Power Outages Again...

[Zelda]

EQUIPMENT FAILURE THIS MORNING PLUNGED THE NATION INTO BLACKOUT TWICE TODAY

April 15, 2010

Two power outages affected the entire country this morning. According to a BEL the outages were caused by burnt crossarm on the transmission line between Mexico and Orange Walk. The first outage was around 6:45 this morning and according to BEL officials power was brought back slowly; however further difficulties caused a second power outage around 9:55. BTL says power has been restored in certain parts of Belize City and other parts of the country. The estimate time for full power restoration is was 12-30 pm.

http://www.lovefm.com/ndisplay.php?nid=11836

no electricity means no WATER for us... first, it runs our own pump, to get water up from our underground cistern.

second, power failures often result in the pump going out for Succotz's village pipewater, it's on the other side of the river, and somebody has to go reset it, I guess?

anyway, Woody had to wash our dinner veggies in BOTTLED water yesterday, how elitist is THAT ??



gotta go hunt it down, but it seems to me that this is the SAME thing that happened last time, a burnt crossarm...

HTF does THAT happen, those puppies are REALLY high up in the air... if somebody's burning off overgrowth, the flames would have to get DANG TALL to reach those crossarms on the high-tension lines...

argh...

[Zelda]

yeppers, here we go, from a few weeks back:

BEL SAYS BURNT CROSSARMS LED TO NATIONAL POWER OUTAGE

March 22, 2010

The entire country was without electricity for a portion of yesterday. Belize Electricity Limited says a burnt crossarm on the 115 kilovolt transmission line near San Estevan Village in Orange Walk was the cause of the national power outage. BEL says at 2:46 yesterday afternoon power supply was lost to the national grid. Work crews were dispatched to the field immediately and they identified a burnt crossarm as the cause of the power outage.

According to BEL power supply was restored to sections of Belmopan, San Ignacio, Belize City and Ladyville within 25 minutes to one hour; however the system collapsed again at 3:57 p.m.

http://www.lovefm.com/ndisplay.php?nid=11716&fromsrch=1

now I'm wondering if this might've been deliberate or sabotage?

also wondering about the results of BEL's investigation from March's Belize-wide outage...

also... the grid doesn't seem very stable, BOTH times, repairs resulted in a second outage.

[PaulS]

is there a way to use an animal to run in some kind of wheel arrangement, and use that as a source of power for operating the pump?

sorry if that sounds flippant, I'm not trying to be.

[woodsman]

You know what Paul? Sometimes I think that's what BEL is using to generate power - the problem arises when the monkeys in the squirrel cages run out of bananas - thus power outages.

[PaulS]

Seems to me that the power supply is less reliable than when the town had it's own generator.

I often wonder if it would have made sense to keep the generators and run them off the local sweet oil?

[Zelda]

sometimes I feel like that Tellytubbie, chanting "AGAIN! AGAIN ! AGAIN !!!"

BEL EXPLAINS NATIONAL POWER OUTAGE

July 16, 2010

Yesterday there was another nationwide power outage. Today Vice President for Customer Care and operations at the Belize Electricity Limited, Curtis Eck told Love News what happened.

Curtis Eck; Customer Care Vice President, BEL

“About 6:39 last night we had an entire system collapse. What happened is the main power supply from Mexico actually tripped and that resulted in the entire system collapsing. At that time we had about 90% of our generation from the hydroelectric plant in the west as well as the small one we have down south. However, the way the electricity works, once you lose about 10% of your supply it had a cascading effect on the generating plants and is that resulted in entire power outage. We commenced with our local generating sources and we commenced resorting Belize City and so forth but by 7:15 roughly Mexico was back on stream and that is when we restored the rest of the country. About 7:20 last night we had the rest of the country online. What occurred basically Mexico has power lines supplying power to the sub-station in Chetumal, they call it Shul Ha. That sub-station actually provides power to Chetumal as well as Belize City. One of those main lines a 230KV line actually tripped and immediately they would isolate Belize City. I understand they had a portion of Chetumal as well but once they have a main supply to Chetumal with problems it would isolate the entire country immediately.”

