Massive Power Outage on US East Coast

[robbieduncan]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3152451.stm

I hope that all MR members are OK and that people in general are not hurt.

On a more personal note I hope our backup generators have kicked in.

[pivo6]

I just turned on my TV and saw it. You beat me to the post. :D

I so hope that everyone is safe and this is not some the start of something ominous.

[benthardunthat]

I live just north of New York City, and our power's been out since probably 4:30. I'm typing this now on my laptop. I read online that there have been outages all across the east coast, as far west as Denver, and north into Canada. Anyone else having an outage?

[Powerbook G5]

Florida used to have major issues with power grid overloads until FPL started installing special devices to cut power to various houses at certain times in order to balance out power use. Basically what the box does is cut power to the water heater or cut back the ac for a while and such. It seems to help since we have much less trouble with blackouts during the heavy ac use during summer months. I am sure it's not that simple in major areas like NYC, but it seems like more efficient energy management needs to be learned and applied to keep up with growth.

[eyelikeart]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/08/14/power.outage/index.html

there's power outages all over the north...overload on the power grid...

freaky stuff... :eek:

[jimthorn]

Wow. I wonder how long the power grid will be down. The news said it's not just the U.S. -- the entire city of Toronto is out. :eek:

[patrick0brien]

-All

Well, so far we good in Chicago. Though the ozone is so damn thick it looks like fog.

[zulgand04]

I live in CT and work in down town New Haven. Around 4:20 all the lights in the place i work shut off. And lucky our nice APC backups saved our work from being lost, the nice thing was we got to leave at 4:30 instead of 5.

[billyboy]

I was just watching the live feed from CNN. Good job the power is out and hopefully no one affected could hear the rumour mongering reports on the television.

Does that particular news network really reflect the feeling of the people regarding terror threats, or does it create its own media hype? I found the continual references and innuendo from the CNN people quite disturbing.

[G4scott]

Supposedly, when a manhattan plant went out, it made the entire niagra area's power grid unstable, and caused a major problem...

I'm sure that when all of NYC tries to get power without the manhattan plant up and running, it puts a crap load of stress on any system connected to it, which probably is what knocked out the other cities...

And now CNN's site isn't working for me...

[bentmywookie]

Lucky me gets to experience the power outtage, but fortunately, besides the obvious suckiness of the power being out, it seems like everything else is ok . . . oh wait, are those my neighbors running up and down the block screaming?? jk.

On a serious note, it was really nice to read that fellow MR members are concerned. Thank you - I am happy to say that as far as I know, things seem ok for now. Hopefully the hospitals and other places that need the energy have their back-ups working just fine.

[Kwyjibo]

how are you tpying this? dial up style?

[NavyIntel007]

Damn, My girlfriend lives in St. Catherines , ONT in the Niagara region 30 minutes outside of Buffalo. Looks like I won't be talking to her tonight if power to Toronto is out. :( :( :(

[benthardunthat]

Originally posted by Kwyjibo
how are you tpying this? dial up style?

Yup. I suppose it's the only advantage of still having dialup at home. My dad will use it as his latest excuse not to get DSL.

[Kwyjibo]

Originally posted by benthardunthat
Yup. I suppose it's the only advantage of still having dialup at home. My dad will use it as his latest excuse not to get DSL.

i guess but when the power is on, broadband is soo much better.

[alia]

Originally posted by Powerbook G5
Florida used to have major issues with power grid overloads until FPL started installing special devices to cut power to various houses at certain times in order to balance out power use. Basically what the box does is cut power to the water heater or cut back the ac for a while and such. It seems to help since we have much less trouble with blackouts during the heavy ac use during summer months. I am sure it's not that simple in major areas like NYC, but it seems like more efficient energy management needs to be learned and applied to keep up with growth.

Man, I remember living in Tampa during that year they had the rotating blackouts to conserve power... that was sucky! Our Christmas dinner was actually ruined because of the blackouts... they would last for hours. Then I would go over to my dad's house and he never had any at all. It wasn't QUITE balanced out. :)

[mactastic]

Blame Grey Davis. That's what we do out here when the power goes out.

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by benthardunthat
Yup. I suppose it's the only advantage of still having dialup at home. My dad will use it as his latest excuse not to get DSL. my cable service has free nationwide dialup included, so when i am out of town i can get on 56k, as well as when the power goes out. it's sweet!

[Kwyjibo]

Originally posted by shadowfax
my cable service has free nationwide dialup included, so when i am out of town i can get on 56k, as well as when the power goes out. it's sweet!

thats pretty cool if your on the road and have an open phone jack to use. which service is that? I'm more of a fan of paying for a broadband option in a hotel if i have the chance neway.

