Rolling blackout check...

[STRONGNUFF]

Well our's is back on after over an hour being off, good thing we have a gas fireplace to keep the baby warm. Down side, power off long enough for all the water in the pool pump/tank and lines for freeze

[mikeb]

The wife is reporting that our power went out in mckinney at 7:30 and has yet to come back on. She has a fireplace and plenty of wood so she'll be ok. My teenagers may die of boredom though LOL....

[TexasDevilDog]

there's so much to type, it would be better if you did a google search about it...there's quite a bit of information out there. it has done a great job of screwing up the entire system; not just at the generation level, but the maintenance of the system, etc. it has all gone down hill. just out of curiosity, did you ever even hear of rolling blackouts 10+ years ago? (aside from hearing about it in california)

When did they lose two power plants 10 years ago while trying to power the death star in Arlington?

[unkoricky]

Power emergency prompts blackouts in DFW area

By Yahoo! Local yahoo! Local – 1 hr 16 mins ago

Jason Sickles, Yahoo! Dallas Editor

Rotating outages of electricity have been imposed across the state to ease the stress on the power grid. Reuters reports that ERCOT, which operates the power grid in much of Texas, imposed the rolling blackouts this morning due to the loss of several power plants overnight because of the severe ice storm.

We're discussing the latest developments and aggregating local tweets in the live blog below. Please join the conversation and let us know what is happening in your area. You can send your winter weather photos and descriptions to dallas.ylocal@yahoo.com.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_localdallas/20110202/ts_yblog_localdallas/power-emergency-prompts-dfw-blackouts

[John -- '02 HAWK]

Even zombies are smart enough to know to stay inside where it is warm.

not all

[kingjason]

Number three just hit.

[TexasDevilDog]

Number three just hit.

That would suck if there was no power for the superbowl.

[sc281]

not all

What movie is that from?

[Chili]

There have been three at the office this morning but only 15 minutes. Got this email from another TDSP down south (same as Oncor).

You have received this message because you are currently subscribed to receive email notifications from the AEP CR Self Service site for Bulletin Board Notifications containing information about:
Market Notices
Description: ERCOT Emergency
Created on: 2011-02-02
Item Text:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Power Emergency – Conservation CRITICAL--Rotating Outages Have Begun
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has instructed utilities to begin rotating outages to compensate for a generation shortage due to numerous plant trips that occurred because of the extreme weather.
Rotating outages are controlled, temporary interruptions of electric service, typically lasting 10-45 minutes per neighborhood. The locations and durations are determined by the local utilities. Critical need customers such as hospitals and nursing homes are generally not included.
It is not known at this time how long the need for rotating outages will last.
Consumers and businesses are urged to reduce their electricity use to the lowest level possible, including these steps:
* Limit electricity usage to only that consumption which is absolutely necessary. Turn off all unnecessary lights, appliances, and electronic equipment.
* Businesses should minimize the use of electric lighting and electricity-consuming equipment as much as possible.
* Large consumers of electricity should consider shutting down or reducing non-essential production processes.
See more conservation tips at "Powerful Advice," Public Utility Commission of Texas:
www.puc.state.tx.us./ocp/conserve<http://www.puc.state.tx.us./ocp/conserve>
BACKGROUND
A Power Emergency indicates that the regional electric grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), has instructed utilities to implement rotating outages to reduce load.
Rotating outages are controlled, temporary interruptions of electrical service initiated by each utility when supplies of reserve power are exhausted. Without this safety valve, generators would overload and begin shutting down to avoid damage, risking a domino effect of a region-wide outage.
Rotating outages primarily affect residential neighborhoods and small businesses and do not typically include critical-need customers such as hospitals and nursing homes.
The outages are limited to 10-45 minutes before being rotated to a different neighborhood. Some customers may experience longer outages if power surges cause equipment failure during the restoration process. Customers can minimize power surges by turning off appliances, lights and other equipment, except for one task light to determine when power has been restored.
ERCOT REGION
The ERCOT Region includes Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, Abilene and the Rio Grande Valley. It does not include the El Paso area, the Texas Panhandle, Northeast Texas (Longview, Marshall and Texarkana), and Southeast Texas (Beaumont, Port Arthur, and the Woodlands). Region map: http://www.ercot.com/news/mediakit/maps/index.html

You have received this message because you are currently subscribed to receive email notifications from the AEP CR Self Service site for Bulletin Board Notifications containing information about:
Retail Market Call Announcements
Description: News release --Power Emergency update -- Rotating outages still in progress - Conservation Critical Created on: 2011-02-02 Item Text:
Mid-morning Update:
During the early morning hours, the ERCOT grid began experiencing numerous forced outages of generation due to the cold weather. As of 9 am, more than 7,000 MW of capacity was still out of service or not producing at its expected level.
Rotating outages were implemented around 5:30 a.m. this morning to shed 4000 MW of load. The rotating outages are continuing as this time, although the amount has been reduced to about 3000 MW.
We expect the rolling outages to continue until a sufficient amount of generation is back online. We are continuing the appeal for energy conservation.
Further updates will be provided when additional information is available.

[fordracing19]

mines been doing it since last night. Starting to piss me off cause its hard on my reef tank. If I lose some of these fish I won't be a happy camper. Once or twice I understand but mine started about 6pm last night. made for a long night. This is in Little Elm (Oak Point)

I dont have a heater on my 156g reef and my closing manager turned the heat off last night. Tank was 68* this morning.

[FATHERFORD]

On the 3rd one down here in Houston....

[Chili]

BTW, any of you on variable rate plans for electricity that are tied to an Index are about to get nailed on your price. Wholesale energy prices are going crazy this morning.

I would expect that some smaller energy retailers will be going out of business soon if this keeps up.

[warrjsmith]

Third in South Arlington

[03mustangdude]

First in south fort worth better be the last since this is only residential pretty much i dont see anyone on the street

[Pro88LX]

just had one here at the casa in frisco at parkwood and gaylord.