http://www.lovefm.com/ndisplay.php?nid=12353



ya know, we lived in the guesthouse for months without being connected to the GRID.

but after a while (like 5 yrs) one quite enjoys having lights that don't flicker (like kerosene) a fridge that doesn't cost an ARM & a LEG to run on butane, and even such small things as a wee nightlight in the bathroom, so one doesn't inadvertently disturb an insect one would rather not STEP or SIT upon, lol.

but these power failures have become so frequent of late, that we've become quite a smoothly practiced team.

first things first, IGNORE the hideous beeping of the computer back-up batteries, hollering in tandem.... and go lug in the marine battery for the INCUBATORS.

we have four small styrofoam incubators, (with 42 eggs each) in various stages of the process, and Woody has set things up with cords and such, that he can switch to battery power swiftly in the dark, and manage not to trip over anything.

that's crucial, as one doesn't want to screw up the developing eggs, or chill the hatchlings.

we keep the marine battery always in the same place, so it can easily be found in the dark... and Woody makes sure it's always properly CHARGED...

next, a pair of kerosene lamps, which are kept next to the marine battery (plus, we keep wooden matches in a can with a striker on the bottom, easier to deal with in the dark.)

heard the joke about the locally available matches? "One Can't, Toucan!"

that's because the first match usually flickers OUT, or breaks into splinters, lol.

THEN, finally, we go shut down our computers, and silence the frantic backup beepers.

we do that LAST, because half the time, the power comes back ON within 15-20 minutes, and that way, all the pages one was reading or working on don't go TITS-UP... they just stay status-quo for a bit... but stuff can be lost when flat-out shutting down.

if it looks like it's gonna be another LONG outage, such niceties as candles in the bathroom, dinner table and porch are added to the general ambiance.

then, we have a romantic dinner by candlelight, and enjoy our Belizean Adventure.

[~~Anita~~]

Well, way over here......this elitest has been thinking belizean. We had our own little power outage caused by a quick little summer storm that passed through the area.. Temp outside was 103, but the winds were blowing. Fires were also started in our desert community. I tried a new concept......I slept . Hubby & Fruit Fizzy took to a local Baseball game. Coincidently, their name is "The Storm". They are a subdivision the major league team the San Diego Padres. The Storm has quite a nice little Stadium. It's cheap fun, and local. The storm lasted about 3-4 hours, which allowed for an empty stadium.

We're still with out computer. How a treasure this "Little moment in Belize", when I log onto the library's computer. Which actually was made aware to me by Woody. ....I think Of all the times I went to the libarary, I never really noticed the computers for the public use. Now, check me out.......quickly getting the needed stuff done, and hoping I can have enough time left over to log on and visit with "y-all". It's like beat the ticking clock on the screen.

Zelda, I love the "One can't, toucan"

Yes, life is an adventure.

Hey Paul, I like the new avatar. Looks like you

[Zelda]

yep, the locally approved method is to strike TWO Toucan matches simultaneously, that wy, you're probably assured of success.

[PaulS]

Why you lugging about big batteries? Why no wires connected from wherever they are located to the charging facility?

[Zelda]

I dunnio... that's Woody's dept. which means one of two things, either there's a most excellent reason, or there's no room, LOL

[PaulS]

Oh I knew it would be the former, I was just curious so that I could learn his scientific reasoning heh heh

[Zelda]

oh, I forgot... HI ANITA !!!



good to see you around... sorry about "the troubles" and here's hopes & wishes for things to be straightened out soon!!



in related news, a BIG noisy storm passed over this afternoon, overflowing our pond, flooding the yard, and getting the frogs all happy-dancing.

amazing how truces are suddenly declared between all and sundry barnyard fowl, during the time they must share dry spots under the palapa and the roof overhangs.

and (major whoa!) the power did NOT fail !!

[Dave Bunk]

With DC batteries the longer the wire the greater the voltage drop or loss. Always best to keep the batteries as close to what you are using to conserve electricity, or else you have to use very thick wires {costly] to avoid the voltage drop.