What if America Went Completely Dark?

The power grid relies on thousands of aging, hand-built transformers. If enough fail, the blackout could last years.
Photo illustration by Justin Metz

By Christopher Cox

Christopher Cox traveled to California and Nevada and interviewed more than two dozen experts in grid technologies and grid reliability.

Aug. 18, 2026Updated 9:20 a.m. ET

The snipers had been shooting for nearly 10 minutes before someone called 911. A man driving down the highway told the police he thought he heard fireworks as he passed Pacific Gas and Electric’s Metcalf electrical substation, 15 miles southeast of San Jose. An engineer at a nearby power plant said he thought it was gunfire. Maybe more calls would have come in, but the communication link between the substation and PG&E, along with several phone and internet cables, had been severed. It was April 16, 2013.

The shooters — two, maybe more — took up positions 30 to 40 yards outside the substation fence, in the dry scrubland near Coyote Creek. At 1:31 a.m., after a security camera recorded what looked like a signal from a flashlight, they began firing high-powered rifles into the facility. Sparks flew into the air whenever the bullets grazed the chain-link fence, but most of the shots hit their apparent targets: a row of truck-size power transformers, which step down high-voltage electricity to lower voltages so it can be sent to local homes and businesses. Because this was Silicon Valley, those customers included some of the largest tech companies in the world.

After some 120 shots, 17 of Metcalf’s transformers had been disabled. The attackers knew to aim for the units’ cooling systems, oil-filled fins similar to those on a radiator, which draw heat away from the electrified core. That allowed the oil, 52,000 gallons of it, to drain out slowly so that the transformers wouldn’t fail right away, which would have triggered an alarm. The gunmen could take their time.

At 1:50 a.m., there was another flicker from a flashlight, and the shooting stopped. One minute later, the police arrived at the substation, but by then, the shooters were gone. The police looked around and, finding nothing suspicious, left as well. It wasn’t until a utility worker arrived at 3:15 a.m. that the extent of the damage was clear.

Extended Power Outage? You're Not Ready - What To Do

U.S. says Cuba is prohibited from taking Russian oil as two tankers head to island

Key Points

• The U.S. Treasury Department has made clear that Cuba is not allowed to take delivery of Russian crude.
• The warning comes at a time when two tankers carrying Russian oil and gas are thought to be on their way to Havana.
• The fuel-starved Caribbean island is facing its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union under a U.S. oil blockade.

An old Soviet-era Lada car drives past a truck belonging to a private Cuban company (mipyme) parked in front of a gas station with an IsoTank of imported fuel in Havana on March 19, 2026.

Adalberto Roque | Afp | Getty Images

Published Fri, Mar 20 202

64:54 AM EDT

Sam Meredith@in/samuelmeredith@smeredith19WATCH LIVE

The U.S. Treasury Department has said Cuba won’t be allowed to take delivery of Russian crude, even as the fuel-starved island appears poised to receive two tankers carrying oil and gas.

In a general license published Thursday, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Cuba to a list of countries that would be blocked from transactions involving the sale, delivery or offloading of crude or petroleum products that originate from Russia.

The U.S. had temporarily authorized the purchase of Russian oil stranded at sea last week, as part of an effort to stabilize energy markets during the U.S. and Israeli-led war on Iran. The short-term measure suspended sanctions that were first imposed on Moscow following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The update comes as maritime intelligence providers have been tracking two tankers carrying Russian oil and gas heading toward Cuba.

Beset by blackouts and a worsening economic crisis under a U.S. oil blockade, the communist-run Caribbean island is currently facing its biggest test since the collapse of the Soviet Union. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier in the week that he thinks he’ll have the “honor” of taking Havana in some form.

Russia, which has been allied to Cuba for decades, has sharply criticized the Trump administration’s fuel blockade and pledged to provide the country with “necessary support, including financial aid.”

