[91383] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Hot weather and power outages continue
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Frank Coluccio)
Mon Jul 24 12:45:48 2006
From: Frank Coluccio <frank@dticonsulting.com>
To: nanog@merit.edu
Reply-To: frank@dticonsulting.com
Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2006 11:44:59 -0500
Errors-To: owner-nanog@merit.edu
There are a few tens of thousand families at this time around the country w=
ho
wouldn't see any humor in this. Local to me, the problems that began eight =
days
ago in Queens NY persist to this day, and the best ETAs now being given by =
the
City and Con Ed is at least two more days. But that's what was projected la=
st
Friday, or three days ago.=20
Some lawmakers in the affected districts are calling for the resignation of=
Con
Ed's CEO, while some blackout victims are calling for his imprisonment.
http://tinyurl.com/oge8n
The article doesn't go far enough to inform the reader that many of the
"restored" residential and small business units that are holding their own =
(as
opposed to sputtering out within two hours, like many that were placed back=
onto
the grid) are being fed by a slew of portable truck-mounted generators that=
are
tied directly into the local low-voltage feeder networks going to customer
locations.=20=20
A report on CNN (IIRC) earlier today focused on a range of "hot-spots" arou=
nd the
country, from Beverly Hills to St. Louis to New England, noting that for th=
e most
part the electric power problems that are being encountered (as roads and r=
ails
buckle from the heat) do NOT point to supply as much as they do to the inab=
ility
of distribution networks in the last mile to withstand the increased loads =
being
caused by mounting demand from air conditioning (and while no other applica=
tion
was mentioned at that point, you've got to know what other drains on power =
went
through my mind).=20=20
As a society we've already taken ample note of the aging (in many instances,
crumbling) infrastructure, ranging from sewer systems, roads and rails, wat=
er
tunnels, bridges and so on that are still working decades beyond their time=
. Has
anyone given serious focus to the underspaces and overheads that house the
nation's last mile electrical distribution systems, in toto? If so, what do=
es it
say about Queens' ability to handle summer loads?=20
Frank=20
On Mon, 24 Jul 2006, Richard A Steenbergen wrote:
>
> Come on Sean, this "very few disruptions" stuff is below your usual
> standards. The least you can do to help us pass the time in this damn heat
> is to recount a few good stories about routers you could scramble eggs on.
> :)
there is a funny story of some dial devices on fire, and still passing
packets...
)
Frank A. Coluccio
DTI Consulting Inc.
212-587-8150 Office
347-526-6788 Mobile
