Power Outage

[STeeLy]

I live up north... and from about a little past 4:30 to about 5:00 we had a huge power outage... and I called my dad who is down at Deer foot Meadows... the power was out down there as well...

Was there anybody not affected? any sort of explanations city did provide?

[Resolute 14]

Power was fine in Kingsland.

Maybe the city's grid was designed for only 999,999 residents?

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Interesting, we had one in St. Albert this morning at around 6:30 a.m.

[Regulator75]

Power was down in Bridlewood and the C-Train (39th Ave Southbound) wife was onboard.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I live up north... and from about a little past 4:30 to about 5:00 we had a huge power outage... and I called my dad who is down at Deer foot Meadows... the power was out down there as well...

Was there anybody not affected? any sort of explanations city did provide?

I live in the NW, and we had an outage in that same time slot.

The explanation to the best of my knowledge is that there are too many people using electricity which means there is an increase in the amount of current that is drawn, which in turns makes power lines sag. This makes the lines vulnerable to a fault.

Dan, Kevin, am I on the right track?

[underGRADFlame]

They said on the news there have been rolling blackouts throught out the province all day. I also heard 3 power stations in the province are down for maitnence, you know the best time of year to shut down 3 power stations... THE MIDDLE OF FREAKIN SUMMER!!!!!

[@theCBE]

Originally Posted by undergradflame

I also heard 3 power stations in the province are down for maitnence, you know the best time of year to shut down 3 power stations... THE MIDDLE OF FREAKIN SUMMER!!!!!

Better than the dead of winter so people would be without heat.

[KevanGuy]

Originally Posted by undergradflame

I also heard 3 power stations in the province are down for maitnence, you know the best time of year to shut down 3 power stations... THE MIDDLE OF FREAKIN SUMMER!!!!!

Better now then the middle of the freakin winter.

edit: Yeah! What he said.

[ken0042]

I live in Copperfield. Looks like the power was out here, and came back on 1 hour and 12 minutes ago. (My clock starts at 12:00 when the power fails.)

[conroy22]

The lights flicked once in Douglasdale, but that was it.

[calculoso]

On my way home, QR77 explained it like this:

Rotating power outtages have been ordered by the authority who has power to order them (forget the name).

Normally, the province would have plenty of power. Currently, 5 of the 18 power generating stations in the province are down for one reason or another. We'd still normally be fine, except that the extra power line from BC (which provides more power when we need it) is also down due to a presumed lightning strike.

So, in a sense, Murphy's Law has struck once again.

[RougeUnderoos]

Nothing downtown in the southeast corner of downtown at that time, but Charlie Brown's teacher came over the intercom at Stampede station and said something about 15 minute delays, but I didn't notice any delays. Maybe the train I got on was the delayed one, but it got there just as I did.

[CaramonLS]

Power was knocked out to the traffic lights at Chinook center to chinook station for about 15 minutes from 4:45-5:00. My apartment wasn't affected though.

Still, very dangerous to cut the power to the traffic lights on purpose, especially during rush hour.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by @theCBE

Better than the dead of winter so people would be without heat.

There are two other season in the year that would be more appropriate for doing maintanence.

[Tron_fdc]

Yep, the System Administrator over at the Power Pool (or at least that's what it WAS called) can order rolling blackouts if demand outpaces supply.

We were actually selling power through the day, when the price hit $999/MWh (the max it can hit). We buy for around $4, so it was a pretty profitable day....

People (Power producers) made some serious cash today if you were selling in at market price!

[snappyk]

so that's why that C train was just sitting there this afternoon on memorial. Traffic was stupid on 16th, backed up from deerfoot all the way to 36th

[Clarkey]

Maybe it's from too many people running air conditioners?

[flmsfan2004]

Originally Posted by Clarkey

Maybe it's from too many people running air conditioners?

I wondered that too. But seriously, other than office buildings how many people actually have air conditioners in their houses?

[V]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

The explanation to the best of my knowledge is that there are too many people using electricity which means there is an increase in the amount of current that is drawn, which in turns makes power lines sag. This makes the lines vulnerable to a fault.

There is absolutely no truth to that statement. It was pretty funny to read, though.

[CrusaderPi]

Originally Posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken

There is absolutely no truth to that statement. It was pretty funny to read, though.

What do you mean Dwat? Everything has mass, right? Therefore more energy = more mass, right? Silly engineers.

...anyway, having worked in a shop that serviced pumps used in powerplants I'm surprised that rolling blackouts don't happen more frequently.