OT: Electricity demand

Walkthedawg

Well-known member
Oct 3, 2022
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Based on how our country acts when they are asked to make any change that would lead to a possible small sacrifice in behaviors, I cant imagine who would actually agree to do this at the governmental level.
Whoever does it would receive a flood of death threats, be stalked, etc. Nobody in their right mind should agree to do such a thing because of the meltdown fallout.
Or we can act like a first world country and just friggen produce ample electricity and maintain the path to get them to the customers.
 

mstateglfr

Well-known member
Feb 24, 2008
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Or we can act like a first world country and just friggen produce ample electricity and maintain the path to get them to the customers.
Sure, that's obviously an option.
My comment you quoted was in response to a right leaning poster who suggested people stop placing so much demand on the overall grids during times that are really hot or really cold.
So I responded with that suggestion in mind.
 

thatsbaseball

Well-known member
May 29, 2007
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Not sure why this is a response to my post or how its related to the post I responded to, but OK then.
I do not oppose the general idea of energy created from nuclear sites and wish it were a realistic option to build more, in the right conditions.

I have noticed that the hyper-vocal groups on both sides of energy discussions who freak out over specific ideas are generally all unreasonable.

- People that for years and years claimed climate change isnt real, then since accepted its real and argue humans arent contributing?- unreasonable.
- People that think wind farms everywhere will save the planet?- unreasonable.
- People that continue to push for increased production of coal and oil and base their agenda on cherry picked examples of alternative energy not working/being enough?- unreasonable.
- People that refuse to even listen to nuclear power possibilities and claim it isnt based on emotion?- unreasonable.
- People that try to claim EVs are a scame because battery materials require mining, without actually listing differences in lifespan use?- unreasonable.
- People that want forms of alternative energy, but dont want them within the town/metro/region?- unreasonable.
- People that take joy in alternative energy products not performing as intended?- unreasonable.
- People that force their view/bias on energy production into conversations where it doesnt fit?- unreasonable.
What about: 1) People that say we're not going to make a significant dent in inflation until we get energy prices down ?
2) People that say we're not going to get energy prices down with wind and solar ?
 

johnson86-1

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Aug 22, 2012
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Sure, that's obviously an option.
My comment you quoted was in response to a right leaning poster who suggested people stop placing so much demand on the overall grids during times that are really hot or really cold.
So I responded with that suggestion in mind.
Except nobody suggested that. In fact it was explicitly noted that the reason we don't have interruptible load is because consumers hate it. Which is why it is and almost certainly will be available as low hanging fruit when we get to the point that we need to engage in load shedding to avoid widespread blackouts.
 

The Peeper

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Feb 26, 2008
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I am, unfortunately, acutely aware of this fiasco as a CSRA (Central Savannah River Area) resident.
This sounds strangely like the Dekalb, MS coal natural gas plant, also owned by the same parent company, The Southern Co in Atlanta....
 

mstateglfr

Well-known member
Feb 24, 2008
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Except nobody suggested that. In fact it was explicitly noted that the reason we don't have interruptible load is because consumers hate it. Which is why it is and almost certainly will be available as low hanging fruit when we get to the point that we need to engage in load shedding to avoid widespread blackouts.

My bad for misunderstanding what the comment below means.
I read this as a right leaning poster suggesting a little inconvenience to people would significantly reduce stress and overload of grids.
...it's consumers that want their air condition to run in the hottest part of the day and their back up strip heating to work in the coldest part of the night. But at the end of the day, even though people will hate it, there is peak shaving available if we insist on making things miserable.
 

jethreauxdawg

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Dec 20, 2010
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Anyway, anyone know of any good deals on used Teslas? I’m getting impatient waiting for my turn to purchase the cybertruck. But I’m also gonna get an f350 to be prepared.
 

Boom Boom

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Sep 29, 2022
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Except nobody suggested that. In fact it was explicitly noted that the reason we don't have interruptible load is because consumers hate it. Which is why it is and almost certainly will be available as low hanging fruit when we get to the point that we need to engage in load shedding to avoid widespread blackouts.
The all or nothing approach to interruptable power is pretty inconvenient. We have the tech to just interrupt the high demand devices (AC, fridge, dryer), while leaving peeps their lights and TV and such. Do that, and you can bring peak demand a lot closer to actual overall usage, lowering costs and needed supply.
 

patdog

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May 28, 2007
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The all or nothing approach to interruptable power is pretty inconvenient. We have the tech to just interrupt the high demand devices (AC, fridge, dryer), while leaving peeps their lights and TV and such. Do that, and you can bring peak demand a lot closer to actual overall usage, lowering costs and needed supply.
That's great. Until the utility spoils all the food in my fridge. And you know they will.
 
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Dawgbite

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Nov 1, 2011
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My next door neighbor who lost his home in last Marchs tornado is building a house/ barndeminium/ RV port home totally not connected to the power grid. Total solar with a generator backup. I’ve been helping him do a lot of the install. So far he has been able to run for two plus days without sunlight before the generator kicks in to charge the batteries. I don’t know his total cost but the big stuff that I’ve signed for and seen recipes for is around $100,000. He’s 60 years old, he will never live long enough to recoup his cost in power bill savings. I don’t understand it but it’s not my money.
 

johnson86-1

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Aug 22, 2012
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The all or nothing approach to interruptable power is pretty inconvenient. We have the tech to just interrupt the high demand devices (AC, fridge, dryer), while leaving peeps their lights and TV and such. Do that, and you can bring peak demand a lot closer to actual overall usage, lowering costs and needed supply.
As of now, we don't live in a dystopian enough place where the utility with a government granted monopoly can come in and put those devices into use. Utilities offer them, or at least have offered them (I think our utility tried to offer a program that just interrupted the AC for up to two hours and there was so little uptake they discontinued the program) but I'm not aware of them taking off anywhere. I think ours offered like a $10 per month credit to participate? Which I think is pretty reasonable if you're talking about only being impacted one a month at most. Can't remember what the restrictions were but I know they would have been allowed to do it enough that it was a no brainer to turn down for us.

I think time of use rates could probably help a lot. They've been politically hard to implement in the US but I think with more smart meters and people having the ability to get notifications on their phone when pricing changes and/or when they have a high load during high priced times, it should be easier. Still somewhat a challenge though that generally TOU rates or dynamic pricing are good for reducing growth in utility bills rather than offering significant savings for a new inconvenience.
 

PooPopsBaldHead

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Dec 15, 2017
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Supply and demand will continue to meet. It's costs that are going to go up. Root for those data centers, Tesla Superchargers, and bitcoin mining operations to come to your town all you want... You'll pay for it by hook or by crook. Possibly both.
 
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StateCollege

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Oct 17, 2022
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I can't speak for politicians, but if you ask the average conservative Mississippian about global warming/climate change most folks will say something like "Oh that's all a load of BS".
 
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