.
Electricity moving at 837,000 miles per second?
Electricity moves nearly the speed of light. I think he just misspoke.
The grid is so complex and relies on these LPT’s and we in the use only have 6 domestic producers, vs china w over 30..
https://www.windpowerengineering.com/report-update-large-power-transformers-u-s-electric-grid/
Leads times are 20+ months..
So, locate and take out these lpt’s and we have a true shtf moment..
This is why i recently installed a tri fuel genie connected to NG line and back fed into home via interlock kit…
Huge wait times on electrical components. Refrigeration gear is nearly a year too for top of the line brand new commercial grade.
I have a project that requires an engine generator for a small community’s new well and water treatment plant; generator is used for backup power and is a year out. The large filtration plant doubled in lead time to 30 weeks out. VFDs and MCC components who knows when we will get those things. There is no end in sight for the failures of the last couple years. That and the last few years they have been tearing down powerplants along the Mississippi in the upper midwest.
Yup.
And almost zero of it has been moved back because the managerial class believes this is just an anamoly.
It’s like the Hunger Games in real life.
You can make machines, farm, or mine minerals.
But no district is allowed to do it all themselves.
For decades, PG&E in No Cal said it was impossible to put transmission lines underground to prevent sparking wildfires. Est cost at $20 billion. They have reversed course and will do so, increasing rates by “orders of magnitude”. Look for residential power costs to exceed mortgage costs, and, customers may have to pay even if they disconnect from the grid. Only in CA.
“Our power grid is held together by duct tape and bailing wire.” A former associate who worked installing ‘alternative power generation’ systems to tie into the grid. He also said the wind generators were a joke- it cost far more money to build and maintain them than what they ever produced in income.
A friend of mine works for a super large company that is responsible for demolishing every nuke power plant in the country.
If the grid stays down for a week or two, it is probably not going to come back. Kevin Costner’s, The Postman, now seems more likely as an outcome. Costner lives next door to me over in Idaho. This part of the country has an excess of hydroelectric that feeds the west coast.
If the grid goes down, the local power companies have a plan to ‘island’ the power to this region if it does not already get it’s power from the local dam. ‘Island’ means that the power will stay on regionally, or locally. For example, Hungry Horse Dam supplies all the power to the area around Kalispell, Montana, and will not go down unless hit with an EMP. We have dams all over, and rivers all over, so that we can make our own as well. We will not have a shortage of power or water. There are many licensed and unlicensed private small and larger hydroelectric generators in operation. I have the parts to make a portable microhydro electric generator, and will do so once a license is not required. I also have solar. and a solar power water pump to irrigate enough land to feed up to 20 families. I detailed this pump over on survivalblog: https://survivalblog.com/2022/01/11/using-a-dankoff-solar-powered-water-pump-part-1-by-tunnel-rabbit/
A grid down situation is one of the least discussed reasons for moving to Montana and Idaho, yet it is one of most important reasons to do so. We could have cheap power and a war time-island type economy if we can keep most of the refugees from the big cities on the West Coast out. Without power for gas stations to pump fuel, few will have the fuel to make the trip.
As a South African I’ve seen all this play out it is a rough ride when they run out of capacity get alternatives now when the power grid gets rolling blackouts the alternatives are impossible to buy because they fly off the shelves.
Mac