Austin Energy is working to end the rolling blackouts as fast as possible, but they’re asking for your help to get the system back online.
The power company is doing two things: A, dealing with excess demand; And B, fixing downed lines and other equipment damaged by the weather. They really need to do (A) before they can do (B), but that means resetting parts of the system, and that’s hard if there’s too much demand.
Think of the power grid like a Jenga tower. Normally, you can pull blocks out and it’s OK. Today, the tower is full of holes and unsteady. Austin Energy is trying to put blocks back in, but you can’t just throw them and hope. It takes precision and doing it in the right order. If someone else is pulling blocks out of one side while they’re fixing the other, everything comes down again.
That means, even if you have power, using too much makes it harder to get fix it for other people to get theirs back. Ten minutes with your X-Box could mean a day without heat for someone else.
So think about all the electrical equipment that you are not going to use today, or even in the next few hours. Turn off lights and open the curtain: Unplug power strips with nothing attached. Not printing today? Turn your printer off.
Remember, keep your heating high enough to stop your pipes from bursting, but remember you can always put on a sweater.
This article appears in January 28 • 2011.
