View Full Version : Power Outage In LA
So about 35 minutes ago (4:00 EST) a whole lot of the power went out all over Los Angeles, Koreatown, North Hollywood, Burbank and in San Fernando Valley. A big blackout apparently. Normally this wouldnt really matter, but it happened two days after an American Taliban guy said that there would be things goin down in LA and Melbourne. Apparently backup generators arent working eitehr, which is odd. This whole thing is odd. I doubt its an actual terrorist attack, but i mean, if it was, that would be scary.
OutBurst
09-12-2005, 03:42 PM
What are your sources?
True, but there saying this isnt just one neighboorhood. This is like everywhere and no one knows why. The chief of police said he couldnt remember the last time they had an outage like this.
Uhh try any major news channel. It happened about 30 mins ago so it might not be EVERYWHERE, but it is on CNN MSNBC etc.
stegmakk
09-12-2005, 04:07 PM
not as bad as the east coast power outages like 2 years ago...
that was from ohio to vermont (maybe maine), and down south...
we all thought terrorism especially in NY and since it was so widespread...
alas it was not (or at least officially the reports stated it was not)
Frndlefire
09-12-2005, 04:09 PM
I forget where I read the article, but when the whole enron scandal was in full force i remember internal documents (memos and such) were released how these energy companies were effectivly creating brownouts and such to keep the price of electricity artificially high. If I wasn't so lazy I would try and find that again.
True, but again, the terrorists called this two days ago, and this is the biggest one in LA in a long time. It could just be some nostrodamus type coincidence.
hah theyre using google earth on cnn.
Middie_Hero19
09-12-2005, 04:38 PM
This is NOT terrorists. The power company has confirmed that it was a mistake that some worker cut the wrong line. Was on msnbc.
Frndlefire
09-12-2005, 04:54 PM
and I'm pretty sure that terrorists could think of a better attack. This has very little, if any, symbolic importance. The world trade center has very obvious symbol importance in that it is possibly the best symbol for what is percieved as american greed. A power outage affects many people... but it doesn't really do much. Fix the problem and done... I doubt too many people died from it making it more than just an inconvenience.
Trilax03
09-12-2005, 04:56 PM
yeah it is a pretty wierd coincidence...but frndlefire has a good point, they would come up w/ a better attack than this
marflax33
09-12-2005, 05:25 PM
i havent heard of any power outages. hmmmm. mayb i just live under a rock. oh well.
Laxordie24
09-12-2005, 07:12 PM
not as bad as the east coast power outages like 2 years ago...
that was from ohio to vermont (maybe maine), and down south...
we all thought terrorism especially in NY and since it was so widespread...
alas it was not (or at least officially the reports stated it was not)
ah yes the blackout! even though FL wasn't part of that our school has a football game dedicated to it. It's called the Blackout game... Just another exuse to sell shirts and get money.
Krypt0M4g!c
09-12-2005, 07:27 PM
this pretty much explains it
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/12/la.power.outage/index.html
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- About 700,000 electric customers in Los Angeles lost power Monday afternoon after a worker mistakenly cut a wrong line, triggering a cascade of problems in the city's power grid, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said.
About 50 percent of the department's 1.4 million customers were affected by the outage, which began at about 1 p.m. (4 p.m. ET).
Power had returned to most areas by 2:30 p.m., according to department spokesman Ron Deaton.
The blackout trapped people in elevators and caused traffic to snarl at intersections where stoplights weren't working.
According to Deaton, after the line was mistakenly cut, other lines in the area could not handle the additional load, triggering a string of problems.
Two stations in the San Fernando Valley that connect the generation and distribution systems tripped off line, causing three power plants to shut down automatically as a safety measure, according to city officials.
The outages stretched from the valley through downtown south to San Pedro, as well as parts of the city's west side.
After the power failed, Los Angeles police went on full tactical alert, with officers ordered to stay on duty at the end of their shifts. The alert was later downgraded, although officers were still being kept on duty to assist in traffic control.
The Los Angeles Fire Department received numerous calls from people trapped in elevators, said department spokeswoman Jim Wells.
Los Angeles International Airport reported flickering of lights but no interruption of flight operations.
Van Nuys Airport, a busy general aviation airport in the San Fernando Valley, lost electricity but was able to continue operations with backup power.
The blackout came as U.S. counterterrorism officials said they were skeptical that a purported al Qaeda tape that threatened Los Angeles and Australia was a prelude to an attack.
One official said it "appears to be just a propaganda tool put out by al Qaeda to mark the 9/11 anniversary," which was Sunday. (Full story)
Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke told The Associated Press federal officials were talking to state and local counterparts about the blackout, but "there is no indication of any nexus to terror."
While heavy power usage can contribute to blackouts, the weather in Los Angeles was mild Monday, with the high temperature forecast in the mid-70s.
CNN's Jen Rogers, Ali Velshi and Jeanne Meserve contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
stegmakk
09-12-2005, 08:33 PM
and I'm pretty sure that terrorists could think of a better attack. This has very little, if any, symbolic importance. The world trade center has very obvious symbol importance in that it is possibly the best symbol for what is percieved as american greed. A power outage affects many people... but it doesn't really do much.
