What direction does my power come from?

[rvr6000]

A question for any of you rural linemen out there?

We had some pretty good storms pass thru my hometown over the weekend which subsequently knocked the power out for about a day. We were on the very south end of the line of weather so all the damage was primarily all north of us.

I remember my grandpa always saying our power came from the powerline that comes thru the property from the southeast. There wasn't any damage south of us however so why did our power go out? Can the power companies change the direcetion of travel from the substations?

I've always found this stuff kinda interesting. Gotta hand it to those power guys though.....I'm sure they were getting some good cash but they sure work their butts off getting power restored after storms like that. I couldn't even guess where to start after something like that.

 

[Teken]

Generalizing here: In most locals there are more than one sub station and distribution node in the network. In newer area's such as mine power can be relayed to alternate paths to keep the flow of power going.

The reality is that in a residential environment this is rarely done. From the people I know in the industry this is done more for industries, services, etc.

Often times if one area comes back up because it has been routed from a relay station, it is a luck of a draw that those residential area's just so happen to be in the same region which has been restored via the relay station.

In our region we are extremely lucky to have rock solid and reliable renewable hydro electricity.

We produce so much of it, the excess is sold off to you guys which helps offset the costs we as consumers see.

At $0.063 a kwh at all times since for ever as I recall is incredible . . . The only reason it has gone up is the simple fact our **** town has decided to place a city tax on our power which has increased our electrical costs.

Has nothing to do with the power company, just plain greed, and poor money management on the city's part . . .

 

[Gary S]

Don't you suspect that if you live there and have no idea which direction your power comes from, that the rest of us who have no idea where you live, might not know either?

 

[rvr6000]

Teken - thanks for the info....I guess that was my general question, in a residential setting does the power company, a rural coop in this case, have the ability to switch the path of travel of the power from one substation to another.

Gary S - Sorry I upset you so much you found it necessary to contribute nothing.

 

[Teken]

Teken - thanks for the info....I guess that was my general question, in a residential setting does the power company, a rural coop in this case, have the ability to switch the path of travel of the power from one substation to another.

Gary S - Don't you suspect if you have nothing to contibute you could avoid saying anything and thus labeling yourself as a jackass???

I can't speak for others in North America. But, in my local they have started to install mini transfer stations all around the new developments. It was said the intent and idea was to decentralize the network to ensure *fail over* redundancy in the electrical grid.

We, such as many others in North America have a mixed bag of very old, moderate, to hi tech electrical distribution systems in our city.

Because we are on the furthest most out skirts of the city limits the primary transfer stations are too far to ensure consistent line voltages with out the relay stations etc and all the infrastructure that goes along with it.

Back in the day they simply installed more poles, and those huge aszz towers which carry the 600 plus volts etc down the line before it was stepped down to the user from the station.

Now the theory and topology they are trying to introduce is to have more of the mini sub stations through out the electrical grid to allow less of these massive towers and poles in the residential areas.

Can't say I know if that's good or bad, as it sounds great on paper. But, living next to one of those mini sub stations / relays wouldn't be my first choice.

The buzz and the visual eye sore it presents is something everyone has to get either used too, or move . . .

I am lucky the mini station that is being installed is out of sight, and out of ear shot, but plenty close to know if power is interrupted that this relay station is considered hi priority on the system grid as it is going to be supplying power to our new Ikea store !!!

Can't piss off the mighty Ikea can we . . .

 

[Aceman]

Don't you suspect that if you live there and have no idea which direction your power comes from, that the rest of us who have no idea where you live, might not know either?

I don't know Gary, I was thinking the same thing....

Sometimes I think folks like to ask questions on here just cause, instead of calling the people who would know. In this case the power co.

 

[wssix99]

in a residential setting does the power company, a rural coop in this case, have the ability to switch the path of travel of the power from one substation to another.

Maybe. It all depends on how dense of an area you live in and where your property sits in the network. At a large scale, the networks are redundant and power comes from multiple sources. (So individual power plants and main lines can be taken down for maintenance, etc.)