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Electric Cars: Inconvenient Facts, Part 2

Electric cars being charged at night making America’s power grids unstable, study warns

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

ENVIRONMENT

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

Jocelyn Solis-Moreira

STANFORD, Calif. — Leaving your electric car charging overnight to have it ready in the morning seems like a good idea in theory. But in reality, research suggests doing so does more harm in the long run. Stanford scientists say that it’s more costly to charge your electric car at night and it could stress out your local electric grid.

Instead, researchers suggest drivers should switch to charging their vehicle at work or in public charging stations. Another added benefit to charging in the daytime at a public station is that it reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

With the effects of climate change more apparent than ever—frequent forest fires, widespread flooding, and stronger hurricanes—car companies are expecting people to start investing in electric-powered cars in the future. For example, California residents are expected to buy more electric cars as the state is planning to ban sales of gasoline-powered cars and light trucks in 2035.

“We encourage policymakers to consider utility rates that encourage day charging and incentivize investment in charging infrastructure to shift drivers from home to work for charging,” says study’s co-senior author, Ram Rajagopal, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, in a statement..

So far, electric cars make up one million or 6% of automobile sales in California. The state’s goal is to increase that number to five million electric vehicles by 2030. However, the study authors say that the change from gas to electric will cause a strain in the electric grid when there’s 30% to 40% of cars on the road.

“We were able to show that with less home charging and more daytime charging, the Western U.S. would need less generating capacity and storage, and it would not waste as much solar and wind power,” explains Siobhan Powell, a doctor of mechanical engineering and lead study author. “And it’s not just California and Western states. All states may need to rethink electricity pricing structures as their EV charging needs increase and their grid changes.”

If half of vehicles in the western United States are electric, the team estimates it would take over 5.4 gigawatts of energy storage—equivalent to five large nuclear power reactors—to charge the cars. However, if people charged their electric cars at work instead of home, the electric demand is expected to go down to 4.2 gigawatts.

California currently uses time-of-use rates to encourage people to use electricity at night such as running the dishwasher and charging cars. However, the authors argue that with growing demand of electric cars, this strategy is outdated and will soon incur high demand with low supply. More specifically, the teams says if a third of homes were to charge their electric cars at 11 PM or whenever electricity rates go down, the local grid would become unstable.

“The findings from this paper have two profound implications: the first is that the price signals are not aligned with what would be best for the grid – and for ratepayers. The second is that it calls for considering investments in a charging infrastructure for where people work,” says Ines Azevedo, associate professor of energy science and engineering and co-senior author.

“We need to move quickly toward decarbonizing the transportation sector, which accounts for the bulk of emissions in California,” Azevedo adds. “This work provides insight on how to get there. Let’s ensure that we pursue policies and investment strategies that allow us to do so in a way that is sustainable.”

The study is published in Nature Energy.

Source

Mandatory target for reducing electricity use at peak hours

Vatican promotes the use of electric cars

Short on electricity, food and water, Venezuelans return to religion

Arelis R. Hernández and Mariana Zuñiga, The Washington Post

Published 10:01 am CDT, Saturday, April 13, 2019

El Guayanés prays to José Gregorio Hernández. The Venezuelan physician, who died in 1919, is a folk hero across Latin America. 

Photo: Photo For The Washington Post By Andrea Hernandez

Mary Mendoza holds the New Testament as she waits for a service at an evangelical Christian church in the Caracas slum of Petare. 

Photo: Photo For The Washington Post By Andrea Hernandez 

 

CARACAS, Venezuela - The lights in Petare had gone dark. Again.

The people of Venezuela's largest slum were used to the blackouts that halt the flow of water, exhaust their supplies of expensive candles and fray their already thin patience.

But this would not be like any other lightless night in the hillside barrio. Amid the darkened alleyways, a strange, joyful sound emerged between the zinc-roofed homes. Tambourines jingled, maracas rattled, drums throbbed. Voices called all who could hear to salvation.

"Cristo sana y salva . . ." 10 members of the Restoring Hearts church sang against the darkness. "Christ heals and saves. . . ."

Buffeted by political and humanitarian crises, one of Latin America's least religious countries is turning to faith. As the political stalemate between President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó grinds into another month, and shortages of electricity, food and water reduce life to a daily struggle to survive, leaders across religious traditions are reporting a flood of worshippers, lapsed and new, searching for comfort and answers.

