Powerless

You don’t usually think much about all the things we use and do which are dependent on electricity. Our power was turned off sometime between midnight and 3am. Although there was no reason for getting up in the dark and every reason to stay in our warm bed, we got up anyway.

We spent the first hour trying to figure out who has power and who doesn’t. I have yet to see a map from PG&E from which I learned anything, or in some cases even can read. In the end, the easiest way to determine this was to drive to class and see which traffic lights were out and which businesses were closed.

We spent the second hour realizing that it is much easier to be without lights and heat and a fridge than it is to be without water. We lit some candles, got out our flashlights, and OilMan fired up the burner on the barbecue and made some coffee. Too bad I forgot he only drinks decaf.

We can cook on our stove which is gas, but we can’t wash the dishes. We can heat water, but we have no water to heat. The fountains aren’t running for the same reason we have no water. There is no power to run the pump. We flush the toilet with water from the hot tub. We can take a reasonably hygienic ‘bath’ with four or five Huggies baby wipes.

It’s like camping....

This is not an acceptable situation. I certainly don’t want anyone else to lose a home to flames, but I expect the power company to be able to run a grid that doesn’t catch fire. They are discovering the hard way that you can’t defer maintenance in favor of profits and that it may be expensive and in some cases impossible to put power lines underground, but closing schools, hospitals and businesses without knowing when or for how long is not a solution.

The internet connection is sketchy, the cell phone towers are starting to lose power, and the high winds, given as the reason for all this have yet to materialize.

It’s like living in a third world country.....