56 hours without electricity.
 

Power just came on about an hour ago. I really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Our power company shut down much of northern and central California because those idiots haven't been maintaining there infrastructure very well for decades so now high winds can spark a fire. It's happened several times in recent years. So this is the answer until they can get things up to par.

First, the weather was great. High 70s during the day, so no need for heat or AC. Our clubhouse had a generator, so there was a place to get some hot coffee in the morning and charge devices. We BBQed and got a lot of stuff done outside the house and spent some time with the neighbors. We cooked for some of the more elderly folks who weren't as well prepared and equipped as we were.

I have an upright freezer and in anticipation of the power outage I had frozen about 15 one gallon jugs of water so I was able to keep any of my food from spoiling. I even still had ice cubes last night for my bourbon.

I also helps that we are retired, so no lost time from work or anything like that. Just another little adventure in life.:seasix:

I am glad you coped with it well and were able to help those who weren't prepared, but the fact that this has to occur in 2019 is preposterous. I think one can safely say without being political that leadership, be it in government or privately held legal monopolies, is really ****ed up in California.

:cert:

Our power company, PG&E, has always been pretty well screwed up. Over the years, I've known a number of people who worked for them. Two things I have always noticed are they are obscenely well paid, and every one of them had a parent who worked there. It's almost like they won't hire anyone but relatives of current employees. My grandson's wife is an electrical engineer and works there. She's just a few years out of college and she makes crazy money and benefits like I've never heard of anywhere else, not even in government jobs.

For those who don't remember:

Yeah I agree. I had to get solar panels to keep the electrical charges at a reasonable amount. Without the solar panels, my electric bill was well over $500 per month in the summer months. I know others that I talk to while waiting for the train to take us to work, they also installed solar panels for the same reason. With the solar panels, my electric bill runs about $10/month. Since I also generate extra, I also get a refund. Currently they owe me $200.

Instead of FIXING their equipment, their solution is to shut the power off. I also heard that where I used to live in Southern CA, Edison was going to do the same - shut the power off. I still feel that most of these fires are started by either illegals or homeless at a campsite. Since living here in CA all my life, I don't recall this fires being an issue 25 years ago.

I hear/read that the enviro nazi types are dick-tating that the utilities can not trim the green crap near the lines, that in fact it's not the LINES or towers at all but the growth around it, which seems more logical than blaming the apparatus......so a line breaks in high wind, shit happens, ~100kv or so is a tad much to examine/maintain when live, so they need cut the power just to look at it, alternative is a pair of binocs......

:issues:

They actually inspect the lines by flying helicopters next to it. Been doing that for years. Now they are using drones to do it in many areas. Much cheaper.

How do you charge your electric car when the power is out?

I don't have an electric car. Almost every gas station in my county was also closed. Nearest one open was ten miles from me. I gassed up before the power was cut off. You need electricity to pump gas. I suppose you could have a generator that could charge an electric car, just like a gas station would have to have generators to pump the gas if they want to stay open. Several grocery stores and a few restaurants stayed open on generator power.

The whole electric car thing has not caught on at all in my county. There is only one public charging station here.

Tesla does have some charging stations that operate on solar power.

Priorities. :yesnod: :seasix::seasix: