Power Outage and What to Do in One

Friday night at a few minutes after 5:00 pm the power went out. Four hours and fifteen minutes later the power came back on.

What to do with no power and a warm house getting darker?

Cuss at the PG and E (our local utility). This does not bring the power back on but it lets off enough steam so that when the phone call is made the caller (me) can be polite.

Call the utility company. 8000 households are affected. A large portion of my city. Wow! I am not alone, but that doesn't make it better. No word as to what is causing the outage. Should be back on in less than two hours. Do you want a call to let you know when power is restored? This is not as redundant as it sounds, since it includes the option to get more help if the power has not been restored. I say yes and then realize after hanging up that the answering machine is not going to pick up. It's electric.

Wait. Wait some more. Water plants outside. Outside there are no clocks and time is irrelevant and I can enjoy the plants. Talk to my sister and listen to the ticking of the battery clock. Not even the refrigerator is running.

Need batteries for the battery operated lantern to work and the thing is out of my reach anyway. Give it a better spot and buy batteries. In the meantime, it is getting dark outside. Close sliding screen doors, gather together flashlights and a few other things. It is better to go to the bathroom in the dusk than use flashlights in the dark. Crawl into bed and wait. Now it is too dark to see the clock--should have luminescent battery operated clock--so turn on flashlight to see what time it is. Notice that cordless phone does not work--it is connected to an electric power base. Solar rechargeable batteries would make so much more sense here.

Want to fall asleep and wake up when small night stand lamp comes on and the thrum of the refrigerator running wakes me up. No such luck. No sleep. That is what I get for drinking four cups of coffee in one day--twice as much as usual. Wish I had bought a battery operated clip on light so that I could be reading the book I am reading, Mary Stewart's, The Hollow Hills, book two of her Arthurian saga.

Toss and turn. Realize how boring the power outage is, but give thanks that it is not a heat wave or the middle of winter. Almost fall asleep when something changes and I realize the light is on and the refrigerator running.

Do we take power for granted? Oh, my yes we do! Should we? NO. We should indeed be looking for energy independence, not only for our country, but for areas and individuals as well.

The power outage lasted four and one-quarter hours, much longer than was necessary. I believe that first we waited for the crew to come through rush hour traffic. They should be empowered to use sirens and flashing lights just like other emergency vehicles--they are emergency vehicles. This would have cut the initial waiting time. I am sure the next segment of waiting was due to the fact that the new transformer had to be driven from Sacramento, a two and one-half hour drive, if they made good time. These things should be closer. Profit driven utility companies endanger public safety. Let's change this and take back the economy for the people.

Neighbors posted on the list today that their solar panels give them nine hours of battery back-up. This is at the top of my want list. Next is a gas wall heater in my bedroom. I can dream.

Tonight I am grateful for the lights and the power that allows me to sit here and type and blow of steam. I also hope that my desktop computer survived. I think the surge protector is old. The clock was wrong when I booted it up last night to see if everything was all right.

All in all it was an adventure that I truly did not need and could have done without. I am still here though, so that is good. I guess.

When a Tree Falls--what to do in a Power Outage

Late yesterday afternoon a tree fell in my neighborhood, disrupting power for nearly 1000 homes. While we didn't actually hear the tree fall, it's effect was certainly felt. We did hear the peculiar booms that transformers make when they close, not sounds one wants to hear.

My dear friend L came over to check on me and caught me on the phone to the power company, so we were able to learn a bit more and give the power people a bit more information. She pulled the plug on my computer. She came back when she said she would and replugged my computer. I had power, but she did not. As it turned out she lives on the street where the tree fell.

I was one of the most fortunate people for my power was restored in a little under two hours. I found myself knitting without the accompaniment of television news, not my usual mode and I was reminded that knitting is, after all, a beautifully solitary and silent activity. Solitude and silence are rare in our lives. While I have, perhaps, too much solitude, I can never overestimate the beauty of silence.

Once I realized that the power was out, I wanted a cold drink from the refrigerator more than anything else! In the interest of keeping the food cold, I settled for lukewarm bottled water and waited. The cold diet Vernor's ginger ale tasted wonderful when the power was restored and the refrigerator had been running for a bit. Never open the refrigerator in a power outage.

In this summer outage, I didn't need to worry about lights, but in the winter that is an issue. So I am reminded to check the flashlight batteries before winter sets in. I also have a camping lantern and need to find its battery set. Candles are a traditional resource, but must be used carefully around piles of paper and should not be left burning if one leaves the room. Placing the candle on a metal tray is a good idea.

Going out for a walk to meet the neighbors and find out where the power outage is and where the power company trucks are, is one way to while away the time. I can't do this, but from the emails on our neighborhood list this morning, I could see that quite a few people did.

Keeping one's sense of humor is useful. It always is!

Having a stock of blankets ready for a winter outage is survival oriented. Having games or cards or a puzzle that can be done in minimal light is a good idea too. I wonder if anyone has come up with a battery powered craft light for people who embroider?

After I assured myself that the computer was fine, I went to bed early and read some more of Harry Potter. Am I the only person in the universe, reading Deathly Hallows this late? Quite a few people that I know haven't read these books at all. They seem to be doing just fine. I do wish that I had a magic bag like the one that Hermione is using though. It would be so useful for just cleaning up the clutter quickly. Imagine, you could just make a pass through the house, stuffing in all the items you wanted out of the way, and presto clean house!

Overall I am grateful and looking forward to having company for dinner tonight. More decluttering first!