Rolling blackouts start across Japan in about 6 hours

[mooncliff]

Some trains have started running on the regular schedule. Tomorrow morning should be a mess.
It is also said there is a high probability of another strong quake within the next week. That seems very likely to me.

Rolling blackouts expected in Tokyo
Stars and Stripes
Published: March 12, 2011
TOKYO -- Residents in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area can expect rolling blackouts throughout the region starting Sunday, according to a Japanese newspaper report.

Tokyo Electric might start cutting power to some home in the Kanto Plain area late Saturday, the Asahi Shimbun is reporting. Even hospitals in the area could lose power at times, the paper reported.

Then, starting Sunday, homes could be without power for up to three hours at a time as rolling blackouts go into effect, the report said.

The blackouts are necessary because of the closure of the nuclear power plants as a result of Friday's earthquake in northern Japan, the report said. The electric company said it simply will not be able to keep up with the demand for power, and is asking residents to turn off all necessary lights.

[jpetr48]

Re: Rolling blackouts start across Japan in about 6 hours

Thank you Mooncliff. Below is a quote from a friend who lives in Kawasaki. He and family are doing fine.
We know Japan and its people will rebound and come back stronger and better.
Besides keeping us up to date on events, if there are specific needs and organizations that we can give to, I would look forward to hearing from you.

"Right now Japanese government informed us of tomorrow's blackout plan.
Those who live in Kawasaki, including my family, will not be able to use electricity from PM6:00 to PM10:00.
It 's inconvenient but it is not big problem still we are fine and vigorous!"

[lektrode]

Re: Rolling blackouts start across Japan in about 6 hours

Thank you Mooncliff. Below is a quote from a friend who lives in Kawasaki. He and family are doing fine.
We know Japan and its people will rebound and come back stronger and better.
Besides keeping us up to date on events, if there are specific needs and organizations that we can give to, I would look forward to hearing from you.

"Right now Japanese government informed us of tomorrow's blackout plan.
Those who live in Kawasaki, including my family, will not be able to use electricity from PM6:00 to PM10:00.
It 's inconvenient but it is not big problem still we are fine and vigorous!"

i'd advise em to RUN at dawn to the nearest alt energy/solar distributor and buy
an inverter/charger (1000-1500watts, w 50amp chgr ought to be enuf to do most anything inside the house) and a couple of the biggest 12v batteries they can drag home (try get group31's = 105amphours ea and one human can carry em) and if you go with 12v inv/batts and you get too low and have a car, one can run the eng/alternator and recharge (assuming one has a tank of gas to burn) - the reason i suggest these items is they_might_ still be available as things like gensets will be the _first_ thing to sell out

strategy is: when the juice = ON, fill the batts, do everything else you can
juice = OFF, with the inv/batts one can run lights, tv, computer/internet etc and not just sit there in the dark at the mercy of the power co.

if can, get several hundred amphours of batts, then you'll have enuf to keep the refrig going all nite long if ya have to and by the sounds of things, you might just hafta

this is also a demonstration of why purely 'grid-tied' solar/PV systems arent really a good idea, as if the grid goes down, yer stuck in the dark anyway - mo bettah to have some battery (several hundred amphours) and then you have BACKUP power - as whats the sense in spending thousands of bux on PhotoVoltaic systems that go dead when the sun goes down? to what? merely 'subsidize' your electric bill? look cool in the neigborhood? (on sunny daze).

[jpetr48]

Re: Rolling blackouts start across Japan in about 6 hours

Thanks Lektrode your message passed on to friend in Japan and I think we will look at same as part of contigency planning

[mooncliff]

Re: Rolling blackouts start across Japan in about 6 hours

Am at work today and yesterday. Many people working from home. Very quiet downtown. Trains running about 1/3 schedule. Some trains not running at all. We have been spared most rolling blackouts so far. Almost every unnecessary thing is turned off.

Broadband ADSL, optical fiber, etc., was rolled out here 12 years ago. ADSL by Yahoo is quite reasonable at $20 a month for 6M, good enough for most use. Government gave tax breaks to people to work at home at least some of the time. It was amazing to go to the tax office, and they asked if you worked from home, and if you showed some evidence, they just gave you a $2,000 deduction each year for 3 years, no questions asked. This is paying off big time. It was mostly done as an energy saving measure, but talk about just in time.