[beefcake]

I'm amazed, I'm right by Albany and only lost power for a few seconds. Nobody else in my area has power. Normally my neighborhood loses power when a branch falls off a tree 20 miles away. Odd that a massive Northeast power outage would leave my little house unaffected.

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by G4scott
And now CNN's site isn't working for me... it's working for me right now. i don't know if it was down for a bit or what.

[shadowfax]

i am using earthlink cable.

[nagromme]

I have a Mac and my power is still on! Coincidence? Maybe...

[Powerbook G5]

Yeah, it's crazy. My girlfriend lives in New Jersey and they are having power issues, as well. From the sound of it, the power won't be restored until tomorrow morning and the main issue is lack of water since all the pumps are dead from the power outage...hopefully there will be some miracle and power will be restored.

[Roger1]

The cities I've heard not having power are:
Toronto, Ottowa, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Toledo, Erie, New York, and various other towns. I heard it started in Ottowa, but I'm not sure. Any way, best of luck to those of you who lost power.

[zulgand04]

It is weird how the power is out. I actually have power but the next block dosent. The block after that hs it.

-neal

New haven ct

[NavyIntel007]

Any Canadians know if St. Catharine's has power?

[StuPid QPid]

Seems to be a few people from New Haven reading macrumors!
Yes I noticed the same thing. Our building was out, while I could see the traffic lights working on the next block. Unfortunately, I lost one of my samples on the mass spec I was working on. Darn! Strange. The power outage occurred almost at the same time as I turned the machine on...
Lucky too that I have a PowerBook, with battery back-up...
Anyway, power is now restored here, so things look like they're getting back to normal. I just hope not everything has melted in my refrigerator back home :(

[DillHarris]

I'm just north of Albany, power came back on about 7:45ish... Went off at 4:15. I always find it amusing about how much we depend on electricty for just about everything! No cell service, only battery and phones (& candles). Good luck for those of you still without power! They said possibly rolling blackouts though tonight... :(

[aethier]

well luckly for me, in canada electricity wise, each province has its own unique power company, there is just one company per province, anyways here in the province of Québec we still have all our power, Ottowa Ontairio doesnt have power, and they are write acrose a small river from us. Hydro-Québec (our power supplier) usualy sells electricity to north eastern american, powersupply companies, in the summer (air conditioning takes lots of power) and winter(as does electric heating) so thats why you usualy dont have power black outs. but i guess the ontairio/newyork state lines are linked together in a way that when one goes out they all do...


aehtier

[Mr. Anderson]

I remember back in the 70s or 80s when the power went out in NYC. There will be a whole bunch of blackout babies in 9 months ;)

It is amazing, though, that such a huge area can be affected and that they're not 100% sure why it happened. :confused:

I'm just glad it didn't happen down here in DC tonight - its still in the 80s and very humid. We'd be sleeping in the car with the airconditioning going.....

D

[themadchemist]

Yeah, I thought that I am stupid. I posted a new thread thinking this hadn't already been posted.

Anyway, this really brings into question the quality of our power grids. I hate to agree with Bush, but he's right. If a minor mishap causes such an avalanche effect, there has to be something wrong with our current system.

As for the here and now, I hope that all those who had to endure this fiasco are doing all right and that their walks home today were not too long or unpleasant.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by themadchemist
As for the here and now, I hope that all those who had to endure this fiasco are doing all right and that their walks home today were not too long or unpleasant.

The odd thing about power blackouts like this is that you really gain an appreciation for things we take for granted. Also its like a holiday of sorts - a change of pace - something special.

Sure its a pain at times, but then, like I mentioned earlier, there will be a whole lot of babies born in 9 months. It pretty much a good thing, gain appreciation and getting to do something different.

D

[Cubeboy]

How extensive are these power outages? I live in central New Jersey and haven't experienced any electrical failures all day.

[aarond12]

I convinced my mom to buy an eMac and she got one yesterday for her birthday.

Today she called me up, saying that she couldn't get the computer to turn on.

Wheels started spinning in my head, and finally I realized -- SHE LIVES IN DETROIT!

Yes, she was kidding me.

-Aaron-

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
The odd thing about power blackouts like this is that you really gain an appreciation for things we take for granted. Also its like a holiday of sorts - a change of pace - something special.

Sure its a pain at times, but then, like I mentioned earlier, there will be a whole lot of babies born in 9 months. It pretty much a good thing, gain appreciation and getting to do something different.

