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Lights POWERR AC-
Thanks for the note Murf. I did my little part for Earnie and turned off the water heater around 4pm. Without your comment I certainly would have forgot to turn it back on and my wife likely would have something to say about the bath.
Since we don't seem to have blackouts in the North I must be a hero for doing my little part. I wonder how Earnie's $100 million portable diesel generators are working out as a substitute for the out of commission nucs.
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Lights POWERR AC-
Well, so far nobody has thrown the big switch, at least not in our neck of the woods.
As for the $100 million generators he paid his friends for (the company that supplies them was created by one of his party's biggest for the sole purpose, and got the contract as a "direct award contract" without it going to tender) came up in an article in our local newspaper after the blackout.
What follows is that article from Sunday August 17th;
"Think you felt frustrated Thursday? Three hours after all of Ontario went dark, Larry Moffat was standing beside emergency generators in Markham that could power thousands of homes -- and he couldn't turn them on.
"This is unprecedented right now," Mr. Moffat said with a wave at the 19 trailer-sized turbines his Vaughan-based company, Toromont Industries Ltd., had lined up along 14th Avenue in Markham.
The province recently ordered the natural gas-fired machines and seven smaller engines beside Toromont's Hwy. 7 headquarters in Concord to stand ready for the rest of the year, able in 15 minutes to pour power into the grid.
But when the whole system failed, it was not safe to turn on any of the generators, at least by Thursday evening.
"We're ready, but until they get some power into the grid to allow these things to operate, these things are on standby awaiting their call," the Toromont vice-president said at about 7 p.m.
Mr. Moffat expected the machines to be turned on as the grid was pieced back together in sequence but said that decision belonged to Ontario's Independent Electricity Market Operator, not Toromont or Markham Hydro.
"Otherwise, you have a risk of damaging a whole lot of valuable equipment," he said before boarding a motor coach that headed west.
Yesterday, the company was finally told to start its generators at 4:30 a.m. and keep them running.
"They continue to operate," Mr. Moffat said."
Now they are saying the present spell of hot humid weather (high 80's & lw 90's with 90+% humidity), which will be with us until at least early next week, will certainly push the electric system to the breaking point unless loads are reduced. The 'state of emergency' continues and the electrical authorities are inspecting large users and telling them to reduce usage drastically or they will be cut off.
The big fear is a collapse in a portion of the grid taking everything else down again, each time that happens it is harder and more costly to put it back up.
Best of luck.
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Lights POWERR AC-
Murf: The first I heard about those generators was from a Hydro guy when I was filling gas cans for my generator. I asked him if I really needed the gas. He told me about the $1-million portables but said the gov should have been able to get them for 80-million. Guess that's the nature of untendered contracts.
Well, perhaps it's not a brother in law factor. The way things are done in big gov/business, maybe a tendering process really would cost $20-million. Or, maybe tendering would take the whole summer, or at least until after they got the cranky nucs that have been shut down for years back on-line.
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Lights POWERR AC-
Actually Tom it wasn't squat to do with the cost, Uncle Ernie was gearing up for an expected election call at the time the decision to RENT these gen-sets was made, I guess he didn't envy having to campaign in the dark.
Then SARS hit...
Then the lights went out...
Then his Energy Minister fired the just-hired "Commissioner of Energy Conservation"...
The electric workers union is allegedly poised to release a scathing report that says if the 'big guys' had been on the ball Thursday around 4pm they could have kept Toronto & surrounding area lit up NO PROBLEM, but they left the grid intact hoping to keep the whole thing up for POLITICAL REASONS...
Now the FERTILIZER is hitting the fan...
Should be an interesting campaign after all.
Best of luck.
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Lights POWERR AC-
DocsNotIn,
It might be hard for the people who were not effected by this blackout, to understand the bases you thought you had covered were not and were venerable. This blackout was so widespread and effected all resources, that if it was a prolonged event (thank god it wasnt) everybody would be in trouble. Most stations did not have generators to pump fuel (diesel or gas), Supermarkets which I cant believe didnt have generators (food went bad). The list goes on !!
Luckily I have a generator ( Coleman 5500 w/6500 surge 9HP)
It was more fuel effiecient than I thought it was running over 10 Hrs on 5 gal. tank. I was lucky to get in line and fill up on gas jugs for 3 days worth, after that what happens? scary thought however and since I'm too close to NYC and sitting on an island, I'm forced to think of different scenerios. Anyway to think of a doomsday scenerio all the time is not healthy or productive. For people out in the country who really have been Insulated by the true effects of 9/11, you are lucky and should be greatful.
You might have enough gas, or enough food but for how long?
How much is enough? If communications are down, how do you contact love ones? If you get hurt which hospital is running? Food? where do you go when the supermarkets are spoiled?? This stuff happened and much more in that 24 hour period. You will not have every angle covered throughout this ordeal.
Just something for all to put in perspective...I know Doc knows what its like for this brief period. The rest should hope they never see it..
Ducati996
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08-19-2003, 18:27 
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