"All my masses are full, which has never happened before," said the Rev. Jesús Godoy, a Catholic priest at the Good Shepherd parish in the Chacao district of Caracas. He says he's seeing more than 2,000 people each weekend.

"They beg for help," Godoy said. "They want God to give them the tools to live in crisis."

In this deeply polarized country, analysts are watching for signs that this growing faithful could emerge as a political force.

It’s Official. All New California Homes Must Incorporate Solar

“There are 100,000 customers annually that will see the acquisition of solar as a normal part of their home transaction.”

Julia Pyper

May 09, 2018

Julia Pyper

Senior Editor
Greentech Media

Julia Pyper is a Senior Editor at Greentech Media covering clean energy policy, the solar industry, grid edge technologies and electric mobility. She previously reported for E&E Publishing, and has covered clean energy and climate change issues across the U.S. and abroad, including in Haiti, Israel and the Maldives. Julia holds degrees from McGill and Columbia Universities. Find her on Twitter @JMPyper.

It's an historic moment for clean energy.


Starting in 2020, virtually all new homes in California will be required to incorporate advanced efficiency measures and rooftop solar — in a historic development for clean energy in the state.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) voted to adopt the policy today as part of the state’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards, following more than two years of work with a wide range of stakeholders to develop the technical requirements.

Updates to the Title 24 standards are projected to reduce home energy use by 53 percent compared to the current code, saving Californians $1.7 billion in energy costs over the next 30 years. This calculation, conducted by the CEC, does not take into account increased energy demands or a reductions in technology costs, which could result in even greater savings over time.

The new rules apply specifically to all new residences and major home renovations on buildings under three stories, starting on January 1, 2020. In the event a building isn’t suitable for a rooftop array, the standards require homes have access to community solar or offset energy usage through additional efficiency gains.

Around 15,000 new homes are built each year that include solar panels, according to the CEC. When the new standards take effect, that number is expected to jump to around 100,000 new solar homes per year.

“This is an undeniably historic decision for the state,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

How to Live Off Grid Successfully

 By Guest Contributor on September 12, 2016@prepperjournal




4.17/5 (92)

Editor’s Note: This post is another entry in the Prepper Writing Contest from John L. If you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly win a $300 Amazon Gift Card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.

If you have been wondering how to live off grid – “is it really possible?” and “Can I do it?” the short answer to all of these questions is, “Yes!”.

Remember: The only sure thing in life is Change itself. There is another important rule of life that is often overlooked:
“Anyone can only teach you what they know.” Learning is a lifelong process. The long answer is still yes, just with a lot more things to take into consideration. Living off grid will take a commitment of time, resources, and determination. You will really need to believe in what you are doing, have a vision for it, and want to make it work despite the obstacles that will plague you.

Living off Grid Takes Practice

Living off grid is not the easiest way to live. Until you do it you don’t even know the things that you are going to have to give up. The big things are easy to figure out: Refrigerators, Heating systems, Television, Kitchen Appliances, and THESE ARE THINGS YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE UP!

There are other things that many people don’t think about until they are actually in the midst of it. Like indebtedness, careers, local churches & schools. Sometimes families and friends.

Media Blackout on US ‘Smart Grid Deployment’

February 19, 2015

David Dees

By James F. Tracy

Over the past several years a conspiracy of silence has surrounded the implementation of the Smart Grid across the United States, perhaps with good reason. If the public was aware of what lay behind this agenda there would likely be considerable outcry and resistance.

“Smart meters”–the principal nodes of the Smart Grid network–are being installed on homes and businesses by power utilities across the United States under the legal and fiscal direction of the United States government. In December 2007 both houses of the US Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA).