D

Yeah, my dad was telling me about the blackout babies the last time this happened. I thought that was hilarious...But I guess that when you take away all the electronic "distractions," you can get back to the more basic things in life. Yep, nothin' like some good ol' procreation!

[bobindashadows]

I live upstate, near Albany. Our house lost power for about 1 minute, then we had low power for about 10 minutes. After that, full power all day, except for a minor shortage below the max. All the towns nearby didn't have power at all for hours, and some still don't. We aren't sure if our neighbors have any power or not - but we know we got lucky.

[Juventuz]

I live in Upstate NY, about an hour south of Syracuse and we just got the power back about a half an hour ago. We were without power for about six and a half hours.

There were parts of Binghamton that never lost power. Seems kind of strange how it all happened.

[bennetsaysargh]

wow. all of you people are really lucky. my iMac took about 10 minutes to boot up after the power came back on at about 10:30. when it first happened, i was thinking it could have ben an attack
a failure
or the MSBlaster virus hitting the electric companies:p

it was really scary not being able to do almost anything. mostly everything in my house is electric. i even have an electric stove! nothing could be cooked.

[bentmywookie]

Originally posted by themadchemist
Yeah, my dad was telling me about the blackout babies the last time this happened. I thought that was hilarious...But I guess that when you take away all the electronic "distractions," you can get back to the more basic things in life. Yep, nothin' like some good ol' procreation!

Actually . . . the whole "blackout babies" thing is a myth. The reason why people believe the birthrate shot up during the NY Blackout back in the 60's or 70's is because it was only compared with the birthrate for that same day a year ago - overall however, the birthrate for the blackout day was lower than normal.

Is birthrate the correct term or should it be "conception rate" or something - I can't remember. Anyhow, I'm sure you guys know what I mean. It is a nice thought though, but come on, we all know that sex is the devil!

[MrMacMan]

I'm posting from Nassau County and the power is back.

And I can see into Little Neck <-----> Queens and the power is also up and running, *though* the Commerical power for my shoping center is still out.


I will post when I get up today, just wanted to post.

:p

[TimDaddy]

The news is saying that the closest affected areas to me are in northern Ohion. I got to work today in Georgetown, KY, and half of our plant was out of power. Unfortunately, my half had power. Of course the robots in the body shop had to be reprogrammed, so we got a nice 1.5 hour break, and then we got to go home with no overtime so the other departments could rebuild their inventories! Woo-Hoo! (We usually work .5-1.5 hours past the normal quitting time each day.) Anyway, the official memo related our power failure to the big one across the Northeast and Midwest, but none of our neighboring towns lost power. Being the largest auto plant in the world, we use a lot of juice. Therefore, we don't get our power from the same portion grid as the local community. I'm not sure exactly where it comes from, though. I guess time will tell whether this was a freak coincidence or if it were related to the "other" blackout.

[Dad]

At this time officials have no idea what caused this mess. I'd like to think that M$ is to blame. Once the worm hit.... blackout!

[ExoticFish]

Well it's the day after, I couldn't get to macrumors yesterday cause the power outage knocked some key servers around here (NE Ohio) out which made the web sparatic. We (the radio station I work at) had our power turn off and for a little while we were running off generator, but it quickly switched back to real power. a couple of our repeater stations were off the air for a little while but they're fine now. I thought it was nuts watching the news and seeing the images of all the people in the streets. And I loved the image of the New York skyline at dark, just a large black mass. a couple of my friends who work in Cleveland luckily had the day off.

Another thing... we have a generator that kicks on when the power goes off... but there were a lot of big commercial radio and tv stations that went off the air when the power went out... guess they'll be investing in generators now!

[bennetsaysargh]

well, i heard on the news that there was a lightning strike on the canadian side of Niagara Falls that caused it.
that's what i heard on the news yesterday.

[ExoticFish]

They don't have the slightest clue what caused it and everyone is pointing fingers around. Some one claimed that lightning struck on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, the Canadians are saying something about it going out in Pennsylvania, and some are saying that something happened in New York. They need to stop pointing fingers and just figure it out.

[mactastic]

This article is hilarious! Suggestions from Iraqi's on how to deal with the power outages (which they have plenty of experience with).

Click Here! (http://www.foxnews.com.edgesuite.net/story/0,2933,94830,00.html)

BAGHDAD, Iraq _—_Iraqis who have suffered for months with little electricity gloated Friday over a blackout in the northeastern United States and southern Canada and offered some tips to help Americans beat the heat.

From frequent showers to rooftop slumber parties, Iraqis have developed advanced techniques to adapt to life without electricity.

