Post by papaof2 on Apr 3, 2023 1:36:54 GMT -6
Whether or not you've watched any of the "Ten Steps to Disaster" series on the Smithsonian Channel, you need to see the lastest one: Ten Steps to Disaster: "Texas Blackout" was aired for the first time on 2 April 2023.
One of the big factors in the failure was a choice Texas made many years ago - to have its own independent grid and not be inter-connected to any of the other grids in the US. With near-normal weather in much of the rest of the US that month, having an inter-connect to either the Eastern or the Western Grid would have provided some of the power Texas couldn't generate because of power plant failures (wind turbines stopped by ice, gas-fired plants stopped by lack of natural gas) and the four million people in Texas without power might have been a much smaller number.
The story goes on with a long list of things, including the "energy is a competitive market" concept Texas instituted early in the 21st century - a concept that makes extra capacity or standby power a negative asset. {Very stupid in my opinion, particularly when they experienced a trial run of cold-weather failures in 2011 which showed they had no capacity for failure - but they did NOT learn from it.}
As a limited income prepper who does what can be done affordably, I checked off points as they brought them up. No, the vehicles aren't new (2012 and 2008). No, we don't eat out often. Yes, we're OK for most of the things we're likely to encounter. Basic prepping typically covers food, water, staying warm and cooking - all that someone in the "Texas Blackout" would have needed.
Grid Power - We have instant limited backup (solar-charged backup system with 8 to 20 hours of backup depending on the weather) and longer term limited power that isn't tied to the weather (small inverter generator and about two weeks of treated fuel - not unlimited power, just fridge, freezer and the blower on the gas-fired furnace).
Alternate means of heating - If there is natural gas but no electricity, the 30,000BTU gas logs in the fireplace are totally battery-operated - the remote control AND the gas valve - so we have some available heat. Not whole house heating but it can heat several rooms with some selective closing off of spaces that don't need heat and the judicious use of battery-powered fans to move heated air. If there is no natural gas, there's a 22,000BTU kerosene heater in the garage and about two weeks of fuel in the equipment shed out back. Having even less heat available means we'd need to shrink down even further in the space being heated - but we would have heat, and we'd be using lots of blankets and quilts to cover doors and windows to keep the cold out and the limited heat in.
Alternate means of cooking - The natural gas cookstove lights just fine with a grill lighter as long as the natural gas stays on, then we'd use the gas grill (you should always have a spare tank), the Coleman camp stove with several gallons of fuel plus unleaded gas and aftermarket LP burners plus canisters of LP, then the rocket stove and maybe a camping stove that could be used in a fireplace.
Water pipe protection - If you don't have heat when the outside has sub-freezing temperatures, you need to be aware that your water pipes will eventually freeze if the space they are in gets cold enough. Do you know where the water shutoff(s) is(are) and how to drain those pipes? Or how to provide "just a little" heat to that space so the pipes don't freeze?
Source of clean water - If the City says "boil water" and there's no electricity for your electric stove or gas for your gas stove, how do you boil water? For us, we'd first use the eight 5 gallon jugs of water that are stored in the basement, then drain the water pipes in the house and the water heater's tank (you need storage containers for that water and I have filters to ensure that any collected water will be drinkable) and then the 250 gallons of rainwater that has been collected for years for flowers and shrubs. With as much snow as Texas had, melting snow might also provide a source of water depending on the availability of a means to melt the snow. One possibility would be the Fresnel lens I bought for another project but it might be adequate to heat a small Dutch oven for melting snow - possibly melting it very slowly when you have sun and needing some other type of heat if there is no sun.
Source of food - If you can't get out for multiple days, is your pantry stocked for a week or more? Some people walked or drove to the nearest grocery store only to find empty shelves. The adage "three days of food in the grocery stores" is true in normal times. If there is an emergency of some type, some people will buy as much as they can buy (or carry) because they don't know when/if they can get back to the store or if the store will have more food then - it won't have more food if the highways are blocked by ice, snow and/or wrecked vehicles, which was the case in parts of Texas.
Sound like a lot of the stories here? It does, because the writers are imagining one version of what might go wrong. No imagination needed here because this actually happened. They estimate that 700 people died in Texas during the event from the cold, vehicle accidents and several hundred of those deaths were from carbon monoxide poisoning (patio heaters or whatever used inside and no CO detector).
I suspect that most "just a little" preppers would have been fine for a week or so.
There were a few people in Texas who posted videos on YouTube of putting out solar panels for a little power, finding alternative ways to heat the house, cook food, melt snow for water, etc. I noticed that this program did NOT mention the few who were quietly going about semi-normal life - probably because those people didn't want to be identified as "someone who can make it through the storm" because they didn't want a next time when everyone in walking distance of them was saying "Feed me!" "Charge my phone!" "Where's a long extension cord?" "Give me a bucket of clean water!" or "Which bed is mine?"
