Livin' in the Runner

Power went out 0600 Monday.

Been livin' in the Runner since. Lucky to have it. AC works fine, that's the main thing. Drove 40 miles each way to get something to eat yesterday. Today found an open washateria so got some clean clothes. Right across the street was a taco truck. Can't beat all pastor...

Threw away $400 worth of food yesterday. What a shame.

Wire company says we'll have power Friday. That's crazy talk. I've not seen a truck in our neighborhood and trees are still down on the lines.

Lot of long lines @ stations that have power and gas. Cops on duty at those stations.

This is a major disaster. Me and the Runner will ride it out...

 

Based on the lack of location in your profile I'm guessing you're living somewhere in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia?

 

Spring, TX

 

I'm sorry you're having to live the hurricane outage life, but glad that you have access to gas. When the outage is widespread, that's always a crap shoot.

 

Oh, hurricane.

 

My condolences to ya'. My sister lives in Kingwood and she's on day 4 without power. LUCKILY, her next-door neighbor has one of those whole house powered Generac's. They're letting them piggy back power from them to run a few fans, the wifi and the fridge.

She has a pool so her and the kids just jump in every few hours to cool off.

 

Hang in there, UncleShorty!

 

I’m out on Lake Conroe. Ours is on but lots, and I mean LOTS, of people still without power. UncleShorty, I was raised in Spring on 1960. Graduated from Spring High School, as did my dad. Hope y’all get power back soon.

 

Good luck to you and your 4Runner! One day at a time. Hopefully you will get power back soon.

 

Not to stir any pots, honestly, but those who rely on EVs down there are in a different predicament.

 

Space City USA 2024!!!

 

It could be quite different but not necessarily a world of hurt.

On the flip side, they will use less energy running HVAC in the vehicle plus no CO/constant idling.

They could be powering their home for a number of days if both car is compatible (Vehicle 2 Load) and the house wired up properly. (subject to battery size and power draw)

And still any generator can charge it if so desired. (ICE, solar, etc.)

 

Yeah, but still sounds like more trouble to me.

 

Gas vehicles don't fare much better in regional power outages. When Sandy came to NJ, it was 4 days until anyone in my neighborhood could get out to the highway and 11 days before there was any gas to be had, nearly two weeks before power returned. People ran their generators for a couple days until they ran dry, and most left the area as soon as they could. We were the only people for two blocks who stayed the whole time.

 

There was no gas for two days then there were lines. Cops were monitoring open stations today. There are still lines.

I've got an ACed place to sleep tonight. Might go to IAH and sleep in the terminal tomorrow night...

 

Jeez that's a horrible situation, I hope it's as comfy as can be.

 

An other way to look at the situation is that the 4R would be in my top picks for a vehicle to "have" to sleep in.

 

Get a 12volt cooler and a power bank like a jackery or even a generator if you’re in an area prone to outages. Godspeed op hopefully they get your power on soon, I reckon the weather must be horrid as well

 

If that’s all you have I’d say a dangerous predicament.

 

good luck from DFW @UncleShorty

stay safe!

 

Trucks and crews in the neighborhood now. Feels like we are down to hours now, not days. Centerpoint says 7 more days for some very unlucky people.

How thin is the veneer of civilization?

About the diameter of a piece of 250 MCM ACSR...

 

I'm glad improvement is at hand. It is eye-opening how much life changes during an extended outage.

 

I agree 100%. I’ve had this discussion many times with people who told me that in a major disaster they would rely on local emergency services to see them through it. I tried to explain that local LE, fire and EMS don’t have fuel reserves, and once gasoline gets used up (in about 2 days), nobody would be responding to anything. The cops and paramedics are not going to arrive on horseback, or be out patrolling streets. I don’t consider myself a survivalist in any way, shape or form, but I think the average person has no idea how thin the line between civilization and utter chaos really is.

 

Power's back on. Big thanks to the line crews, tree removers, engineers and others who are getting us back on line.

A steamin' turd to Centerpoint's corporate and project managers for dropping the ball.

And Abbott and Patrick don't get off scot free either... Fail!

There's still half a million out...

 

I'm glad you're back on!

Residential energy delivery certainly has gone downhill in a lot of places, largely thanks to all the consolidation. Texas has additional challenges since it's not on a larger grid. NJ suffers from half the state being served by a company whose crews are mainly based in Indiana and Ohio.

 

Great news! I was able to get gas yesterday without a line. Entergy has been a little better but not what customers should expect. I’m hoping this very minor storm results in some planning and PUC scrutiny up here. Centerpoint, and the Texas grid, were deregulated so there won’t be much change with them. Glad you’re back home and reasonably comfortable.

 

The veneer of civilization has ALWAYS been thin. Growing up in Florida, been thru many of these. Went to Miami a day after Andrew with food, dry ice, water, chain saws, gas, etc. Saw humanity at its worst and its best in a matter of hours. You NEVER take anything for granted. We have all been conditioned to expect this modern and convenient infrastructure to always be functional. The veneer is thin as a primer coat and 90% of us have no idea. Glad things are improving OP.

 

...and don't forget our never ending supply of dead ash trees that take out wires on a daily basis...compliments of thar freaking species of beetle that killed them all. Not a good combination.

Hunterdon County here....
TimG

 

Beach Guy, Entergy is the WORST. Built a Power Plant in Orange 22 years ago.

Their system was mushy and decrepit even back then. And their engineers couldn't pour piss out of a boot w/ the instructions written on the heel.

In TX we are going to have to get used to long electrical outages. There is NO leadership with the guts and intelligence to take on this problem and solve it.

We are just going to keep hearing the governor, his toadies, Centerpoint and Entergy saying "We're going to fix it."

But they don't and they won't.

I resisted buying a generator for years. No more. I can't afford a whole house unit, like EVERY house in TX should have. So, I'm getting a tri-fuel unit that can run a small window AC and a fridge. I'll live in one room and keep my food from spoiling, (Threw out over $400 worth this outage...)

That's the future for Texas...

 

I've had enough random outages here that I decided to get a generator and window AC. Still need to stock up on extra propane tanks.