[Fiat Currency]

Re: Rolling blackouts start across Japan in about 6 hours

... as if the grid goes down, yer stuck in the dark anyway - mo bettah to have some battery (several hundred amphours) and then you have BACKUP power - as whats the sense in spending thousands of bux on PhotoVoltaic systems that go dead when the sun goes down? to what? merely 'subsidize' your electric bill? look cool in the neigborhood? (on sunny daze).

I have the items you cite as backup. In addition - I have a Subaru engine in my back yard hooked up to a natural gas line that can power my entire house. Oil every 6 months, and the engine auto-runs 20 mins a week & has a battery trickle charger. Costs about the same as a new engine for your car.

Here I have an infinite supply of natural gas - currently at 4 cents a gigajoule. I can actually generate power for my house cheaper than the city can deliver it to me. It also ensures my servers keep running my websites & e-commerce engines. Best backup solution ever. Gotta love fiat currency.

I hope & pray for the good people of Japan.

FYI - I was just in Asia and got out of Taipei just hours after the quake.

[lektrode]

Re: Rolling blackouts start across Japan in about 6 hours

I have the items you cite as backup. In addition - I have a Subaru engine in my back yard hooked up to a natural gas line that can power my entire house. Oil every 6 months, and the engine auto-runs 20 mins a week & has a battery trickle charger. Costs about the same as a new engine for your car.

Here I have an infinite supply of natural gas - currently at 4 cents a gigajoule. I can actually generate power for my house cheaper than the city can deliver it to me. It also ensures my servers keep running my websites & e-commerce engines. Best backup solution ever. Gotta love fiat currency.

fabulous!
would like to chat more, gotta go tho, more l8r

I hope & pray for the good people of Japan.

FYI - I was just in Asia and got out of Taipei just hours after the quake.

eye hear that - i left HNL on wed aftn - here's my 'travelogue'

>you got outta there in the nick of time dude

uhhh... not quite the way eye see it - after holding for a month to see what would happen (the longest month of my life), waiting on work/income that perty much never happened and then another 3daze to finally get on the plane = the moment i left = s__t happened (with my whole gd biz sittin-duck there in the marina)

on the other hand - if i'da planned the departure for friday, woulda been screwd fer shur (and doubt seriously the airline woulda cared about a tsunami)

WHY I DONT TRAVEL (fly esp) ON FRYDAYS ANY MORE if i can help it

its The Worst day of the week to go anywhere, do anything, bar none

>you got outta there in the nick of time dude

yep - was feeling the whole time like i was in the scene from the movie:
Independence Day

membah dat one?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116629/
the scene where airforce1 is launchin down the runway and lifts off just as the alien ship starts blastin at it

i get this feeling every time i'm getting ready/leaving on vacation....

and then.... when we're finally comin down for a landing in BOS - its windy and setting a big jet down at logan aint for the timid/shy/faint of heart on a GOOD day
we're comin in hot, so to have plenty power/stick on the way down and the plane is rockin side to side, flaps flappin furiously - buggah drops just as shes about to set down and BOUNCES at least 5feet back up - the skipper masterfully regains control and slams it down, tail swingin and whoa! - the 'audience' hesitates for a few secs, just to make sure - and about the time the reverse thrusters have come up to FULL THROTTLE and its slowed to about half landing speed, we get about half the plane clapping - the other half prolly ruined their underwear....

...edited for brevity/civility..

an so... finally get the barfin chick to get up outa the seat - cuz shes gonna just wait for the back 1/2 the plane to go by and i FIRMLY suggest: you should get up/go now?

and as i'm walkin up to the front end, the capn come out of the cockpit and i sez to him: THANKS FOR THAT LANDING SKIPPER!

he sez: "which one?"

to which i reply - THE SECOND ONE, on the first, you had me wondren and doubtful - he just smiles and said: well..its 5 oclock somewhere.... gotta luv pilots with a sense of humor, is all i can say.