Daily highs have soared above 120 degrees recently as Iraq's U.S. administrators have been unable to get power back to prewar levels. Some said it was poetic justice that some Americans should suffer the same fate, if only briefly.

"Let them taste what we have tasted," said Ali Abdul Hussein, selling "Keep Cold" brand ice chests on a sidewalk. "Let them sit outside drinking tea and smoking cigarettes waiting for the power to come back, just like the Iraqis."

Here is a top 10 list compiled on the streets of Baghdad:

—10: SLEEP ON THE ROOF. Without power — and hence without air conditioning — Iraqis have taken to climbing up stairs in the hot nights. Some install metal bed frames on rooftops, while others simply stretch out on thin mattresses. "We sleep on the roof," said Hadia Zeydan Khalaf, 38, wearing a black head-to-toe abaya in the hot sun. "It's cooler there."

—9: SIT IN THE SHADE. Many Iraqis go outside when the power's off. "We sit in the shade," said George Ruweid, 27, playing cards with friends on the sidewalk. Of the U.S. blackout, he said: "I hope it lasts for 20 years. Let them feel our suffering."

—8: HEAD FOR THE WATER. "We go to the river, just like in the old days," said Saleh Moayet, 53. Several people said they had seen American beaches on television, and suggested they might be a good place to sit out the blackout. "They have so many beautiful beaches," said Hamid Khelil, 44. "They should go where it isn't so hot."

—7: SHOWER FREQUENTLY. "I take showers all day," said Raed Ali, 33. "Before I go up to the roof to sleep, I take a shower and I'm cooler."

—6: BUY BLOCKS OF ICE. When refrigerators shut down, there's no better way to keep food cool. Mohammed Abdul Zahara, 24, sells about 20 a day from a roadside table. "When it's hot people buy a lot of ice," he said.

—5: CHECK FOR BITTER-ENDERS. "They should go to the power stations and see what the problem is," suggested Ahmed Abdul Hussein, 21. "Maybe there are followers of Saddam Hussein who are sabotaging their power stations. That's what happens here."

—4: GET A GENERATOR. Abbas Abdul al-Amir, 53, has one of a long row of shops selling generators in Baghdad's Karadah shopping street. When the power goes out, sales go up. "I sell about 30 generators a day," he said. "When the shutdown lasts I can sell even more."

—3: CALL IN THE IRAQIS. Some suggested the Americans ask the Iraqis how to get the power going again. "Let them take experts from Iraq," said Alaa Hussein, 32, waiting in a long line for gas because there was no electricity for the pumps. "Our experts have a lot of experience in these matters."

—2: USE FOUL LANGUAGE. "When the power goes out, I curse everybody," said Emad Helawi, a 63-year-old accountant. "I curse God. I curse Saddam Hussein. And I curse the Americans."

—And the No. 1 suggestion among Iraqis for Americans suffering without power: TAKE TO THE STREETS. Some said demonstrations can be effective in persuading authorities to turn on the switch. "We held protests. After that we had fewer blackouts," Ahmed Abdul Hussein said without even a hint of sarcasm. "I'd suggest Americans go out and demonstrate."

[bennetsaysargh]

well, i thank them for giving us advice. it's not like they can fix our economy, so this is repaying us:p

[ExoticFish]

that is just hilarious!!

[idea_hamster]

...and say that the people of New York City have really come through as a shining example of how people can pull together and get through a tough (albeit, short) time. Up until yesterday, New York had a 1win/1 loss record with blackouts: The '65 blackout was calm and fraternal; the '77 blackout was a bout of predatory anarchy.

For anyone who hasn't heard, last night bars and restaurants stayed open, lit with candles and acoustic instruments were out in force (at least in the Greenwich Village area). While it's my understanding that there were about 20 arrests for looting in Brooklyn, I think we all realize that things could have been much worse had New Yorkers not pulled together to maintain our civility in a trying time.

Not every one has power at this time -- I'm writing from work, since my office is up, but my apt.'s down. (Wasn't that a tune?)

Bravo, NYC!
Bravo, all of the affected areas!

[bennetsaysargh]

once i heard the power was out in the city, i was thinking of all the looting, but the only looting that was reported was a foot locker in i think brooklyn.
i like it when people all come together like this in times of need:)

[wdlove]

I was impressed by the orderly fashion that the blackout was handled. The police, fire, a citizens helping each other. Planning and practice really essential to avoid a tragedy.

