Not to suggest this was caused by solar activity, but just noting the interconnectedness of the grid in that region of North America.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
One of my uncles worked for Niagra-Mowhawk for a long time, and left the company a couple of years ago. As I understand it, the power grids are just so interconnected that any problem can cause a chain reaction across a fairly wide area. And apparently, the Niagra Falls are a major source of power -- I never realized that they had hydroelectic plants there.
I guess now we'll see whether creating our wonderful new Department of Homeland Security can actually handle this kind of emergency, terrorism or not.
Posted by Veers (Member # 661) on :
What I'm worried about is, if this power failure lasts into the night, then there could be some looting and/or increased crime in New York and other cities.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
As long as the mayor reacts swiftly and declares mob-rule, then things will be fine.
Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :
Just got power back, about 40 minutes ago. Not sure who's to blame... The US government is pointing at Canada, Canada is pointing at the US, the US is counter-pointing back at Canada. I'd like to know the real deal, and I can't seem to find the facts, just a great deal of vagueness.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
It's all Iraq's fault. We should invade.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Nahh, it's gotta be the Syrians this time. Or maybe the North Koreans. Either way, we've got to invade.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
I think it's the Pennsylvannians. Kill 'em all, I say.
Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :
Why has nobody suggested invading Canada? I've been looking for an excuse for years.
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
I would bite some testicles. Defense machine!
Rrrr.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Oh, like we'd take Saskatchewan, anyway...
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
Tom ditches Eastern North America, and within hours of my sleepy departure from Pearson, everything goes to hell.
Draw own conclusions.
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
I don't have to be in Saskatchewan for another seventeen days.
When the Earth becomes Coruscant, Saskatchewan will be where they dump the poo.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
So NYC depends on Canada for it's power. How unpatriotic!
And I'd just like to say that Bloomberg was great! Very good to hear such a confident, reassuring voice in the middle of all the CNN 'OMFWTFTERRORISTS!' questions.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
OK. So that was less than fun. Mucus <= GTA control room network admin Oh well, at least we get overtime.
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
You control Grand Theft Auto multiplayer games? Posted by Wraith (Member # 779) on :
...and you get overtime for it?!?
It'll be interesting to see who's fault it was. Wonder if whoever's fault it actually was will apologise to the others. I doubt it...
..And of course we get to sit through the panicked 'could it happen here' features (copyright all channels) on the news. Turns out the answer is yes but at least we have the French to back us up.
Which is really reassuring.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
phase one of my plan is complete. moving on to phase two. canucks shall rule the earth.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mucus: OK. So that was less than fun. Mucus <= GTA control room network admin Oh well, at least we get overtime.
GTA- Greater Toronto Area.
It actually wasn't the funnest of events. Just imagine trying to get home from the downtown core, with no subway. Just taking buses alone took over four hours for me to get back to my place.
As of this moment, it is still without power. Across the street there is, possibly due to a hospital within that area. I'm staying at my parent's place for the time being (which now has power), making sure to bring all my refrigerated perishables with me. I heard that the area I'm in may not be fully restored by Monday as it is in an older area with older power lines.
It's good to be in air conditioning. Especially with the weather the way it is.
Posted by Lee (Member # 393) on :
I'm amazed no-one has thought to check where Red Squad were last night. . .
Posted by Styrofoaman (Member # 706) on :
Ok, according to my step father who works for Rochester Gas And Electric this is what happened.
Someone in a Canadian power plant attempted to bring an generator online without going through the proper startup latching/synch procedure and it took the entire grid down.
Again.
Just like in 1965.
...those who ignore history...
Anyway... No one is going to take the blame for this due to the lawsuit factor. My money is on "We'll never know for certain what happened" being the official answer.
Posted by Styrofoaman (Member # 706) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lee: I'm amazed no-one has thought to check where Red Squad were last night. . .
