‘The recent hurricane was only a Category 1. We will likely face more hurricanes, and they could be stronger. Are we going to have the same problems?’
        • redtea@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
          11·
          5 months ago

          Fr. How much must the economy lose to such frequent power outages. I suppose if you’re getting paid to reconstruct, it’s not ‘loss’.

          • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
            6·
            5 months ago

            When you have privatized gains and socialised costs as usual is at least partially true for necessities, they don’t give a shit because everything major happens and they know the government won’t just let mass of people without it and will have to help or at least give money.

        • thisismyrealname [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
          6·
          5 months ago

          buried AC transmission lines also suffer from capacitive losses to earth which would significantly reduce grid efficiency on the distances being covered in the US. we do have buried lines within cities but outside of them it doesn’t really make sense

      • WalrusDragonOnABike [they/them]@lemmy.todayEnglish
        19·
        5 months ago

        But its almost entirely just the Houston Metro without power at this point, not the rural areas. Density isn’t great, but it should be enough to justify given how frequent major storms are in the area and how costly all the shutdowns and repairs are.

        • Chronicon [they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
          8·
          5 months ago

          yeah, I don’t really have the expertise to know. I thought flooding was an issue for buried lines? but I guess houston is no new orleans…

          The good thing about above ground lines is they’re comparatively really easy to work on and repair. But that doesn’t help if like 100s or thousands of them are knocked out in one swoop I guess

              • WalrusDragonOnABike [they/them]@lemmy.todayEnglish
                6·
                5 months ago

                With the May power outages (I think about 800-900k) it was a mixture: one area did have damage to the main HV lines from a tornado, which is why they took so long to get power to that region I think. But most people its just the local service lines that were the issue. I haven’t heard anything about damage to main HV lines this time, but I haven’t done an exhaustive search either.

    • immutable@lemm.eeEnglish
      6·
      5 months ago

      Don’t mess with Texas pew pew pew

      Business douche privatizes energy system and leaves people sweltering after a tropical storm

      Ok I guess you can mess with Texas now, as long as you ain’t the gubmint

    • WalrusDragonOnABike [they/them]@lemmy.todayEnglish
      11·
      5 months ago

      I’m surprised how many power lines are still working despite the large trees that have fallen on them and brought the lines down to the ground. Surprised how many trees were knocked over during this storm that have been fine in cat3+ storms before.

  • nat_turner_overdrive [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    30·
    5 months ago

    Centerpoint, the privatized power company the maintains the grid in Houston, did not bother to stage linemen before the storm, which is the normal practice. Linemen had to come from out of state after the storm. Then, centerpoint told the linemen once they were here that they would have to find and pay for their own accommodations. That has never been the case before. Finally, they are trying to low-ball the linemen, so there are pay negotiations ongoing. Also they’re spending a lot of time idle in parking lots waiting to be assigned work by centerpoint.

    This is what privatized utilities do.

  • Bloobish [comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    27·
    5 months ago

    My mind always goes to an inevitable Cat 3 that knocks out power, floods the lower regions and then leaves people stranded dealing with the heat and non potable water. Texans’ thanaton death drive is a sight to behold and that they have not formed a mob to hunt down their elected officials really shows how domesticated they are.

  • abc [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    25·
    5 months ago

    ‘The recent hurricane was only a Category 1. We will likely face more hurricanes, and they could be stronger. Are we going to have the same problems?’

    yes, and I will bet money that Texas will experience at least one worse hurricane THIS season

  • RyanGosling [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
    25·
    5 months ago

    This is like the third major storm in texas I’ve seen within the last few years. The people in charge really are dedicated to the suffering hustle and refuse to prepare. It’s almost admirable how much misery they can allow

  • tamagotchicowboy [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
    17·
    5 months ago

    My cousin is one of them, the sheer misery of that southern heat without a way to cool, he’s thankful he got water back just yesterday for the old water bath cooling method.