[tjwett]

I'll tell my Blackout story. It's kinda funny. I was on a tech call at a customer's apartment in the East Village. We were in the middle of installing RAM in his PowerMac and the whole place just shut down. He thought I did it. I was like "wtf?". I checked the breakers and they were fine. We finally opened the door to the hall and the place was pitch black. Then one of the neighbors informed us of how serious the situation was. I split immediately (without getting paid:mad:) and made my way down the dark stairway to the street. Rushed to a deli, bought a gallon of water and some Pop Tarts and just started walking. I would up walking from 20 Street all the way down and over the Williamsburg Bridge and into Brooklyn. Oh yeah, I was wearing flip-flops:rolleyes:. Just a bad day. I feel horrible for all the people who were stuck in the subway cars. Glad nobody was hurt. As for the looting thing, I have to admit when I was walking over that bridge I thought "why couldn't I have been in the Apple Store when the power went out...".

[MrMacMan]

Originally posted by bennetsaysargh
once i heard the power was out in the city, i was thinking of all the looting, but the only looting that was reported was a foot locker in i think brooklyn.
i like it when people all come together like this in times of need:)

I lootes a street sign, devilish me... :rolleyes:
Acually I doubt its a street sign, I just found it on the ground, so I'm putting it up in my room.

hehe...

[bennetsaysargh]

lol. what does it look like?
that could be a confession!:eek:
lol :p

[evil]

ugh . the last day or so was pretty hellish.
no power/ water/ food/ cash.

waiting in lines to use debit machines and to buy bread and water sucks!

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by mactastic
This article is hilarious! Suggestions from Iraqi's on how to deal with the power outages (which they have plenty of experience with).

Click Here! (http://www.foxnews.com.edgesuite.net/story/0,2933,94830,00.html)

Funny thing about the Iraqi power outages...

After the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein got power back up in 2 months or less, I think. Yet with our massive technological capabilities, we STILL haven't gotten the power back up.

For all his many, many failings, at least Hussein was able to bring about a quasi-return to normalcy after his country had been attacked by us--using only the resources therein. Using our own resources and that of other nations, we have had trouble getting the country up and running. Tells you something about the quality of this occupation, eh?

But I guess Baby Bush has an excuse. After all, he ravaged Iraq's infrastructure far more brutally than his father. But wait, is that a good thing?

[Sayhey]

Alright, now that the power is back on, and everyone is ok, all of us on the West Coast need to know, in keeping with the tradition of other blackouts, how many of you will be expecting trips to the delivery room nine months from now? :eek: :D

[MIMIC]

I live in Cleveland (where investigators believe the problem originated).

My power went off around 4:15 pm and didn't return until 5:01 am early next morning.

[MrMacMan]

Originally posted by bennetsaysargh
lol. what does it look like?
that could be a confession!:eek:
lol :p

Its rectangluar... and yellow.

Dunno... what else it could be...

[wdlove]

My hope is that they will investigate this situation thoroughly. That they will come up with concrete solutions to fix the problem. Not to just try political bandaids!

[bennetsaysargh]

the problem is everything is antiquated. the stuff is from the 60s with 50s technology. but eventually we will have stuff from 2000s with 2000s technology, and it will not suffice a few decades from now. we will never be ok because new stuff will be old eventually.

[wdlove]

I heard an expert on the power industry yesterday on the radio. He is concerned that the US government can't find the cause of the blackout. In his opinion, the longer it goes with no answer the more likely that some kind of terrorism occurred. It would be easy for someone with knowledge to enter the power grids computers and set the outage in motion. I found this opinion to be very scarey, showing just how vulnerable we are!

[themadchemist]

Originally posted by wdlove
I heard an expert on the power industry yesterday on the radio. He is concerned that the US government can't find the cause of the blackout. In his opinion, the longer it goes with no answer the more likely that some kind of terrorism occurred. It would be easy for someone with knowledge to enter the power grids computers and set the outage in motion. I found this opinion to be very scarey, showing just how vulnerable we are!

well, the relative competence or incompetence of the u.s. government at discovering what was the cause of these blackouts has no bearing on the chance that this was terrorism. Either it was terrorism or not, and if we never find out how this happened, that fact will remain.

However, that person you heard was right that it would increase the chance of whether people THINK this was a terrorist attack. And I frankly don't think that the Bush administration would mind all that much if people did think that. It takes the focus off of the botched war in Iraq, it makes it easier for energy plan to go through (update the grid or be susceptible to terrorists!), and it adds fuel to the fire that is Bush's war on terrorism.

Just speculation, really, but I don't think Bush would mind the American people being a little afraid. I know Ashcroft wouldn't. Next, he'll be shackling everyone who isn't a good Church-going Christian.