from this article
[apnews.com]
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around 350,000 homes and businesses still without power in the Houston area almost a week after Hurricane Beryl hit Texas

While CenterPoint Energy has restored power to about 1.9 million customers since the storm hit on July 8, the slow pace of recovery has put the utility, which provides electricity to the nation’s fourth-largest city, under mounting scrutiny over whether it was sufficiently prepared for the storm that left people without air conditioning in the searing summer heat.

Usually utilities call for reinforcements from all over the country. But usually utilities know things are going to be so bad that they will need help and that may not have happened with a Cat 1 storm.

Utilities need to better remove trees even though the city may not want it. After a bad ice storm we hauled poles into a town in Kansas that had nice trees everywhere and no power. Lots of poles. We passed through towns nearby that had been hit by the same ice that had zero outage because they allowed the trimming of their trees. My co-op (actually, a hired contractor) is trimming trees all the time. People complain a bit but they would rather have power in January than a full canopy in July.

Of course, with a Cat 3 or better lines are going down no matter what just as they will if the ice is heavy enough. Poles tend to snap around four feet off the ground and, with ice, one pole snapping means the entire straight line of poles snap.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Quote
Speedy
Usually utilities call for reinforcements from all over the country. But usually utilities know things are going to be so bad that they will need help and that may not have happened with a Cat 1 storm.

Utilities need to better remove trees even though the city may not want it. After a bad ice storm we hauled poles into a town in Kansas that had nice trees everywhere and no power. Lots of poles. We passed through towns nearby that had been hit by the same ice that had zero outage because they allowed the trimming of their trees. My co-op (actually, a hired contractor) is trimming trees all the time. People complain a bit but they would rather have power in January than a full canopy in July.

Of course, with a Cat 3 or better lines are going down no matter what just as they will if the ice is heavy enough. Poles tend to snap around four feet off the ground and, with ice, one pole snapping means the entire straight line of poles snap.

Or they could just bury the lines like the gas and water companies do. I'm sure it costs more to do it that way, but it would completely eliminate this issue and the right of ways already exists.

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C(-)ris
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C(-)ris
Or they could just bury the lines like the gas and water companies do. I'm sure it costs more to do it that way, but it would completely eliminate this issue and the right of ways already exists.

Newer (last 40 to 50 years) residential, commercial and industrial developments have been doing just that. The development where I live had underground 35 years ago and just this year redid the underground in the street (but not to each house) due to anticipated increased electricity demand. 35 years is also about the average lifespan of most utility poles. With slick directional boring it went remarkably fast including upgrading the above-ground junction/access boxes.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Our power is buried, but we still lose power during bad storms. Not sure why.

Quote
rz
Our power is buried, but we still lose power during bad storms. Not sure why.

Look upstream.

A few years ago Texas had huge power outages due to a cold snap yet few power lines were down. The state had a crisis because other parts of the system weren’t required by regulators to handle cold temps - something that hasn’t been remedied. When it happens again hundreds will die again.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Texas and power issues are so common that they should incorporate it into the state flag or motto or something.
“Remember the outage! Again!”

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Ways to improve web conference image and sound quality. [forums.macresource.com]

That's what we deal with. Everything in our subdivision is buried but the lines beyond the sub are on poles. If a tree falls on those lines we're just as out of power as everyone else.

Quote
Speedy

Quote
rz
Our power is buried, but we still lose power during bad storms. Not sure why.

Look upstream.

A few years ago Texas had huge power outages due to a cold snap yet few power lines were down. The state had a crisis because other parts of the system weren’t required by regulators to handle cold temps - something that hasn’t been remedied. When it happens again hundreds will die again.

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Mr. Lahey: A lot of people, don’t know how to drink. They drink against the grain of the liquor. And when you drink against the grain of the liquor? You lose.

Randy: What the @#$%& are you talking about?