Pennsylvania - Storm leaves hundreds of thousands in the dark

[dipsydoodle]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Dave Dixon and his wife are bunking with friends after losing power in a snow-and-ice storm that caused more than a million U.S. outages — the vast majority of them in a single state, Pennsylvania.

The storm has long since cleared out, but its effects are expected to linger for days as utility crews work feverishly to restore power to hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania residents left in the dark and cold. One official likened the damage to what you'd expect to see from a hurricane.

"People are going to have to have some patience at this point," Gov. Tom Corbett said Wednesday, warning that an overnight refreeze could cause more problems on the roads Thursday.

Late Wednesday, Corbett issued a disaster emergency proclamation, freeing up state agencies to use all available resources and personnel.

http://news.yahoo.com/storm-leaves-hundreds-thousands-dark-075333597.html

[PeteSelman]

1. This sort of thing could be easily avoided…

If we bothered to upgrade the goddamn power grid!

It's been a state of emergency since that asshole Corbett took office.

[RobinA]

2. I Kind of Wonder

myself. I live in the hard hit area and have for 40 years. The first 30 the electricity went out once and only once and that time during an ice storm. It was restored rather quickly. And we had tress and we had many ice storms. In fact, we used to have more ice storms than we do now. Suddenly the power goes out if somebody sneezes close to a wire. We had a prolonged outage after Sandy and now this current one that looks to be even more prolonged. Many people have generators now, while years ago it wasn't even something you thought about or could buy at every Lowe's and Home Depot. And it's not Corbett's fault, this predates hime, although it has gotten worse.

I'd sure like to know what's changed.

[PeteSelman]

3. Everything is worn out.

The older the infrastructure gets, the less effective it is. And they just don't seem to care about fixing it. Not just in PA but across the country. I think the fact is that with globalization, we aren't necessary anymore, we don't matter. They (the bosses) will keep their corporate headquarters here and the like but they don't care about the country at all. They'll stopgap everything but never replace it because it just doesn't matter anymore. While we had factories and foundries and other manufacturing (money generating) sources online, we needed to make sure the power stayed on, the roads clear, the rails sturdy, the bridges intact. But now? Not so much.

I think it's a much bigger picture problem. And one that is not likely to be solved. The CBO said the new normal is here to stay. We're never going back and we cannot go forward.

[onethatcares]

4. man, you hit that one solid.

the new normal sucks and I can't see it changing no matter which corporatist party we vote for.