Post by papaof2 on Mar 27, 2021 5:08:45 GMT -6
Just before 0530 (0523 by the power co-op's outage page), we lost power. No flickers, no off, on, off, on, off to stay - just direct to dark. I did the usual process of getting the little flashlight from my pocket to go around and turn off the beeping UPS units (four on the main level of the house). There were a couple of thumps (the co-op trying to restore power?) while I was doing that but nothing visible. I used their app on my phone to report the outage, booted the laptop (the internet hardware in the basement has its own UPS) then checked the co-op's outage page and its caption showed 41 meters out; that quickly climbed to 1420, then inched its way up to 1440. However, the only substation marked with an outage (lightning bolt in a colored circle) was at 473 meters out regardless of the total outage - I think their outage reporting system needs some work. After 10 minutes of darkness, I decided to go turn on the backup power system in the basement and transfer the fridge and freezer to it. So I grab the head light from the knob on the door to the basement stairs and head down. About the time I reach for the breaker that powers the 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter, the power comes back - and stays.
When I checked the other power co-op in the county, their outage page was showing two outages that started within a mniute of our outage's start time. Georgia Power still had 2000 meters out from Thursday's thunderstorms and tornadoes just after midnight, so no idea if they were affected by this attack of no-see-ums.
Since our power just "went away" without the cycling of a breaker, the problem most likely wasn't on the customer side of the substation. That could put the problem into the substation itself or on the power feed to it - a detail I'll probably never know.
At least I had battery powered lighting which I could put my hands on (and used it for about ten minutes ;-) and a backup power system available.
When I checked the other power co-op in the county, their outage page was showing two outages that started within a mniute of our outage's start time. Georgia Power still had 2000 meters out from Thursday's thunderstorms and tornadoes just after midnight, so no idea if they were affected by this attack of no-see-ums.
Since our power just "went away" without the cycling of a breaker, the problem most likely wasn't on the customer side of the substation. That could put the problem into the substation itself or on the power feed to it - a detail I'll probably never know.
At least I had battery powered lighting which I could put my hands on (and used it for about ten minutes ;-) and a backup power system available.