3 April 2023
One of the big factors in the failure was a choice Texas made many years ago - to have its own independent grid and not be inter-connected to any of the other grids in the US. With near-normal weather in much of the rest of the US that month, having an inter-connect to either the Eastern or the Western Grid would have provided some of the power Texas couldn't generate because of power plant failures (wind turbines stopped by ice, gas-fired plants stopped by lack of natural gas) and the four million people in Texas without power might have been a much smaller number.
The story goes on with a long list of things, including the "energy is a competitive market" concept Texas instituted early in the 21st century - a concept that makes extra capacity or standby power a negative asset. {Very stupid in my opinion, particularly when they experienced a trial run of cold-weather failures in 2011 which showed they had no capacity for failure - but they did NOT learn from it.}
As a limited income prepper who does what can be done affordably, I checked off points as they brought them up. No, the vehicles aren't new (2012 and 2008). No, we don't eat out often. Yes, we're OK for most of the things we're likely to encounter. Basic prepping typically covers food, water, staying warm and cooking - all that someone in the "Texas Blackout" would have needed.
Grid Power - We have instant limited backup (solar-charged backup system with 8 to 20 hours of backup depending on the weather) and longer term limited power that isn't tied to the weather (small inverter generator and about two weeks of treated fuel - not unlimited power, just fridge, freezer and the blower on the gas-fired furnace).
Alternate means of heating - If there is natural gas but no electricity, the 30,000BTU gas logs in the fireplace are totally battery-operated - the remote control AND the gas valve - so we have some available heat. Not whole house heating but it can heat several rooms with some selective closing off of spaces that don't need heat and the judicious use of battery-powered fans to move heated air. If there is no natural gas, there's a 22,000BTU kerosene heater in the garage and about two weeks of fuel in the equipment shed out back. Having even less heat available means we'd need to shrink down even further in the space being heated - but we would have heat, and we'd be using lots of blankets and quilts to cover doors and windows to keep the cold out and the limited heat in.
Alternate means of cooking - The natural gas cookstove lights just fine with a grill lighter as long as the natural gas stays on, then we'd use the gas grill (you should always have a spare tank), the Coleman camp stove with several gallons of fuel plus unleaded gas and aftermarket LP burners plus canisters of LP, then the rocket stove and maybe a camping stove that could be used in a fireplace.
Water pipe protection - If you don't have heat when the outside has sub-freezing temperatures, you need to be aware that your water pipes will eventually freeze if the space they are in gets cold enough. Do you know where the water shutoff(s) is(are) and how to drain those pipes? Or how to provide "just a little" heat to that space so the pipes don't freeze?
Source of clean water - If the City says "boil water" and there's no electricity for your electric stove or gas for your gas stove, how do you boil water? For us, we'd first use the eight 5 gallon jugs of water that are stored in the basement, then drain the water pipes in the house and the water heater's tank (you need storage containers for that water and I have filters to ensure that any collected water will be drinkable) and then the 250 gallons of rainwater that has been collected for years for flowers and shrubs. With as much snow as Texas had, melting snow might also provide a source of water depending on the availability of a means to melt the snow. One possibility would be the Fresnel lens I bought for another project but it might be adequate to heat a small Dutch oven for melting snow - possibly melting it very slowly when you have sun and needing some other type of heat if there is no sun.
Source of food - If you can't get out for multiple days, is your pantry stocked for a week or more? Some people walked or drove to the nearest grocery store only to find empty shelves. The adage "three days of food in the grocery stores" is true in normal times. If there is an emergency of some type, some people will buy as much as they can buy (or carry) because they don't know when/if they can get back to the store or if the store will have more food then - it won't have more food if the highways are blocked by ice, snow and/or wrecked vehicles, which was the case in parts of Texas.
Sound like a lot of the stories here? It does, because the writers are imagining one version of what might go wrong. No imagination needed here because this actually happened. They estimate that 700 people died in Texas during the event from the cold, vehicle accidents and several hundred of those deaths were from carbon monoxide poisoning (patio heaters or whatever used inside and no CO detector).
I suspect that most "just a little" preppers would have been fine for a week or so.
There were a few people in Texas who posted videos on YouTube of putting out solar panels for a little power, finding alternative ways to heat the house, cook food, melt snow for water, etc. I noticed that this program did NOT mention the few who were quietly going about semi-normal life - probably because those people didn't want to be identified as "someone who can make it through the storm" because they didn't want a next time when everyone in walking distance of them was saying "Feed me!" "Charge my phone!" "Where's a long extension cord?" "Give me a bucket of clean water!" or "Which bed is mine?"
3 April 2023