Hmmmm... Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
Ok, so this will be a less than descriptive post. I'm not entirely sure if they'll be rolling blackouts through my home, and more importantly I'm heck tired. And I'm still only a Waterloo co-op student, working at a control room for the GTA. Heck of a learning experience. Good for the resume (knows what to kill/restart/setup in case of total power failure) In short, when the power cut out and we switched to a number of UPS systems, we had to quickly kill all nonessential systems, so to preserve the older basic functionally. (So that operators don't have to phone around and operate switches and breakers "manually"....or at least less so in this case) Then turn everything back on in a controlled manner. (and pray that power fluctuations didn't harm servers while the UPS was bypassed)
Minutaman: In fact the Niagara region was relatively unaffected.. Beck (hydraulic at Niagara) accounted for a quarter(!) of the power generation in the province when we first got systems back up.
Assorted: In this situation, it doesn't really matter who depends on who for generation. Yes, Ontario was importing power but the real problem cascades through the transmission lines. i.e. Generating lots of power doesn't do much if the grid is down, and if that going down doesn't take down the generator, having a generator up with no grid is actually bad. (Sorry to be less than technical, I'm just in CS....the electrical engineers at work were having a fun time explaining stuff...trying) Nuclear reactors are the worst for us. If they don't shutdown properly, they poison out, and it takes upwards of 40 hours to clear them and bring them back up to full. i.e. Pickering (No magic on/off switch)
Finally, no we don't really know why. Since co-op students weren't among those reasigned to shift work over the weekend, we'll find out the same time most of you will. And no, co-op students don't have much sway with hiring (You know who you are)
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
Mucus: you're staying in Toronto? Maybe we should hook up soon.
But perhaps it will have to wait until the subway is back up and running. Give me a shout on PM, wouldja?
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
quote:Originally posted by Styrofoaman: Ok, according to my step father who works for Rochester Gas And Electric this is what happened.
Someone in a Canadian power plant attempted to bring an generator online without going through the proper startup latching/synch procedure and it took the entire grid down.
Uh, not to sound petty and nationalistic, but no.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
They're also apparently playing "Blame Canada" on some US radio stations. Without irony.
Cleverest people in the world ever of all time.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
Ah yes, the whole "Blame Canada" bit.
Terrorists strike on 9/11. America Blames Canada for letting them in.
Power Blackout occurs. Ontario has not embraced the proper ways of privatizing electricity. Blame Canada.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lee: I'm amazed no-one has thought to check where Red Squad were last night. . .
Actually, I did think of that. But President Bush is already in power and has set up the Department of Homeland Security. Therefore, the coup has already happened, and setting up another scapegoat is unnecessary. (One would hope, anyway.) Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
(note my avoidance of a damn dirty lying liar Canadian news source)
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Yes, I read about that as well in this morning's paper. To paraphrase, the failure of the high-voltage grid "was no surprise to anyone but the unwitting consumers."
Basically, although the timing and exact cause of the outage was not expected, the fact that the transmission lines went haywire isn't a surprise.
Posted by Styrofoaman (Member # 706) on :
...ok so now we have to kick Ohio out of the Union along with Florida.
Seems that the failure started in Ohio, spread 'round the country, and our Utility was knocked off line when someone in Canada tried to prop up thier side of things.
Damn chain-reaction-cluster-fucks.
Ah well... now maybe they'll spend the money to update the grid.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Ha!
Posted by Styrofoaman (Member # 706) on :
...and maybe I'll suddenly be granted a twin-hull battleship equiped with wave-cannons, rail-guns and 455mm chain-guns. Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Well, you could always build one Mr. "I am the god of building things out of plastic, and I have a sexy wife!" Posted by Styrofoaman (Member # 706) on :
Molding things out of plastic.
Not building.
But my wife is sexy.
...
The day they fix the power grid is the day I eat a 50' roll of foam.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote:Originally posted by Styrofoaman: But my wife is sexy.
Not as sexy as Aban, I'll wager.
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
I would play the goat to Aban's hippo, I will tell you right now.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
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