At some point, everyone sits on a "one way street," branched off from the redundant network. (even in a dense city) At that point, it all depends on where the physical outage is and if it falls on one of the dedicated feeders to your property. BTW - Its not always damage to the lines that will cause an outage. There are circuit breakers in the lines, which trip from lightening strikes, etc.

If you aren't in a very dense area, you may even be able to trace your lines using google maps and the satellite view.

 

[Displaced Hokie]

Just follow the power lines...

 

[jimp]

Follow the power lines and see which direction has the disconects open, it comes from the other direction.

 

[rvr6000]

I don't know Gary, I was thinking the same thing....

Sometimes I think folks like to ask questions on here just cause, instead of calling the people who would know. In this case the power co.

Really??? Then what is the point of the forum??? I can really only read so many threads on pvc vs. coppper air lines, what kind of a lift should I put in my garage and how I shouldn't backfeed a generator into my house. I had a simple question about rural power supply.

I'm assuming everyone here has knowledge in several different areas.....kinda what makes it fun to bounce ideas off others. So I'll do you a favor Ace and Gary.....if you ever find yourself with a question about 747-400's or how to fly to Tokyo I'll save you a call to Boeing and you can email me directly.

 

[carhunter]

.....if you ever find yourself with a question about 747-400's or how to fly to Tokyo I'll save you a call to Boeing and you can email me directly.

I've got a question...Have you ever met Otto Pilot, and is he really as much of a ladies man as they say?

 

[gatchel]

Really??? Then what is the point of the forum??? I can really only read so many threads on pvc vs. coppper air lines, what kind of a lift should I put in my garage and how I shouldn't backfeed a generator into my house.

Well put.

I was just thankful if wasn't another 2-2-2-4 aluminum discussion.

BTW. Awesome Avatar..My all time favorite movie.

Simon: Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet your captain, Captain Oveur.
Capt. Clarence Oveur: Gentlemen, welcome aboard.
Simon: Captain, your navigator, Mr. Unger, and your first officer, Mr. Dunn.
Capt. Clarence Oveur: Unger.
Mr. Unger: Oveur.
Mr. Dunn: Oveur.
Capt. Clarence Oveur: Dunn. Gentlemen, let's get to work.
Simon: Unger, didn't you serve under Oveur in the Air Force?
Mr. Unger: Not directly. Technically, Dunn was under Oveur, and I was under Dunn.
Mr. Dunn: Yep.
Simon: So, Dunn, you were under Oveur, and over Unger.
Mr. Dunn: Yep.
Capt. Clarence Oveur: Uhh, that's right. Dunn was over Unger, and I was over Dunn.
Mr. Unger: So, you see, both Dunn and I were under Oveur, even though I was under Dunn.
Capt. Clarence Oveur: Dunn was over Unger, and I was over Dunn.


On topic...

I used to know where the power came from when I lived at my parents house years ago because we always had power outages, even when is wasn't weather related. Sometimes they lasted 3 or more days...that really sucked.

I actually knew where the power came from for our neighborhood and when trees and such would blow the main fuse for the 3 or so streets worth of power. Once we lost power and the utility told us 4 to 5 days before it was restored. I gathered up $20 each from about 20 neighbors. I knew where the tree was that caused to problem. I found a local utily crew of two guys getting their coffee and offered them the cash and to show them where the tree was and where the fuse was blown. The power was back on in a few hours.

It can be of value to know something about where you are getting power from.

In my new house, we haven't had too many issues since 2002 so I haven't really "nerded out" and done any research yet.

 

[jdaallen]

The entire country's electricity supply is on a "grid" system beginning with your local neighbor hood to your direct supplier to your state network the regional system and then nation wide. Your power supply can come from any direction ant any given time depending on load demand, seasonal conditions, generating output and many more reasons. Never take for granted that your supply is comming from anywhere specific at any point in time.