Read between the lines about Xcel and grid stability. A historical note on reliable electric power. Speak up on redistricting if you live in the Springs (or share with someone who does so they can).

Read between the lines about Xcel and grid stability in the CBS News article linked below.

Let me help with a couple quotes:

"Xcel says the power grid is built to support customer energy needs, but various factors impact infrastructure, such as customers running air conditioners on hot days."

And then the following where Xcel Energy's president Robert Kenney, was speaking to people from the Sterling Ranch neighborhood (where there have been MULTIPLE power outages of late):  

"Every community has its own distinct set of underlying causes. What we are seeing is load growth. And it's not limited to Colorado. We're seeing this around the country, where we're experiencing load growth in ways that we have not historically seen."

Got the picture?

Brown- and/or blackouts in high summer during peak AC usage is not terribly new.  It's not good, but it's not unheard of.

But look again at that second quote.  Load growth, that is, more demand on the grid due to (among other things) more people and more people with electric gadgets, cars, and the like.

This growth is coincident with a move in this state to get rid of dependable base power and move to diffuse (i.e. land hungry) and unreliable renewables for our electricity.

Reading between the lines, the message is clear.  Probably ought to look into some sort of backup like a generator.

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-neighborhoods-experiencing-frequent-outages-xcel-energy-officials-taking-action/

Related:

The last thing I said in the post above was that you probably ought to consider getting a generator.  This isn't just me talking.

Check out the interview below for more context on why (including the chilling thought that our state is subsidizing battery backup power for those that have a life or death need for continuous power--not exactly a vote of confidence in our new renewable generation scheme).

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What has reliable electric power meant in the past? A historical note, relevant to the present.

I went to the local museum up near me (Overland Trail -- a quick day trip from the Front Range and highly recommended because you can see what life was like on the Plains way back when and also for the Ag history items), and hit the exhibit on electrification.

The two links below give some context on rural electrification if you're interested, the first being a general look and the second specific to Colorado.

I don't think we can appreciate fully what a boon electrical power was to everyone, it was certainly a help to rural areas as you can see in screenshots 1 through 4.  Sorry for the bad photography, it was me at the museum with my crappy flip phone.

Screenshots 3 and 4 in particular show how much work previously done by combustion, humans, or animals could now be done cheaply and easily with electric motors.

No wonder at the hyperbole in the church "testimony" quoted at the bottom of screenshot 1.

These screenshots were made all the more poignant to me because I saw this exhibit (again--not my first visit) AFTER reading the CBS article in the first post and saving it.

Are we about to experience something probably not known in this country for a long long time?  Are we going to be one of the first generations in Colorado in a long time to know what a lack of reliable electric power feels and looks like?

God, I hope not.

If we do, if we even feel the mere THREAT of this happening, I hope you take it as a wake up call and remember come election day(s).  We are where we are now at least partly due to policy decisions of those who have been running the state for the last 4 years.

One last thing. Part of the exhibit showed a wind turbine. No. Not that kind. The kind that existed PRIOR to WW2. Imagine a windmill, the kind that run a water pump, but instead of being hooked to a pump, it was hooked to something essentially akin to a car's alternator.

This turbine could be used to power smaller devices and I believe this one was meant to power a radio.

Just like today, the issue with wind power back then was what to do if you want power and the wind isn't blowing. If you look at picture 5, you'll see the older solution (and one definitely NOT ready for grid scale).

This is a glass jar battery. Your car battery runs on a chemical reaction between lead and sulphuric acid, with the lead being in plates or grids and then immersed in the acid.

This jar is the glass version of a car battery, lead plates immersed in acid. It's the same idea, just see-through.

Nothing new under the sun.

https://sohp.org/exhibit/digital-exhibit-example-copy-2/

https://crea.coop/2020/02/01/crea-75-years-of-representing-colorados-electric-co-ops/

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Live in Colorado Springs or know someone who does?

Per the CPR article linked first below, The Springs is going to do some redistricting in the near future and it is soliciting feedback from residents on a variety of proposed maps.

You can weigh in online and/or attend an in person session.

The second link below is to the city's page where you'll find details on how to give your two cents worth online.

The attached screenshot is from the CPR article and it lists the in person meetings you can attend.

How districts are drawn is fundamental to the political process.  Most everything else builds off this.  Take this opportunity to get involved at this very important stage and make your voice heard.

If you know someone who lives in the Springs, share the links below so they can also get involved.

https://www.cpr.org/2024/09/05/colorado-springs-residents-can-provide-input-on-a-new-city-council-district-map/

https://coloradosprings.gov/2024Redistricting