Things to Consider As You Make Your Emergency Plans

Power failure is a frequent secondary effect of earthquakes, fires and other emergencies.  However, power grid failure can also occur independently.  Power outages may not be brief, but have the potential to be both widespread and extended in duration.  After you take in some of the facts, there are some suggestions at the end of this article that may help you as you plan.

1. In 1998 a falling tree limb damaged a transformer and fed a spike back into a substation near the Bonneville Dam in Oregon, causing a cascade of related black-outs across eight western states.  Fortunately, in this case, the outage was relatively brief.
2. According to the December 9, 1998 edition of the Los Angeles Times, “a massive power outage, accidentally caused by electric company workers, crippled San Francisco and its southern suburbs during the morning rush hours, trapping subway commuters under the bay, holding high-rise residents hostage in stalled elevators and slowing business to a crawl.”  Power remained out for most of the day, and some areas waited even longer.
3. In 1999, and in preparation for possible disruptions associated with the Year 2000, US nuclear plants were required to test their back-up generators.  Back-up power is critical in order to keep nuclear plants from going into meltdown in the case of system power outages.  However, in that year and on other occasions, a disturbing number of back-up generating systems at various facilities failed testing.  San Onofre was one.
4. In California, the public first became most aware of the general energy crisis in our state during the rolling blackouts of 2001.  In addition to the economic and political factors that were widely discussed, fewer people were aware that during this time, the SCADA systems that control the power system flow in California were penetrated by cyber-terrorists for over seventeen days. 
5. As a result of the outcry over the power crisis and rolling blackouts, during 2001 and as late as 2003, many print media published extensive diagrams of critical transmission points, and other vulnerable areas related to production and delivery of adequate power in California.  They did this initially with the help of the utility providers, but this practice was ultimately halted as concern grew over exposing the vulnerabilities of the system in light of potential terrorism concerns raised by the September 11, 2001 attacks.  Since that time there have also been multiple documented instances in the western US of suspicious approaches to power plants, and/or attempts to bring down major transmission towers.
6. In August of 2003 the lights went out in the biggest blackout in North America.  In a matter of a few minutes, one simple glitch rippled through about 100 substations, plunging over 50 million people into darkness over eight states and two Canadian provinces.    Some did not have restored power for four or five days.  Drinking water had to be distributed by the National Guard in Cleveland and other locales when water pumping stations failed and/or purification processes were interrupted.  Early projections were for about $5 billion in economic losses alone.  This incident also impacted 22 nuclear plants in the US and Canada.
7. In a common example of more routine power losses, in May 2006 a gnawing rat ate through two barriers and shorted out a 12,000-volt piece of equipment, causing about 9500 people in Riverside County to lose power for about 12 hours.   Background events of this type happen all of the time, although the public (unless directly affected) is often unaware of the frequency and duration of these types of events.  However, if there were to be an flu pandemic, many of these types of occurrences would not be repaired within “normal” time frames, and could easily extend into periods measured in as much as a week or more, and not merely in hours.  This is because utilities would probably be operating with only about 30% of their workforce at best, and the same would be true of manufacturers and suppliers of critical parts, as well as the transportation systems necessary to move the parts from suppliers to the locations needed.
8. In July 2006 a wind-driven wildfire near the Oregon border was threatening the major power transmission lines between the Pacific Northwest and California.  Jim Detmers, the Vice President for Operations of the California Independent System Operator, which manages the California power grid, indicated a failure in those particular lines could impact all of California.
9. In July and August 2006 an extended and excessive heat wave caused energy demand to spike, in some cases outstripping supply, threatening continuous service, and resulting in some rolling blackouts.  Not all outages were repaired in as timely a way as has been possible in past years.  The whole system is aged and woefully fragile, and demand for replacement parts has exceeded supply in some cases.  Some components cannot even be manufactured quickly, but require in some cases months before re-supply is possible.  At some point, the aging grid infrastructure will begin to fail more often, and potentially with more serious failures of longer duration.
10. In December, 2006, one of the worst windstorms in the area in a decade blasted through the greater Seattle metropolitan area and put more than 1.5 million homes and businesses without power, many for days.  Winds up to 113 mph took out trees and brought down power lines over a very wide area. Most heating systems, regardless of fuel source, generally do not work in outages, because most are dependent on electrically operated fans.  At least 100 people developed symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of improper use or placement of portable generators and charcoal grills used for light and heat during the blackout.  Some of them died.  Five days after the disaster and the death toll had hit ten and was expected to rise.  Even after those five days, almost a quarter of a million were still without power, and therefore without heat.  Refrigerators were full of spoiled foods, and babies were especially vulnerable to illness from the continual cold, with temperatures in the low to mid-20's over much of the affected area.
11. There is one (one!) critical link between eight of the westernmost states and the rest of the continental US eastward.  Any unexpected failure there and the consequences to millions of people and the economy would be enormous. 
12. [In 2007] "There will be widespread outages in the West Valley, West Los Angeles and downtown," predicted Brian D'Arcy, business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18, which represents more than 80% of LA Department of Water and Power's personel, accordign to an article on June 6, 2007 in the Pasadena Star News.  The LA DWP still has equipment from World War II that is outdated and in need of replacement.  About 79,000 DWP customers lost power repeatedly and/or for long periods during a heat wave in 2006, exposing some to the potential for heat-related illnesses, including the potential for heat stroke and death.  The number and length of outages in DWP territory are increasing.
13. Just some of the potential consequences of extended-duration grid failure are:  death, personal injury, failure of communications, water and sanitation systems, failure of electronic systems (ATMs, gasoline pumps, purchasing, JIT inventory controls etc.),  hazardous releases of chemicals or radiation, shortages of critical food and medications, economic and/or social collapse.

Now, some suggestions for your planning:

1. In quakes, always start with a spark-free flashlight or lightstick.  Never use an ordinary flashlight, or light a match, candle, lighter or any other open-flamed device.
2. Do not cook or use open-flamed devices (campstoves, propane BBQ's etc.) for at least three days after a major seismic event. 
3. Never use propane stoves, charcoal barbeques or other open-flamed emergency cooking devices indoors or in a tent.  It can cause carbon monoxide, which can kill without warning.
4. While wind-up or shakeable flashlights are NOT good for most temporary emergencies, if a grid outage is extended, eventually all of your batteries or lightsticks will be gone and there will be none in the stores to buy.  Therefore lighting devices that use some sort of hand-action generation may be a secondary line of defense.
5. While candles and candle lanterns should not be used in the aftermath of seismic event, or in windstorm-driven power outages, they can also become useful in independent grid failures or for longer duration events.
6. If it is safe, suitable and there's a chance to evacuate, what would you do if the most appropriate family car to use to leave with was also the lowest of two family cars in available gas?  Gas cannot be pumped at gas stations when the power is out.  A siphon kit might help you solve that problem.
7. Do you have a supply of emergency cash?  ATM's will not operate.  Make sure your emergency cash is in an assortment of bills, and not exclusively large denominations.
8. Make sure you have plenty of solar blankets.  Even if your heating system is by natural gas, it still requires an electric fan.  You can line your beds with the blankets to help keep warm.  In the summer, you can hang the blankets over windows, which will help to reduce internal house temperatures by several degrees, when the air conditioning and fans are out. You can also wrap an ice chest with a solar blanket, which will extend the time the contents will stay properly cooled.

Unfortunately, we don't give ALL of our hints away on-line.  Call now to schedule a seminar for your workplace, school, church, neighborhood or other group.  We'll show you the knowledge and power you need to survive!