Did anyone in the burgh hear the last 1/2 hour of the show this morning? I only caught the last min. If so, who was the caller, and what did he say? All I heard was, the grid is going down. It will take us 2-4 weeks to get it back up.

Thanks!

-- FLAME AWAY (BLehman202@aol.com), May 18, 1999

Answers

I heard virtually all of what the caller said.

He identified himself as being a member of the utility industry. Sounded like an employee of many years and possibly retired. From what he said below, he seemed to have experience with repair crews.

He stated that he had only been listening to Quinn for the last 3 weeks, but that he was right on target with his concerns over potential power grid failure associated with Y2K. He did not mention anything specific about domino effects or switching problems or anything contained in the excellent ABB post earlier.

I think his primary concern was that there would be a major winter storm which would stress the system and knock out 3 or 4 smaller utilities (or they would be unremediated and go down themselves). Because the repair crews rely on emergency assistance from other states, there could be significant delays in power restoration. He cited the fact that it took 4.5 days in the beginning of last summer to fully restore power to all of the Pittsburgh area after a very unusual storm which included a tornado on Mt. Washington overlooking the city. He did not mention that some places were without power for a week and one intersection had not traffic light operational for over two weeks (not too far from my house).

He seemed concerned that repair crews would be overstretched and have more difficulty getting around in the winter time. But at least people wouldn't lose freezers full of food like they did last summer.

To me he sounded very credible, but it wasn't clear to me that he intimately understood or had complete access to information about what remediation is being done throughout the entire utility industry or how successful it might be.

As Quinn said, he was dragged kicking and screaming to the issue by Rose. I now have most of 2 weeks of supplies, personal protection, and a bugout contingency plan. I used to be a "What's important enough will be fixed by intelligent people" polly, but now I'm scared enough to take expensive precautionary measures. It may cost me a bit in the short-run, although I doubt it, but in the long-run my family will be safe.

-- GEC (childsge@msx.upmc.edu), May 18, 1999.

WELCOME TO THE ROLLERCOASTER. This is NOT a hands-off ride.

Chuck

-- chuck, a Night Driver (rienzoo@en.com), May 18, 1999.

Hey, Flame Away, did you hear the Duquesne worker who called Quinn a few weeks ago to report that they had received special ID cards that would let them travel past National Guard emergency road blocks to get to a job, since they were utility workers? Dept. of Corrections dude called to say they had received the special ID cards, too, and that regular prison guards were now all receiving special SWAT-type training and weapons training. No way to verify the content of these calls, etc. But I would love to hear from other Duquesne and DOC employees.

-- Faith Weaver (suzsolutions@yahoo.com), May 18, 1999.

I will be in PItts, Pa for a week in June. What radio station/time is this Quinn on????

Thanks

-- Moore Dinty moore (not@thistime.com), May 19, 1999.

The Jim Quinn Show is on WRRK 96.9 FM (aka Channel 97) from 5:30 am (or whenever he gets his butt to the station) to 9:00 am. You can also see his stuff at www.warroom.com. It may be a while before you can again listen to him on real audio.

-- GEC (childsge@msx.upmc.edu), May 20, 1999.

I have a relative in PA who just rented a warehouse to a local hospital. The hospital is stockpiling 3 months worth of supplies in the warehouse.

-- GeeGee (GeeGee@madtown.com), May 20, 1999.

Gec,

Thanks

-- Moore Dinty moore (not@thistime.com), May 20, 1999.