This 310-page piece of legislation employs the dubious science of anthropogenic CO2-based climate change science to mandate an array of policies, such as fuel efficiency standards for vehicles and “green” energy initiatives. Tucked away in the final pages of this law is the description and de facto mandate for national implementation of the Smart Grid that the Bush administration promised would result in “some of the largest CO2 emission cuts in our nation’s history.”[1]

The bill unambiguously lays out the design and intent behind the Smart Grid, including surveillance, tiered energy pricing, and energy rationing for all US households and businesses through round-the-clock monitoring of RFID-chipped “Energy Star” appliances.[2] Congress and “other stakeholders” (presumably for-profit utilities and an array of Smart Grid technology patent holders[3] whose lobbyists co-wrote the legislation) describe the Smart Grid’s characteristics and goals via ten provisions.

• (1) Increased use of digital information and controls technology to improve reliability, security, and efficiency of the electric grid.
• (2) Dynamic optimization of grid operations and resources with full cyber-security.
• (3) Deployment[4] and integration of distributed resources and generation, including renewable resources.
• (4) Development and incorporation of demand response, demand-side resources, and energy efficiency resources.
• (5) Deployment of “smart” technologies (real-time, automated, interactive technologies that optimize the physical operation of appliances and consumer devices) for metering, communications concerning grid operations and status, and distribution automation.
• (6) Integration of “smart” appliances and consumer devices.
• (7) Deployment and integration of advanced electricity storage and peak-shaving technologies, including plug-in electric and hybrid electric vehicles, and thermal-storage air conditioning.
• (8) Provision to consumers of timely information and control operations.
• (9) Development of standards for communication and interoperability of appliances and equipment connected to the electric grid, including the infrastructure serving the grid.
• (10) Identification and lowering of unreasonable or unnecessary barriers to adoption of smart grid technologies, practices, and services [emphases added].[5]

Less than two years after EISA’s enactment President Barack Obama directed $3.4 billion of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to Smart Grid development. Matching funds from the energy industry brought the total initial Smart Grid investment to $8 billion.[6] The overall completion of the Smart Grid will cost another $330 billion.[7] Today a majority of energy delivery throughout the US is routed to homes equipped with smart meters that monitor power consumption on a minute-to-minute basis.

As noted, the American public remains largely unaware of the numerous designs and monied interests behind the Smart Grid–not to mention how smart meters themselves pose substantial dangers to human health and privacy. This is because the plan for tiered energy pricing via wireless monitoring of household appliances has been almost entirely excluded from news media coverage since the EISA became law on December 19, 2007.

A LexisNexis search of US print news outlets for “Energy Independence and Security Act” and “Smart Grid” between the dates December 1, 2007 to January 31, 2008 yields virtually no results.

An identical LexisNexis search of such media for the dates December 1, 2007 to February 18, 2015 retrieves a total 11 print news items appearing in US dailies (seven in McClatchey Tribune papers; one article appearing in each of the following: New York Times 8/14/08, Santa Fe New Mexican, 5/12/09, Providence Journal, 2/24/11, Tampa Bay Times, 12/13/12).[8]

Even this scant reportage scarcely begins to examine the implications of the EISA’s Smart Grid plan. The New York Times chose to confine its coverage to a 364-word article, “The 8th Annual Year in Ideas; Smart Grids.” “It’s a response to what economists would call a tragedy of the commons,” the Times explains.

[P]eople use as much energy as they are willing to pay for, without giving any thought to how their use affects the overall amount of energy available … Enter Xcel’s $100 million initiative, called SmartGridCity, a set of technologies that give both energy providers and their customers more control over power consumption … Consumers, through a Web-enabled control panel in their homes, are able to regulate their energy consumption more closely — for example, setting their A.C. system to automatically reduce power use during peak hours.[9]

News in far more modest papers likewise resembles the promotional materials distributed by the utilities themselves. “There will soon be a time when homeowners can save electricity by having appliances automatically adjust power for peak-demand times and other periods of inactivity by a signal sent through the electrical outlet,” an article in Sunbury Pennsylvania’s Daily Item reads. “‘Right now, it’s at the infant stage,'” a power company executive observes. “‘We didn’t worry about this until two years ago. Nobody cared when electricity was five cents per kilowatt hour. People just bit the bullet and paid the bill.'”[10]

Smart Grid Czar Patricia Hoffman

Along these lines, the Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Patricia Hoffman, is charged under the EISA with federal oversight of nationwide Smart Grid implementation. In other words, Hoffman is America’s “Smart Grid Czar.” Yet despite heading up such a dubious program since 2010, she has almost entirely escaped journalistic scrutiny, having been referenced or quoted in only four US daily papers (Washington Post, 2/8/12, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 4/26/12, Palm Beach Post, 5/12/13,Pittsburgh Tribune Review11/13/13) since her tenure began.

