18 days without power in Houston...

Wow.

I bought a generator after 4...

To paraphrase Scarlett O'Hara... as God as my witness, neiher I nor any of my kinfolk shall ever sit in the dark again! I had power after the generator and TV because I have DirecTV satellite service.

Of course I don't know how much I'd run the generator if one hit today because gas is just so damned expensive now that it would be cheaper to leave and stay in a hotel.

Doug D.
Orlando, FL

I'm in the historic downtown area; they needed a backhoe to get the trees out of the street. It drove me nuts since I live within walking distance of OUC! Man, that was a hot and nasty time, wasn't it?

From late August to early September. It'll be hard. It'll be hell. But it's doable.

And it's very doable.

power.

And I think Houston had already lost power so maybe they're already out.

Southern Company is deploying crews. Everybody is really - thousands of linemen on standby. GA power has some of the best crews out there - and there will be plenty of linemen coming from all over working to get the power back on ASAP.


My BF is shipping out tomorrow if they didn't leave tonight. He was on Gustav duty in MS 2 weeks ago, The Carolinas and VA for Hannah last week, and barring another one coming, most likely in Texas til it's done.

Imagine that.

Don

x(

:shrug:

The power goes out all the time due to storms. I know burying the lines would be expensive, but it seems that over time it would be worth it. :shrug:

and hardship. Seems worth it on both counts.

It turns into a tremendous hassle when things go wrong. With overhead you simply stick a new pole in the ground, string it and you're good to go. With underground you have to excavate. A lot. This is in people's yards, front and back. People do not respect right-of-way and easement laws or transformer clearance guidelines (3 feet on sides 8 feet in front - how many of those green boxes have you seen with plants and trees right up against it?). They build illegal fences and become threatening when you need access. They don't understand why you have to dig in THEIR yard when THEY don't have a problem (even though they installed a fence without a permit or 'locates' and hit a line that powers their neighbors house). Things get especially dangerous around buried primary lines. An idiot with post hole diggers can not only kill himself but take out power for his neighbors. The needed repairs ALWAYS damage somebody's lawn (and irrigation system, phone lines, pool plumbing...etc.)
As a consumer, I'm sure the idea of buried power lines seems like a 'V-8 moment'.
I'm here to tell you that it isn't as great as you imagine.