Blackouts Loom in California as Electricity Prices Are ‘Absolutely Exploding’

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Great. I hope the prices triple. Maybe then the citizens will start demanding the deportation of millions of illegals. Then put a moratorium on anyone moving in to the state until this crisis is over. The problems that they created are really very simple to fix, if they would elect politicians with a backbone to do whats necessary. Theres just to GD many people right now for the limited resources available.
 
California restructured energy rates a few years ago (the Public Utilities Commission did). Blue State California is along the coast. Red State California is inland. California made rates on the coast cheaper and rates inland more expensive. What a shock, right?

But now we have a face to pin on all California energy/fire/drug/illegal alien/"homeless" issues. That face is Gavin Newsom.
 
Weedygarden said:
What I wonder is if having your own generator would be cheaper than being online with the public service? And could you use a generator and say no to the public service? If I was stuck in California, I think I would be considering my options.
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Generally, no. But with the right fuel or mechanical power source (wind, hydro etc.) and the right system, maybe.
Hydro or geothermal are the most dependable since they are always "on."
 
Amish Heart said:
I thought I read that Newsom was considering charging "those that can afford it" more, and those that can't very little. That would mean the illegals would probably not get a bill.
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That would be the argument Bill Maher has been making.
He pays like in the 30-40% tax rate. He thinks he pays enough.
Yet, other Dems think he does not pay his fair share.
He has stated that if they go to make him pay more, he will leave the Dems.
And I think the majority of the middle class would go with him.

Just like the majority of the biological females who suddenly find themselves competing against biological males in sports would change their vote to conservative.
 
Weedygarden said:
What I wonder is if having your own generator would be cheaper than being online with the public service? And could you use a generator and say no to the public service? If I was stuck in California, I think I would be considering my options.
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That depends. How much power do you need? How many years would you amortize the upfront cost of your generator? Would you go with propane, gas, or diesel? What is your local utility rates? Would your power company allow you to disconnect from the grid? Years ago I had a place in the mountains and I went "off grid" 100%. There was an electric box on my property. The utility company tried billing me a minimum monthly rate even though I wasn't using any electric. After a long fight, where I threatened to remove their electric box with my tractor, they backed down.
Currently I have, gas, propane and diesel generators. The diesel is by far the cheapest generator to operate, for me. My propane generator is rated at 2.1 gph. My diesel uses less than 1/2 gallon per hour. I buy off road diesel in bulk. There's no tax on off road diesel.
 
Newscum is still the best name for him.
One of my preps against this Electricity fiasco, is My 1k propane tank. Quick connect hose to my bifuel Gen.
Called for my once a year propane fill. $8 a gallon!!!??? Will buy a 250 gallon tankI can transport before I pay that highway robbery.
 
Governor Numbnuts’ house doesn’t seem to be suffering from electricity blackouts....

newsom-1.jpg
 
His and Aunt Nancy’s winery was getting air support during last years fires when none of the other complex fires didn’t.
Guess the cattle country around me doesn't count..
 
Where I lived before we had outages all the time. A generator will get you through the rough spots until the power comes back on. We went three or four days once in January with several feet of standing snow. You really can't live indefinitely on a small generator though. You need a set up like Amish Heart is getting.
 
Schattentarn said:
Where I lived before we had outages all the time. A generator will get you through the rough spots until the power comes back on. We went three or four days once in January with several feet of standing snow. You really can't live indefinitely on a small generator though. You need a set up like Amish Heart is getting.
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We had 4 days without power once because a transformer failed in Arizona. Most of the houses in my rural area were dark, darker and darkest.
 
EastenerWesterner said:
Newscum is still the best name for him.
One of my preps against this Electricity fiasco, is My 1k propane tank. Quick connect hose to my bifuel Gen.
Called for my once a year propane fill. $8 a gallon!!!??? Will buy a 250 gallon tankI can transport before I pay that highway robbery.
Click to expand...

Damh, I'm glad I got my tanks filled at $2.59 gallon
 
Graynomad said:
Geez guys, if you can just go off grid. It will cost a few $ to set up and overall may not be cheaper than the grid depending on where you live, but at least you will be independent.

