Power Outage

On June 24, 2019, about 730 PM, the power went out.  We were experiencing an electric storm, and rain and hail, so this was not so unusual.  I was using the laptop, and although it was fully charged, I shut if off.  I moved into the living room and read for quite a while. I did not need a light, I just opened the blind.  

As it became dark, I dug out my flashlights.  I have an emergency light, that takes 6 D cell batteries, and everytime I replace them, the next time I try to use the light, the batteries are dead. So, I was able to continue reading by flashlight.

I have 2 camp lights, one fueled by propane, the other fueled by white gas.  I hate to use them inside, for several safety reasons:  the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and the fire danger. If the cats got scared and started jumping around and knocked a lamp over, that would be a real problem.  I also have a battery powered camp light, which is not very bright and takes several strange batteries.  So, I dealt with flashlights.  I also pulled out a fresh package of batteries, in case the flashlights needed a re-charge.

As I was reading, I fell asleep.  I woke up about 9 PM, and was not at first sure if it was still evening or I had slept through to the next morning.  It was evening.  I could tell by the cell phone, and the sun setting in the west. 

After about an hour and a half, the power came on momentarily, and then went out again. What was really frustrating about that was the houses across the street to the north, and across the alley to the south had electric power.  

The power came on in my house about 10 PM. 

That was a somewhat surreal experience.  I have been through power outages before, and they are always a little surreal.  One of the good things in this day and age, is that I can check the outages on the Lubbock Power and Light website. I can also call them, and their automated line will indicate if if they are aware of the power outage in our area, and provide a call back when the outage is repaired.  I asked for the call back, but never got it.  I don't care,, the power was restored. 

So, I  decided I want a table top battery powered lamp, although power outages are few and far between. 

Power Outage

 At about 520 this morning, I was wide awake.  I was surprised by this, because last night, although I had planned to go to bed fairly early, I was still wide awake, reading, after 1 PM.  Some short time after that, as I was sitting in the recliner, I decided I needed to rest my eyes, and cover up snugly.  I went to bed after 2 AM.

So, the surprise. When I woke up,  I was not sure why I woke up.  I needed to use the bathroom, and Haiku was asking for something to eat. But, I realized that there was moonlight outside, but no lights inside.  So, I wondered if I really woke up because there was no ambient noise from the electronics and electrical appliances in my house.  I'll never know. 

The other surprise was that I had my phone on the nightstand.  I usually leave the phone in the living room, being charged, on the computer desk, on the dining table or on my dresser, across the room from the night table.  I remember thinking, when I went to bed last night, that I really needed to start keeping my phone on the nightstand.  Well, it was fortuitous last night.  I was able to check the Lubbock Power and Light website for power outages.  There were 4, but from the website, I could not tell if my house was in one of those areas, or not. So, I called the automated power outage report site, and was told that indeed, my home was in the reported power outage area.  The projected repair time was 530, but by the time I made the call, it was a little after 530.  So, I left my number to receive a call back when the repairs were completed.  I did receive the call back about 559.  

Power outages used to be more common in Lubbock, but that was years ago, when I received services from Southwest Public Service, which, I believe, now is Xcel.   Some time ago, the City of Lubbock decided they could provide the citizens of Lubbock electric power at a better rate and more reliably than Xcel.  I think this amounts to a monopoly, but who wants to know what I think.  The one thing I will say is that since I have used Lubbock Power and Light, I have had fewer power outages and better service.  

Power Outage

I awoke to the alarm clock at 6:15 this morning, shut it off, with the intent to sleep in, at least until about 7:30, but was not concerned if I slept in later.  Well, I did.  I slept in until after 9 AM and woke to a power outage.  Fortunately, my smartphone was charged, and I could check the Lubbock Power and Light website. I was in an area of a power outage.  Evidently, last night due to the high winds, there were multiple power outages, mostly due to down trees, but also other reasons.  I was not affected then, in fact I watched TV until after 11:30, then read for a few minutes before I went to bed.

