Power cuts in Auckland

[avgas]

Fucking 3rd world infrastructure.

Pathetic.

Errrr no.......but then again I would expect this sort of response from a kiwi.
3rd world is a shitload worse

[avgas]

Well fuck me, armed police have had to be bought in to allow firemen and Transpower onto the private property to do the repair.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10622231

Oh god just read article. I wonder if his parents are cousins?

[quickbuck]

Errrr no.......but then again I would expect this sort of response from a kiwi.
3rd world is a shitload worse

Right you are.... We had to generate our own electricity,and had scheduled outages every second day.

[Jantar]

Haha you troller.

Probably something to do with what Auckland adds to NZ's economy compared to Alexandra and the number of people affected.

You may want to rethink that. One place of business alone in Alexandra (employing less than 50 people) earns over $180M per annum, and as the entire Aleaxandra/Clyde Valley only has a population of less than 6000, that single industry alone gives Alexandra a higher GDP per capita than Auckland. Fortunately that place of business has never, and can never, suffer a power cut. It is responsible for restaring the South Island grid if there is ever an Island wide blackout.

[Berries]

One place of business alone in Alexandra (employing less than 50 people) earns over $180M per annum, and as the entire Aleaxandra/Clyde Valley only has a population of less than 6000, that single industry alone gives Alexandra a higher GDP per capita than Auckland

I didn't realise you had Maccas in Alex yet.

[Jantar]

Its coming. (So they tell us).

[Okey Dokey]

Seems to me that if a business is so critically reliant on power, and suffers from frequent outages, that investing in a generator would be sensible insurance.

But everyone enjoys a good moan on the internet!

[p.dath]

It's a good thing that Auckland still hasn't built its nuclear reactor...

I used to pro-this, but having looked into it a little more, and less enthused.

First, they estimate there is only around 75 years worth of uranium left on earth at the current rate it is being mined. Secondly, much to my surprise, the cost/MW of nuclear power is substantially more than hydro generation. So if we could kind a small enough reactor, and built it, and it ended up supplying a large proportion of our power, the cost of power is likely to go up.

I have no concerns about the safety aspect of nuclear reactors. Modern reactors are safe.

Seems to me that if a business is so critically reliant on power, and suffers from frequent outages, that investing in a generator would be sensible insurance.

They do, and its called our power grid. Seriously though, it's not always straight forward.
The first issue is you need a diesel tank (assuming you have a diesel generator) and you can't just go and plonk a 5,000l tank of diesel anywhere. It's a dangerous good, and if you are storing dangerous goods you need special permissions and their are design considerations. Plus you actually need the space to place it.

Then there is the generator. They aren't particularly small, and aren't that quiet either. So you need to have somewhere close where you can place this big object, yet still be able to encase it to make it quiet enough that you can work over the noise.

And there is the maintenance. I have seen so many standby generators fail when placed under load because they get run so infrequently. Can you imagine if you only used a motorcycle once a year, and each time you did use it you ran it at maximum RPM?

[Usarka]

But everyone enjoys a good moan on the internet!

I don't - I'm getting sick of it.

[Lias]

I'm with with the farmer.
Transpower are fucking bullies, forcibly running new lines through the waikato to supply Auckland, despite massive opposition. They should be forced to underground all the lines, and simply charge auckland consumers the exctra cost.

I'm just waiting for people to start sabotaging the new transmission towers as they go up.