BRRRRRRRR!!!!!

[BYart]

Who'd of thought! 1 degrees F. is what I woke up to before dawn this morning! We were actually colder yesterday that Buffolo NY!
We only got 4-5 inches of snow, but the real threat was the sub-zero temps(wind chills down to - 15!)

Our local Elect. company had to resort to rolling
ownouts(ie, shutting down electricity for a couple of hrs. at a time) to keep service going at all!
They, apparently, had a power plant(one of two) here completely down due to freezing of the grids!
El Paso has only seen this kind of weather 5 times since 1879!
And you'd think the Desert doesn't get cold?
I'm missing the temps in S. IL at the moment! Do ya think i
ought this weather with me
Kept warm by bundling up in multitudes of blankets, as heater wouldn't work w/o elect. to run the blower .
Today's high anticipated to reach a mere 10 degrees! THAT's cold for an area that isn't equipped to handle this kind of cold.
Going to fix me some HOT soup now, as electicity is back on now! YA!!!!

[Menolly]

Hang in there, hon! Glad to know your electricity wasn't out for too long... being in Pennsylvania, we're (slightly) more prepared for the cold, and even power outages in the more rural areas, but this was a bit much even so. The irony is, out our way the most severe storms are actually a little easier to get through because everyone is forewarned and worried enough to prepare. The road crews were out in force and the power company actually had the sense to send people out a few days before it hit to make sure there weren't any tree
anches endangering power lines.
Do you deal with heat waves better? I've wondered, because I know that sucks up a lot of electricity too, from all the air conditioners.

[wave3496]

Ahhhh... In Illinois, it's not much better. I haven't had school for the past four days

[Singular]

Yep, it's been really cold in Baltimore, MD. My heat pump was working so hard, the compresser overheated. Which of course, there is no way of knowing until it is too late. So after a $500 electric bill in December and a $660 bill this past month, I got the picture something was wrong.

[johnwalkeasy]

Okay, That,s It. I,m going to have a talk with the Sun tomorrow. And we go get it right.

[BYart]

Today's high was 33! Now that's more like it! Expected low tonight will be 14, much better than "1" !
Menolly-
Yes, we get very hot in the Summer, but it wasn't increased usage that caused the problem. Apparently, here in the Desert, since they don't see this kind of cold often, the generators at the power plants are located outside. All the waterlines feeding the plant are of PVC and froze, then shredded.
The El Paso Elect. Company redirected power from a Power Plant in AZ(Palo Verde) that the EPEC owns interest in...imagine what our Elect. bills will be!
So, instead of preparing for the weather...we ALL here had a week's notice...the Electric company says it just failed to react quickly enough. Bull!
Then, to top it all off, they didn't give any residents any notice of rolling blackouts. They shut down entire neighborhoods for hrs. at a time, no consideration for the Elderly(some on oxygen), or the families with infants.
This went on since Tues. early morning. I experienced 8 blackouts of several hrs. each in a 48 hr. period.
The worst one was when i had JUST got into the shower, evening time, complete blackness...now THAT was fun Gave the term Wethead a new meaning, felt like frozen head, not able to use my blow dryer.

It was horrible! Then people's waterlines began freezing with no heat.
Thankfully, I had the sense to wrap mine in pipe foam before the weather hit, so I had water. Some of my neighbors still have no water due to frozen pipes. I've been supplying them with water for two days using any container they
ing over.

Now, homes are flooded due to water line
eaks, insurance companies are already saying they won't pay due to it being EPEC's fault.
The water utility is now low on reserves, as their pumps don't work with NO electricity! So, some areas are experiencing water outages.
People here are extremely upset, with good reason!
Me- I'm fine! Gena and I stayed warm through it all by improvising. Heck, after 5 yrs. in IL, I LEARNED how to cope with the cold.

Joe- OMG! I remember bills like that while I was in IL. Mine were due to older gas furnace and little insulation. Does your heat pump not have a FA gas back-up? Stay warm and keep that new addition of yours warm!

Caroline,
Hun, I don't envy you the weather there in IL. I lived in the S. part of the state, in Benton, but it got extremely cold there as well! But, with every cloud, there is a Silver lining...NO school for you! Yippee!

John-
Have a few words with the Sun for me too! Heck, I live in the Desert...this is too cold for here, people here don't know how to cope with this.
Stay warm and keep smiling everybody!

[Singular]

Hey Barb,

No gas backup, only emergency auxilary electric heat. But on the
ight side, we are going to have to get the entire unit replaced. So while it will cost $5,500 (ouch), my energy bill will be a lot lower. Ha!!!

stay warm all,
Joe

[Menolly]

We've gone from snow to freezing rain and drizzle here in PA... the whole neighborhood is an ice slick with snow underneath; ugh. I'd rather have snow. At least if you slip and fall on snow you have a cushion! Plus I've got a puppy cooped up up in the house. and she's teething... but at least we got some new toys for her yesterday, so there's entertainment.
Here's hoping this lets up soon for everybody's sake.

[BYart]

NOW we are under mandatory water restrictions! This means- no showers, bathing, washing clothes, dishes, even asking us to refrain from flushing toilets! We are also under a city-wide boil order, due to the damage to the city's water infastructure.
Feel like I'm living in some third world country!

El Paso Water utility says it is because of damage to wells when their equipment was turned off due to EL Paso Elect. turning off their power!
The reservoirs feeding EP's water lines is down to 5' of water!
El Paso has just under a million people!
This is by far, the most ridiculous thing I have ever witnessed.
Does EP elect. have absolutely NO common sense? apparently not!
I have only heard the Major call this a "water emergency", which allows the Water Utility to shut down businesses and residents at will.
Hasn't called for outside help.
Why not
ing in water help NOW, before we run dry!!! Unbelievable.

[Menolly]

Yeah, sounds like they definitely didn't have a plan in place for the freezing temperatures... if I were El Paso's mayor when the city ran out of water AND electricity, I would be petitioning for some federal funds or outside resources, or something. But look at it this way: one more reason to be glad you're moving!

[BYart]

Was wondering why we hadn't "seen" the mayor on on news channels...found out he was in AUSTIN visiting with his family during this whole event! Unbelievable! Some citizens are calling for his resignation...why...because his telephone comment to a reporter was when asked why he hadn't returned to officiate during the crisis..."I'm not a plumber, do they expect me to fix their pipes?" Over paid, under achieving politicians

[Menolly]

I'd be calling for his resignation, too! No water, no power... heck, take a page out of Egypt and Tunisia's book - get everybody to stand outside city hall with banners until he's at least as uncomfortable as you-all are. The least he could do is maybe recognize that your pipes didn't need to freeze over in the first place, offer a little reassurance that this sort of thing won't happen again... maybe yell at the electric company for you. Even if he can't do something about the problem, he could at least act like he cared about it. What's the point of being a politician if you can't throw your weight around a little?

[wave3496]

Your mayor is a total idiot. He'd better resign before someone sues him or something....

This whole ice thing is getting old. Why can't it be spring already????? I now have a sprained ankle, thanks to the stupid ice around my school. And to make it even better, I ripped both my skirt and tights when I fell. Oh, yay.

(Have I mentioned that uniforms are annoying? Because they are.)