In an era where news media wax rhapsodic over new technologies and fall over each other to report consumer-oriented “news you can use,” the Smart Grid’s pending debut should be a major story. It’s not. Indeed, almost the entire US population remains in the dark about this major technological development that will profoundly impact their lives.

When one more closely examines the implications and realities of the federally-approved Smart Grid scheme—from the adverse health effects of electromagnetic radiation to surveillance and energy rationing—there should be little wonder why this degree of silence surrounds its implementation. Such a technocratic system would never be freely accepted if subject to an open exchange and referendum.

Notes

[1] “Fact Sheet: Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007,” whitehouse.gov, December 19, 2007.

[2] “ENERGY STAR is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect our climate through superior energy efficiency. The ENERGY STAR program was established by EPA in 1992, under the authority of the Clean Air Act Section 103(g).”http://www.energystar.gov/about

[3] Jeff St. John, “Who’s Got the Most Smart Grid Patents?” greentechmedia.com, August 5, 2014.

[4] The word “deployment,” commonly used in government and technical plans for the Smart Grid’s launch, is a military term. From the Latin displicāre, “to scatter,” the modern definition is “[t]o distribute (persons or forces) systematically or strategically.”

[5] Public Law 110-140, Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Title XIII, Section 1301, Washington DC: United States Congress, December 19,2007.

[6] “President Obama Announces $3.4 Billion Investment to Spur Transition to Smart Energy Grid,” energy.gov, October 27, 2009.

[7] Jon Chavez, “Expert Sees $2 Trillion Benefit For Country in Smart Grid,” Toledo Blade, January 16 2013.

[8] In contrast, seven times as many articles (78) appeared in law journals over the same seven year period.

[9] Clay Risen, “”The 8th Annual Year in Ideas; Smart Grids,” New York Times, December 14, 2008.

[10] Jaime North, “Devices Will Soon Monitor Themselves,” Daily Item, October 4, 2008.

Source

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Power Companies Offer Free Weekends and Prepaid Plans

Posted by Logan Wallace on Aug 18th, 2013





Consumers usually pay for the power they used for the month before. It doesn’t matter when they used it. But things are about to change as some electric companies are contemplating to come out with other business models. Some utilities are providing plans that include free nights, free weekends, as well as prepaid plans.

Digital meters have made it possible to provide more customized plans. They connect the electric companies and customers wirelessly and allow both sides to track usage in real time. Digital meters enabled utilities to decrease their costs by promoting use of electricity during off-peak hours.

41 percent of electric consumers in the United States have digital meters. The number was up from less than 5 percent in 2008. In 2015, it is estimated that 50 percent of consumers will have digital meters

But the new types of electric plans come with risks. Consumers might end up paying more for power consumption than expected. Some plans have low introductory rates that could go up after the expiration of the promo period. Other plans have high early termination fees. Some fixed rate plans look like good deals if power prices increase but become expensive compared to others when prices drop.

If consumers are careful about the plan they take, they could possibly pay much less. Some electric companies offer a plan that gives one day of free power each week. Consumers could choose a day when they can do much of their housework, such as doing the laundry or dishes.

TXU Energy in Texas has a plan that provides free power every night from 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. It offer has a plan that includes free power on Saturdays and Sunday but in return has a higher rate during the other days.

Customized electric plans are available in 13 states and Washington, D.C. Regulators in the said states allow companies to compete to sell electricity. Consumers who signed up for customized plans have increased to 13.3 million in 2011 compare to 8.7 million in 2008.


Source
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