I’m not sure if this fits in the “general discussion” board, but I thought I’d post it here. My electric company, SCE, has been doing a lot of rotating outages recently due to heat waves, power grid strain, and other things. I found out that I am in a group that is not subject to any rotating outages, according to the SCE website. Does anyone know why certain areas would be exempt from rotating outages? Thanks.

In case anyone doesn’t know, SCE stands for Southern California Edison.

My guess is that areas that are exempt might be because they are less populated and therefore don't put as much strain on the grid. Also there could be a number of critical loads in the area such as a hospital and water treatment plants and it would cause major problems to shut these areas down.

My guess is that areas that are exempt might be because they are less populated and therefore don't put as much strain on the grid. Also there could be a number of critical loads in the area such as a hospital and water treatment plants and it would cause major problems to shut these areas down.

Thanks for the info. I’d guess that it was because of critical loads, because there is a water treatment area about a mile away from my street. That may prevent them from implementing power outages.

Thanks for the info. I’d guess that it was because of critical loads, because there is a water treatment area about a mile away from my street. That may prevent them from implementing power outages.

That definitely explains it with the treatment plant only a mile away. Here in the Fort Lauderdale area there was rotating power outages a couple of times over the years for reverse reasons... extreme cold!

That definitely explains it with the treatment plant only a mile away. Here in the Fort Lauderdale area there was rotating power outages a couple of times over the years for reverse reasons... extreme cold!

Yeah, I think that definitely explains it. Right now I’m wishing for some extreme cold, but I’m not going to get it in CA. 
It’s just been really hot since mid-August.

Does anyone know why certain areas would be exempt from rotating outages?

I found that most of the rotating outages have been near areas that have a fire danger. At least around here.

Wonder how well thought out that is, as many fire suppression systems installed in buildings use electrical pumps to boost the pressure. (According to fire code they must be backed up by generator, but the odds that some generator has a failure at any given moments are there), The water source used for filling up firetrucks might be electrically powered as well

The water treatment plant rises another question - Dont those have some storage capacity of water so can stand for a while without power and then catch up when the power returns ?

That definitely explains it with the treatment plant only a mile away. Here in the Fort Lauderdale area there was rotating power outages a couple of times over the years for reverse reasons... extreme cold!

How cold is "extreme cold" considered to be there? A few years ago during several days of "extreme cold" in my state (like -40-50F iirc) the natural gas providers were having issues (pretty much every house has gas powered boilers and furnaces due to electric heating being too expensive). What's even worse is pretty much all the power plants in the area run on natural gas too so if something happens with the supply, the electricity could go out on top of everything else. At least those were the big concerns from what I remember.

Heh. Over here they're talking about outlawing gas boilers and forcing everyone onto electricity, at least for new builds.

https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/are-gas-boilers-being-banned/

Wonder how well thought out that is, as many fire suppression systems installed in buildings use electrical pumps to boost the pressure. (According to fire code they must be backed up by generator, but the odds that some generator has a failure at any given moments are there), The water source used for filling up firetrucks might be electrically powered as well

The water treatment plant rises another question - Dont those have some storage capacity of water so can stand for a while without power and then catch up when the power returns ?

The water treatment plant here does use electricity, but it must at least have some storage of water. I still have water when the power does out unexpectedly, such as from failed electrical equipment.


@Fluorescent lover 40 I have noticed that too. I’m not in a fire risk area, so it hasn’t happened to me though.

Heh. Over here they're talking about outlawing gas boilers and forcing everyone onto electricity, at least for new builds.

https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/are-gas-boilers-being-banned/

That’s interesting and kind of odd.

Heh. Over here they're talking about outlawing gas boilers and forcing everyone onto electricity, at least for new builds.

https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/are-gas-boilers-being-banned/

Thats a bit dumb. Currently burning gas right now with Fossil fuel plants. Plus i love having a gas stove as if there is a power outage i cna jsut light it and cook hot food. I also have a gas furnace that has a built in battery powered ignition so it can function during a power cut which if in the winter here would be Incredibly helpful as It can get quiet cold in the midwest.

Watch this for more info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56DSH8tKUvo&t=41s

Heh. Over here they're talking about outlawing gas boilers and forcing everyone onto electricity, at least for new builds.

https://www.thegreenage.co.uk/are-gas-boilers-being-banned/

 That's kinda stupid !  My house is heated with an fuel oil furnace . They have been talking about banning them here for a few years now. There are only 2 heating companies in Columbus that will still service the damned thing !!! I've lived in only 2 houses with electric heat , NOT IMPRESSED !! My oil furnace puts out 140°f air from the registers !  The air from the heat-pump in my parents house was only about 10°f higher than the ambient room temp making the place seem drafty and kinda chilly all the time !

How cold is "extreme cold" considered to be there? A few years ago during several days of "extreme cold" in my state (like -40-50F iirc) the natural gas providers were having issues (pretty much every house has gas powered boilers and furnaces due to electric heating being too expensive). What's even worse is pretty much all the power plants in the area run on natural gas too so if something happens with the supply, the electricity could go out on top of everything else. At least those were the big concerns from what I remember.

Before I answer this keep in mind I live in the Fort Lauderdale area and extreme cold is when you can't go to the beach.
Honestly though extreme cold here is once it gets down between 30-35 degrees F.
Anything below that becomes a state of emergency.
Fortunately it doesn't happen to often.
During the freeze on Christmas 1989 the power rotations caused an absolute nightmare!
FPL took major heat from the state government after that disaster!
The coldest that Fort Lauderdale ever experienced was 25 degrees back in January of 1977 when it snowed for the very first time.
One of FPL'S largest generating plants failed and my hometown of Sunrise nearly lost their natural gas system.

  Wait 'till you get to experience a "high" temp in the single digits !!  We had that one a few years ago , I think the actual high was something 4 or 5°f  ! I didn't like it !