Then, this morning, there were another series of power outages, between 8 and 9 AM, and my area of town was affected.  I am not sure when the outage occurred, but  power was not restored until about 2 hours after I woke.  

I was not too concerned. I raised the blinds in the living room, which gave me adequate light, and I started my day reading, instead of getting ready to meet the world and going out to run errands.  I did that, but much later in the day . 

Electric Bill

When I received the electric bill this month, I was a little confused.  My electric usage was as high as it was for June and July this year, when my air-conditioner ran mercilessly, and in triple digit weather, could not keep up.  In August, I had the air-conditioning and heating unit of 26 years replaced, and my electric usage in August was markedly lower.  In September, I expected it to be low, because we had a lot of cool, wet weather, and although sometimes the air-conditioner ran, not so much.

October was a warm month, but not warmer than August. And cool, sometimes.  Cool enough I sometimes run a space heater near my desk.  My past experience with the space heater is that it does not increase the electric bill nearly as much as the air-conditioner does. I had learned years ago, when I got a really unbelievably high electric bill ($500 in one month) that Lubbock Power and Light has a meter re-read service when bills are questionable.  When I got this bill, I went out to look at the meter, but it was high on the wall of my house, and the meter housing was difficult to see through.  So, I just called, expressed my concern and why it was a concern, and the agent agreed the best option was to have the meter re-read.   I received a letter from LP&L today, with an adjusted reading that saved me about $110.  That sounded more like it.  

Now, if I had used that much electricity, of course I would have paid for it. But I could not believe that I had.  I was right this time!  Yeah!

Friday Night Television Watching

Watching the Weather Channel and news this Friday night to watch the Harvey Hurricane track https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/hurricane-harvey-forecast-gulf-coast-texas-louisiana.  So far some positives:  evacuations of patients was handled smoothly, according to two Covenant Hospital https://www.covenanthealth.org/ nurses who took equipment to move a baby to NICU in San Antonio.  Governor Abbott has already declared 30 counties disaster areas, with an awareness that more can be added as needed, and President Trump has signed off on the request for Federal aide.  Another good thing, Governor Abbot in Texas has lifted the hotel/motel tax for the next 14 days for evacuees and first responders, saying this is a housing emergency.  The Texas Department of Criminal Justice https://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/announcements/announce_hurricane_harvey.html has an emergency plan in place.  The Texas Department of State Health Services has posted information about preparing for a hurricane http://dshs.texas.gov/ .  FEMA is staged, as is the Texas National Guard.  A former co-worker now living in Houston has posted on Facebook that she is safe, so far.

Lubbock is sending firemen, and others to assist the teams.  The South Plains Red Cross is on standby to send a truck and volunteers to help with rescue and clean up. 

Evacuations were ordered yesterday if not Wednesday.  Power companies have crews on standby to start working on restoring power as soon as it is safe.

Texas has its own power grid for much of the state http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2003/08/why_texas_has_its_own_power_grid.html, and but Lubbock is not in it, so  if there are some problems, we could be affected, although is very unlikely.  Nothing is impossible.  I am charging my phone and my laptop stays charged. I have lots of flashlights and batteries, but I probably need to get some more D cell and C cell batteries tomorrow.  I always have extra food at home, even for the kitties.  I might be low on bottled water, so should probably buy some of that, also. 

Power Outages

We are having a winter storm in Lubbock, and one of the absurdities of the situation is what is being broadcast on TV.  People are being instructed, on TV to contact Lubbock Power and Light http://www.lpandl.com/ if they are experiencing power outages. This is ludicrous.  I understand that some people may be able to access this information on their smart phones, by accessing the TV channel apps, but what about the people who do not have smart phones, and do not have power?  How are they supposed to contact Lubbock Power and Light? Come on, this is not a sane instruction for people who have power outages. Let's face it, if they do not have power, are they going to be able to watch TV?  Duh!  LP& L needs to be a lot more responsible than this.