Is Chicago's power grid a big problem? (Normal, Energy: apartment, power lines)

[89david98]

I was just looking up some topics of snow storms and thunderstorms in Chicago and was reading that Chicago has only 3 power grids and that loss of power is somewhat frequent. Was this article being over dramatic or accurate? Just curious?

[chirack]

In winter loss of power is rare. It happens but it is more the result of damaged lines than too much demand--i.e. storm damage. Spring and summer are more likley to have power outs.

[Feeling Brackish]

From what I understand, it happens more frequently in certain areas, but I've lived in the same apartment for four and half years and have only lost power twice during that time. Neither of these two incidents occurred during winter storms.

[chet everett]

The OP probably saw some of the bogus info that ComEd threw together to get the legislature to fund their idiotic "grid modernization" efforts.

Total scam.

Normal businesses decide to budget for needed upgrades / maintenance out of operating revenues that they set aside. The criminal underfunding of future needs seems to have infected the electrical monopolies and thus they now are using the "regulatory magic" of the legislature to extract more from customers just as the lawmakers magically squeeze taxes out of citizens...

[Aleking]

i think i've lost power for a total of 2 hours over the last decade.

[Chi-town Native]

the entire country's grid is old and needs to be modernized, but that doesn't mean ComEd isn't up to something & trying to use that long-known fact as a smokescreen for an unjustified rate hike.

here's the official govt position/explanation:

Smart Grid | Department of Energy

and a nice visual:

Visualizing The U.S. Electric Grid : NPR

Chicago varies from area to area, but Illinois/the USA is definitely in bad shape - I've heard govt officers say something like 20% of all power generated never gets used as it trickles out in the lines.

[Chicago60614]

I've lost power twice in the past 10 years. Once was the August 4th superstorm that blew through, my power was out for about 2 hours. The second was a random night I got home from work and it was out, but then I took a walk and it was back on an hour later.

I've never had it go out in 10 years of working downtown.

One thing I've noticed is I no longer have any electric clocks with hands, everything is digital or a display. I can always tell how long it's been since the power came back on, but I can never figure out how long it was off.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by 89david98

I was just looking up some topics of snow storms and thunderstorms in Chicago and was reading that Chicago has only 3 power grids and that loss of power is somewhat frequent. Was this article being over dramatic or accurate? Just curious?

do you have a link for the article>???

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

...
Chicago varies from area to area, but Illinois/the USA is definitely in bad shape - I've heard govt officers say something like 20% of all power generated never gets used as it trickles out in the lines.

I highly doubt Illinois is losing 20% of its transmitted electricity. The global average is about 14%. The U.S. average is less than 6.5%, which is roughly the same as Canada, Switzerland and Australia.

In other words, while I'm sure there are some fixes that could prevent some loss here and there, most of that power loss in the U.S. is not out of range when compared to similar countries. Much of it is probably close to unavoidable in given how far we transmit some of our electricity, at least until someone develops an affordable high-temperature (by which I mean up to, say, 120 degrees F) super-conductor.

Also, I live downtown where a lot of power lines are buried (although not the one serving my building), which increases reliability. We've rarely lost power, and I think the last two times I lost power it was actually due to scheduled line maintenance and not an accidental loss.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by emathias

I highly doubt Illinois is losing 20% of its transmitted electricity. The global average is about 14%. The U.S. average is less than 6.5%, which is roughly the same as Canada, Switzerland and Australia.

Last year I went to talks by the IIT professor in charge of their new smart grid system as well as this fella:

Steven E. Koonin | Department of Energy

both referenced a 15 - 20% figure, although it's possible they were including aspects like wasted heat and other potentially salvageable energy.

do you have a good link? this is more difficult to find on the Net than I expected.