What backup power will be available
If you live in northwest Oregon, you’re probably thinking the state is
surely water-logged. While Portland is having the wettest spring on
record, portions of northwest and northeast Oregon are near or above
average, but central, southeast, and southwest Oregon are below
average.
Seasonal snowpack was below normal for all but the far-northern Cascades in the vicinity of Mt. Hood. As of early April, several
snow monitoring stations in south-central and southeast Oregon had
recorded complete melt-out for the season.
Oregon’s Governor Brown has already declared a drought in Crook,
Gilliam, Harney, Jackson, Jefferson, Klamath, and Morrow counties.
Additional counties are likely to request drought declarations.
Oregon’s forecast is getting hotter and drier, leading to more wildfires,
which can happen suddenly and grow quickly.
Portland General Electric
(PGE) sent out notices for consumers to prepare their households for
outages for “wildfire season.†PGE says, “If extreme weather hits, we
may turn off the power as a last-resort safety measure, which could last
several hours or multiple days.â€
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports a steady 163
percent increase every year in wildfire activity.
NFPA launched
Outthink Wildfire to solve the wildfire problem with five tenets for all levels of
government to follow.
They suggest the public understand its role and
take action in reducing wildfire risk making homes more resistant to
ignition from wildfire embers and flames, fire departments must be
prepared to respond safely and effectively to wildfires, and government must increase resources for vegetative fuel management on public
lands.
Even if there were no wildfires, there is still a chance for blackouts.
The passage of
SB 1044 didn’t help. It encoding into law the requirement that nine out of 10 new car sales be
electric by 2035. Will utilities
be able to increase the grid to keep up with the demand?
When Representative Pam Marsh (D-Ashland) sponsored
HB 2021 in 2021, there were numerous experts that warned of the
likelihood of rolling blackouts related to supply and stability.
It passed
with the presumption that it allows for use of other sources in unstable
periods. As other sources are forced out of business via the standards,
what backup will be available to stabilize electric power?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The City of Forest Grove is
using state funding to pay residents $500 to
install a charging station if they own an electric vehicle. The rebate will
be available to all prior and future purchases for residential and
commercial chargers.
Currently there are 269 electric vehicles
registered within its coverage area using 12 public charging stations
operated by Forest Grove Light & Power.
Quarterly usage has increase
from 484 kilowatts to 4,665 kilowatts in one year.
PGE’s
notice to be prepared in case an outage occurs includes staying
updated online or on email lists with utilities for alerts.
Make an outage
kit and gather what is needed to keep your family and pets fed and
hydrated.
Have a plan for household needs and how you’ll care for a family
member with a medical condition or your animals, especially if you rely on an electric pump for your water well. And we should now add if you have an electric car. Plan ahead to where you can relocate -- friend,
family member or to a shelter.
If in the path of a wildfire, know the evacuation route if needed (see
your county's evacuation guide). Create a line of defense around your
home.
Whether it is the weather, wildfire complications or overuse, the main
responsibility of government is the safety of Oregonians.
--Donna BleilerPost Date: 2022-05-12 13:27:23 | Last Update: 2022-05-12 13:52:06 |