power grids fixed?

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A friend of mine heard on the 700 club that the major power grids in the U.S. had been fixed. Is this true, and if so, does this probably mean most of us will have electricity on 1/1/2000?

-- Anonymous, June 24, 1998

Answers

I'm from Ohio. I have a friend who works for the Public Utilities Commission ("PUCO") which regulates public utilities. He informed me that according to PUCO mandates, the power grid will be disassembled sometime in December 1999. This is being done to prevent the cascading effect. This means that once the electric companies are off the power grid, each power company will be (hopefully) up and running for their local area. My friend also told me that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that regulates the nuclear power plants has mandated nuclear power plant shutdowns on Dec. 31, 1999. Supposedly (if this is true), each power plant is to bring their mission critical systems on-line one at a time to make sure there are no undue surprises.

-- Anonymous, June 25, 1998

I saw the program. Sen. Bennett was interviewed and said he was receiving some assurances that the power grid may be o.k. But he turned right around and said he expected some blackouts and brownouts to occur in Jan. 2000. Go to cbn.org and look for interview and program. bb

-- Anonymous, June 25, 1998

As a systems engineer with a background in power generation and a current employee in a software support group, I would be skeptical. My advice is to be skeptical of any "global/universal" statements concerning Y2K remediation and preparedness in any industry.

There are several articles out there that comment on the dependent nature of the telecommunication and power industries. I don't believe the power industry (or the grid) is an island unto itself.

Conclusion: the problem is too systemic and has too many variables to make global statements like "The grid will work 100%." Will we have electricity in 1/1/2000? Probably so. It's all about power and $$. Most people with either realize they are dependent on power generation and telecommunications in this country. I think there is a great deal of motivation to maintain the status quo whatever the cost.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 1998


Can anyone confirm that the grid will be disconnected in Dec '99 (oops did it again) 1999? This sounds like good news to me, IF it is enforced!!

-- Anonymous, June 30, 1998

I live in the state of Washington. As far as hydro plants go,if the circuits open and the generators have no load, the water flow must be immediately stopped or the generators will overspeed and destroy themselves due to no load. This is done,as I understand it, by closing gates in the dam operated by electric motors. In normal procedures when shutting-down an individual generator for maintenance, power to shut the gate is provided by other generators. BUT, what if the whole load is disconnected from that paricular dam?? I'll be interested in hearing from an expert on THAT!!

-- Anonymous, July 21, 1998


Actually, when the generator breakers open, separating the load from the generators, the units only momentarily go overspeed. Their governors are designed to shut the wicket gates (equivalent to the throttle in a gas engine) until speed comes down. If the governor doesn't catch it in time, the overspeed trip will close the penstock valve to the unit.

Some plants have the turbines very close to the dam, and they use individual tunnels to each machine. With this layout, an intake gate, or "headgate" may be used in place of the penstock valve. My plant has an 11,000 foot tunnel through the mountain, which branches to individual penstocks only shortly before the units. Therefore, we use the conventional layout of a penstock valve before the scrollcase of each machine. Butterfly type valves in our case.

Our project, three dams and powerhouses on the Skagit River, has in fact been knocked entirely off line before. Restoration kept us busy for a bit, but no damage was caused the the trip itself. I hope this reassures you a bit.

BTW, we are told our new Woodward Summit 517 digital governors are Y2K compliant.

Lane Dexter Sr. Hydroelectric Operator

-- Anonymous, July 21, 1998


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