May just be weather related but cause unknown:

Adelaide Australia: Electricity Blackout in southern suburbs

ETSA repair crews are investigating the cause of a blackout affecting 1,600 homes and businesses in Adelaide's southern suburbs.

ETSA spokesman Craig Cock says the outage occured at about 3 pm affecting the suburbs of Trott Park, O'Halloran Hill, Old Reynella, Sheidow Park and Happy Valley.

Mr Cock says electricity will be restored progressively as soon as the problem is isolated.

Link to story:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/state/sa/metsa-18jan2000-43.htm

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 18, 2000

Answers

Sorry to be redundant but it's a slow posting night. Again reiterating my point on the thread regarding Aussie power outages: The most interesting part of this story is its location - virtually everyone who followed Y2K news in 1998/9 knew (discounting the American Politico/Media Spin) that Australia was more ready (readier?) than anyone else on Earth. I'm not making any statement whatsoever, just think that it's interesting.

-- Paranoia Will (Destroy_Y@BlackCopters.com), January 18, 2000.

Could be those possums from Aldgate nearby. They cop the blame for everything. For years nobody minded them but now they are slandered, defamed and scurrilously accused as culprits of the many power glitches in the State of South Australia.

Seriously though, a fast moving thunder storm with lightning moved through out state of SA this afternoon. Lightning ignited a pinetree plantation about 5 miles from my home. The temperature was 38 + Cel and the wind swung south cooling the firescene by 10 degrees. The fire fighters were fortunate today and every available unit rushed out, gaining control quickly.

Another blaze is burning in the plantations and National Park just over the Victorian border and over 500 hectares are reckoned as lost so far.

Today is a red alert scene. In situations like this Y2K glitches are forgotten about.

Regards from Down Under.

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 18, 2000.

Hi Pieter, Is it your perception that the number of power outages in your area has been significantly of late. If so can you give an idea of frequency and comparison with say a year ago? Thanks for you always interesting posts!

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 18, 2000.

Greetings Carl,

My brother has lived here longest and he says for 18 years he hardly ever needed to reset his digi-clocks. Since the year before last he's noted a frequent interruption requiring his clocks to be attended to again. He's quite sick of the whole arrangement and bitches and moans but he will not sell his clock collection.

As I am involved with a server our UPS has indicated power variations frequently. It may be imagination but it does seem to be more often.

When we do have power outages we do it well. The government may claim lightning strikes and other causes, but our contacts in devious places say testing of the grid last year bombed the entire state of South Australia twice.

Power supplied by NSW is routed via Bordertown and here failures were reported.

The rural infrastructure is stressed and strained because of a prevailing government policy to centralise services. The bush is in a state of revolt that began some years ago, includes the gun buyback sorrow, and the pro-rural Hansonite political phenomenon which has not run its full course. Today the Avgas fiasco & digi-phones that don't work simply compounds our view that the city power brokers are tainted and best be gotten rid of.

Regards from the Deep South of Oz

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 18, 2000.

Pieter! Glad to see you found a pertinent thread to post to. Will look forward to any significant news you may have on problems stemming from or attributable to Y2K & Co. One question for now -- where and when did possums get to Australia .....? We don't have wallabees in Oregon.

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-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.tree), January 18, 2000.

Thanks for the info pieter!

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 18, 2000.

G'Day to the Squirrel Hunter,

Our marsupial rodents called possums are nightly foragers partial to a bit of hanky-panky. Rumour has it these possums are rallying to the Squirrel King minions, but as yet enjoy a merry abandon in our bushlands.

Unfortunate glitches in the electrical industry are lately often attributed to possums. However, I believe possums are staunchly Australian and any truth in such assertion may be due to sale of ETSA to China. Yes folks, the electricity trust of South Australa (ETSA) is now owned by the same Chinese fellows that controls Panama Canal.

Regards from OZ

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 18, 2000.

Yeah ... but how'd they get there? They're native to the southeastern U.S. -- witnesseth POGO POSSUM -- and must have been released from captivity somehow adn introeduced to OZ. I just wonder how and when this occurred. We hear you have terible rodent trouble without the additional nuissance of possums.

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts,@neednew.address), January 18, 2000.

Dear Squire Squirrel Nobbler,

Our possums are indigenous and any suggestion of an American gene degrading our possum genetic pool is taken with the contempt it deserves. Your American variety of possum are not a patch on the possums tribes of Aldgate. There simply can be no comparison. Our possums are politically pro-active leaving statements of intend everywhere, messing around with various community projects of doubtful substance, and freaking out the electricity circuits.

Our 'marsupial' rodents called possums are able to leap from tall buildings, aqualung deepest sinkholes and run orgies in barrels of yeast. Nothing on earth comes anywhere near the talent of these fantastic species of rodent valour.

I understand their fame is spreading far and wide via their intelligent manipulations of contemporary technology, which may explain ETSA concerns.

For a true hunting tale see WASP< /b>

Regards from Down Under

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 18, 2000.

Bold off?

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 19, 2000.