"Massive" Power Outage in DC Last Night

"Massive" is an exercise in hyperbole but these outages last night were significant and widespread, affecting several neighborhoods across DC and Bethesda. And on the hottest day of the year as the "heat index" hit 114 degrees (101 ambient).

By the way, there was not a cloud in the sky. We have not had a drop of rain in several days and no storms whatsoever inside the Beltway.

I was returning home at 9:30 p.m. last night from a short walk with my dog when the outage occured. Fortunately -- and thanks in no small part due to habits ingrained from ETS -- I have a small Fenix flashlight on my dog walking lanyard (which includes a house key, Leatherman, pen). Like everyone carrying a smartphone these days, I have a flashlight app but the last thing I want to do during an outage is burn up my phone battery by using it as a flashlight.

Several neighbors came out onto the sidewalk to discuss the situation and we all reported our outages to Pepco (everyone should call their power company so repair crews know the full magnitude of the situation).

Have you checked to see if your power company has a smartphone app to help with reporting outages and which includes an outage map?

I went inside to discover that everything was out except my stove light and, thankfully, the refrigerator (a weird partial outage on my block similar to one that occured in 2008 on the hottest day of that year). Adjacent blocks were completely out of power but I called a friend a couple blocks over and she still had power so Gidget (now 14 years old) and I went to her house to spend the night in air conditioning.

Thanks to the Petzl Zipka headlamp-wristlamp that I keep in my purse, I swiftly had light, packed an overnight bag and also took my laptops just in case thieves decided to take advantage of the situation.

All's well now -- power was restored at 3:30a -- but will not forget that Pepco equipment malfunction failed me and Gidget on the hottest days of 2016 and 2008.

As always, keep your fuel tank topped off, a flashlight handy and know that at any given moment you may just be a moment away from losing power and all that entails.


http://wjla.com/news/local/massive-pepco-power-outage-in-dc-for-possible-feeder-trouble

Power restored after massive Pepco outage in DC, cause under investigation

BY ABC7 SATURDAY, AUGUST 13TH 2016

WASHINGTON (ABC7) — A massive Pepco outage hit the Washington area Saturday evening, affecting more than 5,000 customers.

"...approximately 5,400 customers lost power due to possible "feeder trouble."



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Good report and well done.

Power outages, even more than wild fires, are a common problem facing everyone who logs into ETS (and all those who don't, as well). Our last one hit just as we were sitting down to dinner one evening. Fortunately, I had a couple of solar lanterns handy which gave a virtual candlelit aura to our meal. Power was back by the time we got to dessert....

Thanks for the tip about checking for an app re the local power company. They do have an app, but with reviews at less than 2 stars it's difficult to justify the download.

Reporting the outage does help. However, I have been told that the "smart" electric meter on my home will indicate a loss of power. I am skeptical about how well it works, so I report the outage by phone anyway.

Even if the meter reports everything accurately, human reports almost certainly influence the priority of repairs.

I have the PG&E number for "no power" reports loaded on my phone and ready to go....

Precisely -- there are only so many repair crews to go around and, like it or not, the squeeky wheels get the grease.

We, too, have the "smart" meters but it's easy to make the call so I take the added precaution.

No one else on the sidewalk with me that night had called Pepco, until I urged them to do so.



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In a city near here three or so years ag,o a couple of streets lost power for a few days. Everybody was complaining to each other, but it continued. Eventually someone called the DNO to find out how much longer, to discover nobody had told them! It was a simple fault fixable in a few minutes. Always call the power supplier.

I am intrigued that your stove and fridge still worked. Why?

My high school was fed by two different grid circuits. The second circuit was part of the measures associated with being an emergency evacuation center. I'm assuming it was the same type of thing that prevents hospitals and other critical facilities from losing power in an outage. It's possible that the fridge and stove was wired to an oddball second circuit instead of the main grid.

Contrary to popular belief of the "squeaky wheels get the grease", power companies have established procedures for restoring from power outages. Typically they try to first focus on areas that have critical facilities such as hospitals and other public emergency and health facilities such as police, fire and ambulance to name a few.

Almost every power company website explains these procedures in detail, including Pepco

A Google of your "power company" power restoration process will show that most companies have similar processes.

Some random examples:

PPL Electric

Duke Electric

First Energy Corp

Consumers Energy

BGE

My power company. In Canada, the term ""Hydro" is more common then "power"
BC Hydro


Last year, we had a 30 hour+ outage which affected more then 700,00 hydro customers. Our neighborhood was one of the last restored and I can why. It is a small neighborhood with few customers on the power subsystem and no critical facilities that would take priority. Less then 2 blocks away, a residential area that also has 2 elderly care homes in it's midst, had power restored within hours. The same goes for the area around the nearest fire hall about 6 blocks away.

After this outage and a couple more, but much shorter duration outages, we purchased a 2000 watt generator to at least keep the fridge and freezer running and also to run a portable heater in the winter. Probably one of the best purchases we made in the last few years.

