Friends,
Most of the time, our all-electric house setup works fine: heating, cooling, cooking, lights, internet, etc. we’re not all-electronic, and the bills are tolerable.
But as of 9:19 PM Friday, in a blink we entered one of those other times.
“Dangerously low” temperatures in our darkened corner of Durham (there are lights on up the street; so near, and yet so far) were down to 14 F Friday night. The Fair Wendy & I huddled and swaddled and snuggled; candlelight and all that.
But the romantic atmosphere thinned as the house chilled; sleep was fitful & scarce. And it felt even colder this morning when I found this online headline:
What’s a “rolling blackout”?
Duke Power “explains” (the small text in the image is printed below it in bold type:
Emergency power outages underway
“Due to extremely cold temperatures driving unusually high energy demand, we have begun short, temporary power outages across our system. These emergency outages, also known as rolling blackouts, are necessary to protect the energy grid against longer, more widespread outages. The majority of these emergency outages will be restored remotely; however, in some cases, a crew will need to be dispatched, extending restoration times. Also, it is possible that other unrelated factors, such as downed tree limbs, are also causing outages at the same time. We will update the map as our crews provide additional information. We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we respond to this emergency situation.”
Which is to say, it wasn’t either a “natural disaster” (hurricane, tornado, etc.) or a “terrorist attack” (like the recent deliberate shooting at a substation in a nearby county that took down its power for days. Duke Power flipped us off.
When will the lights & heat go back on? Their response, in sum: “We’re working on it.”
Meantime, we’re on our own. The weather forecast says the big Xmas blizzard snows have missed us; but the temperatures over the next few days are . . .
Minnesota-esque comes to mind. Or Montrealish, mais oui?
Chuck.. leave your taps with a thin/tiny stream of water running. This helps keep the water flowing and prevents pipes as enthusiastically freezing or worse bursting.
Wear warm clothes. If you have no heat climb into bed and stay there. Your cat might appreciate joining you. Say goodbye to any pet tropical birds.
Thinking of you and wishing I was a little closer so I could be more helpful.
Drive away in your charged EV.
Fourteen degrees sounds downright balmy compared to the minus six we had in Boone. They say a tornado sounds like a freight train. We had that noise for about twelve hours straight. But it’s now the next night, the winds have quieted and we have six degrees and electricity so all is well.
Ah, Judy, but I know you mountaineers are tough. And now we’re lit up and heated up again, and the thermometer is peaking near 40, with promise of warming by the weekend; so it was all a bad dream no? Nothing to see here . . . .