Surely this is prepping 101.
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I'm 100% off grid. Nearest power is about 6 miles away so in my case there wasn't any other option. I have solar that provides most of my power to the house, shop and fur shed, plus a 12 kw Perkins generator with auto start. When the battery bank drops below a pre set voltage the generator automatically starts.
My well is 650' deep and a quarter mile from the house. I have a 5 hp pump @ 15 gpm. Its on a separate generator. I recently bought a Winco 12 kw propane generator with auto start. It'll be wired in to the pressure switch to start when the tank pressure drops. I'm going to get a 250 propane tank and plumb the generator and the pump house heater. The barn has a generator too but I seldom need it.
This system wasn't cheap. Just in generators alone I have probably $20,000 invested, and the whole project around $60,000 so far. It has been reliable and we are independent.
I think theres still a federal 30% tax credit on solar installations.
 
Arcticdude said:
That depends. How much power do you need? How many years would you amortize the upfront cost of your generator? Would you go with propane, gas, or diesel? What is your local utility rates? Would your power company allow you to disconnect from the grid? Years ago I had a place in the mountains and I went "off grid" 100%. There was an electric box on my property. The utility company tried billing me a minimum monthly rate even though I wasn't using any electric. After a long fight, where I threatened to remove their electric box with my tractor, they backed down.
Currently I have, gas, propane and diesel generators. The diesel is by far the cheapest generator to operate, for me. My propane generator is rated at 2.1 gph. My diesel uses less than 1/2 gallon per hour. I buy off road diesel in bulk. There's no tax on off road diesel.
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Getting a heavy duty generator would be best, but also more expensive.
My home town, a small town, ran on an industrial generator before they got power from dams on the Missouri River. After lines were strung from the dam to hometown, the industrial generator was only used when there was a power fail from the dam. When electricity went out, someone's job was to go flip the switch on the generator. Just a few years ago, someone decided the industrial generator needed to go. Hometown population has fluctuated from current population of around 800, up to close to 2000 when the dams were being built. I have no idea what fuel ran that generator. There were never any natural gas lines there.
 
Graynomad said:
Geez guys, if you can just go off grid. It will cost a few $ to set up and overall may not be cheaper than the grid depending on where you live, but at least you will be independent.

Surely this is prepping 101.
Click to expand...

Quite right.
If I had the funds, I could do solar, wind and maybe micro-hydro.
That pesky funding thing . . .
 
Schattentarn said:
Where I lived before we had outages all the time. A generator will get you through the rough spots until the power comes back on. We went three or four days once in January with several feet of standing snow. You really can't live indefinitely on a small generator though. You need a set up like Amish Heart is getting.
Click to expand...
Since I've been on solar for the last 3 years I've had 1 power outage. And that was because I forgot to fill the fuel tank for the backup generator. The generator ran out of fuel, the battery's drained and the lights went out. I won't make that mistake again.
 
MOS0231 said:
Quite right.
If I had the funds, I could do solar, wind and maybe micro-hydro.
That pesky funding thing . . .
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It's not that hard to get a start on it. I'm ongrid, with grid-connect solar, but I built a small 12V off-grid system wired to a separate power point for blackouts. It won't run the house but will a fridge and a laptop and a fan.
 
Have they passed a "smart" meter law yet so they can adjust your thermostat to prevent overloading of the grid?
I am sure everyone will appreciate a 78degree setting.
 
Helen Back said:
Ohhhhh, California...


PG&E wants $3.6 billion from customers to help pay for wildfire-prevention efforts

PG&E wants $3.6 billion from customers to help pay for wildfire-prevention efforts (yahoo.com)

Pacific Gas & Electric asked regulators Wednesday to grant a $3.6 billion rate hike to help it pay for hardening its power systems to prevent deadly wildfires.
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That's just the cost of having the convenience of utility power. The electric customers should pay cost, not the tax payer.
 
They did extend the federal tax credit. I thought it was like 29% but whatever it is does help. Even with that help though it isn’t economical to produce your own power. The independence is the number one reason to consider it. I was reading Europe is in worse shape than we are with skyrocketing power and fuel costs. In Lebanon two major power stations are sitting idle as they couldn’t get fuel to operate. I’m afraid we will see more and more of this worldwide in the future. The most reasonable thing you can do cost wise is to get a setup that you can at least cook on. Think of ways you could function without or at least with less electricity. It is a lot easier to run a generator for a short while once a day than to try and keep it going for days or weeks on end. Have a cooler at least to keep perishables for a few days at least. I hope I never see blackouts here but I’m seeing signs of it becoming more likely.
 
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