This is the second time that my block has had this partial outage effect while others around us are completely blacked out.

In 2008 (also on the hottest day of that year), about half the homes on my block were affected and we all lost most, but not all, of our electricity. We all lost a/c. In that partial outage, I lost everything but some ceiling lights and electrical outlets in the living room -- which allowed me to plug my refrigerator into the living room which was a great blessing because it took 13 hours to get the full power back.

This last Saturday night some homes which were not affected in '08 were this time and we were all impacted differently. This time, as I mentioned previously, my fridge stayed on and the stovetop light stayed on. Everything else was off.

My house was built in 1989 but most of these homes are 80-100 years old, or older.

All are rowhouses.


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According to this webpage you may have an electrical problem in your home which is why you are experiencing some outlets still having power. The explanation is very technical but I am sure if you called a local electrician, they could explain it much better.

Some more info.

Good info! I hadn't considered 3-phase power issues in a commercial building or high-rise, but it makes perfect sense for them to use it.

An undervolt (a.k.a. brownout) condition is really, really hard on equipment. Motors and older-style power supplies can overheat and eventually fail, or in the worst case, start to smoke/burn.

I have always felt that a reliable multimeter and some basic understanding of its use is an extremely important tool in many of the disaster scenarios we consider.

I knew about your weird (to us) electrical wiring but in never occurred to me that anyone would consider having two 'phases' in the same domestic premises.

Industrial yes, but mixing phases is risky. I blew up a mass spectrometer by plugging it into one phase and then ran an extension cable a long wy to plug in its output printer. (In the UK phases must be separated by distance or if in the same area marked up, I have never even seen that it must be rare) The 440V difference did a world of damage to the electronics.

I have just built a house and had it T-T (Terra-Terra) wired especially. Live at 230V, Neutral and my own Earth (Terra in the jargon). No room for error and I am not dependent on anybody elses safety provisions.

It's not just my home that has demonstrated this phenomenon (in '08 and '16), my entire block has. I wonder if it's the same issue with Pepco that caused the Washington Monument elevator to go out at the same time as our power did Saturday night.


http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/08/15/washington-monument-re-opening-after-elevator-problems.html

Washington Monument re-opening after elevator problems

"...The park service says the closure was a result of a tripped breaker that was caused by a voltage drop of incoming power to the monument."


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So are you saying that in order to keep your fridge and stovetop light on, you took power from the Washington Monument? Wow, you have serious EE-fu...

Seriously though, you may want to discuss this with the good folk at PEPCO 'cause there may be an issue there. OTOH, it's nice to come out of a blackout with your 'fridge still cold...

Does it really count as a power outage if you still have cold beer? When my power goes out, it is all out, so we must consume the beer before it warms up (and the wine, as well). There is nothing more horrific than improperly chilled wine.....

Sounds like a true survival situation to me Hikermor!

Lol!

There have been worse blackouts, that is for sure!


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There is a fundamental difference between UK and USA systems of power supply for domestic and similar purposes.

In the USA power is typically supplied via TWO live or hot conductors and a common or shared neutral. The voltage between either of the hot/live conductors is 120 volts nominal. Circuits for lighting and small appliances are connected between one hot conductor and the neutral and receive 120 volts.
The voltage between the two hot conductors is either 208 volts or 240 volts. Large appliances that are designed for 208/240 volts are connected between the hot or live conductors, and depending on the design of the appliance may or may not also require a neutral connection.

Most power failures are total and no electricity is then available. However it can happen that ONLY ONE of the two hot conductors is live, in that case lights and appliances connected to the still live hot conductor will function, but other lights and appliances connected to the dead conductor wont work.
Under such "partial failure" conditions, there is a significant risk that the voltage on 120 volt circuits may be MUCH higher or lower than intended. This can be DANGEROUS and may cause damage, I advise against use of electricity under such conditions. If you must, be very careful.

In the UK, power is distributed along a street as 3 phase, 4 wire with 240 volts between any phase and neutral, and 415 volts between any two phases.
Each house is normally connected to only ONE phase, selected at random. The supply is TWO wires only, not three as in the USA.
This single live connection is either working or not working and there is no question of some circuits working and other circuits not working, as might happen in the USA.
If only one or two phases of a UK 3 phase supply have failed, then neighbours may have power when you do not.
A very large house might have a three phase supply, in which case a partial failure IS possible. 3 phase to a dwelling is rare in the UK.

In relatively rare cases in the UK, the voltage might drop to say 110 volts. A PC with a multi voltage power supply might work normally, as will SOME types of LED light bulb. Most other appliances wont work, and this can give rise to reports that "only two lights worked"
Some appliances are liable to damage by this reduced voltage and should be turned off. If in doubt turn off at the mains.

The above is a simplified version of UK/USA arrangements, for example correct earthing/grounding is vital for safety, but not directly relevant to this discussion so has not been referred to.

Excellent explanation adam2.