Actually...if they could cause a severe outage (not fixable in a few hours) in a major city or state...what happens is 911 gets flooded with calls of accidents, looting, etc due to no power...cell phone lines get overloaded due to everyone using them...not to mention when the east coast blackout occured near rush hour, people abandoned cars, and were walking across bridges, etc (thats how confusing it was)...
Now...that the city is in an orderly state of confusion and emergency crews are stressed and busy, they hit with something big...car bombs on the entrance and exit of tunnells/bridges, and or something even worse...
you criple/overload/or divert emergency response teams first, then hit and the damage will be worse, and reaction worse that the target was hit not only with a single attack but a 1-2 punch
HdGLaxWarrior
09-12-2005, 08:35 PM
700,000... that's not alot.
Frndlefire
09-12-2005, 08:41 PM
Actually...if they could cause a severe outage (not fixable in a few hours) in a major city or state...what happens is 911 gets flooded with calls of accidents, looting, etc due to no power...cell phone lines get overloaded due to everyone using them...not to mention when the east coast blackout occured near rush hour, people abandoned cars, and were walking across bridges, etc (thats how confusing it was)...
Now...that the city is in an orderly state of confusion and emergency crews are stressed and busy, they hit with something big...car bombs on the entrance and exit of tunnells/bridges, and or something even worse...
you criple/overload/or divert emergency response teams first, then hit and the damage will be worse, and reaction worse that the target was hit not only with a single attack but a 1-2 punch
I agree this is a legitimate threat, however I was previously talking about the power outage itself being the attack (and being a poor one that is in itself probably not going to be done). Also, I'm sure we've had substantial power outages in major cities before... was there is mass panic? And keep in mind the symbolic importance of terrorist attacks. If they just kill a couple people it will just piss people off. You attack something that is inherently american and it makes a f'ing message.
OutBurst
09-12-2005, 09:46 PM
Actually...if they could cause a severe outage (not fixable in a few hours) in a major city or state...what happens is 911 gets flooded with calls of accidents, looting, etc due to no power...cell phone lines get overloaded due to everyone using them...not to mention when the east coast blackout occured near rush hour, people abandoned cars, and were walking across bridges, etc (thats how confusing it was)...
Now...that the city is in an orderly state of confusion and emergency crews are stressed and busy, they hit with something big...car bombs on the entrance and exit of tunnells/bridges, and or something even worse...
you criple/overload/or divert emergency response teams first, then hit and the damage will be worse, and reaction worse that the target was hit not only with a single attack but a 1-2 punch
I think the Al-Quida suggestion box is help@al-quida.com. They might appreciate that very descriptive plot... :whyme:
Frndlefire
09-12-2005, 10:00 PM
I think the Al-Quida suggestion box is help@al-quida.com. They might appreciate that very descriptive plot... :whyme:
yawn... I've heard so many times that popular media (books, movies, news, interviews) and the like all give terrorists ideas. Now, if you were giving your life (perhaps quite literally) for a cause don't you think you would have thought about it just a little more than our local news? There are some very smart people who would love the opportunity to attack the US.
twin58
09-13-2005, 01:36 PM
I ... remember internal [Enron] documents (memos and such) were released how these energy companies were effectively creating brownouts and such to keep the price of electricity artificially high.
Cue the Enron tapes. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/01/eveningnews/main620626.shtml)
Enron Traders Caught On Tape
LOS ANGELES, June 1, 2004
ENRON'S INTERNAL MEMOS
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released two Enron memos describing company plans to inflate energy prices during California's energy crisis of 2000.
The practices were considered so outrageous, that an attorney with the California Public Utilities Commission dubbed them a "smoking gun memo."
Enron memo, Dec. 6, 2000 .pdf file (http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/enron_memo2.pdf)
Enron memo, Dec. 8, 2000 .pdf file (http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/enron_memo1.pdf)
(CBS) When a forest fire shut down a major transmission line into California, cutting power supplies and raising prices, Enron energy traders celebrated, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports.
"Burn, baby, burn. That's a beautiful thing," a trader sang about the massive fire.
Four years after California's disastrous experiment with energy deregulation, Enron energy traders can be heard – on audiotapes obtained by CBS News – gloating and praising each other as they helped bring on, and cash-in on, the Western power crisis.
"He just f---s California," says one Enron employee. "He steals money from California to the tune of about a million."
"Will you rephrase that?" asks a second employee.
"OK, he, um, he arbitrages the California market to the tune of a million bucks or two a day," replies the first.
The tapes, from Enron's West Coast trading desk, also confirm what CBS reported years ago: that in secret deals with power producers, traders deliberately drove up prices by ordering power plants shut down.
"If you took down the steamer, how long would it take to get it back up?" an Enron worker is heard saying.
"Oh, it's not something you want to just be turning on and off every hour. Let's put it that way," another says.
"Well, why don't you just go ahead and shut her down."
Officials with the Snohomish Public Utility District near Seattle received the tapes from the Justice Department.
"This is the evidence we've all been waiting for. This proves they manipulated the market," said Eric Christensen, a spokesman for the utility.
That utility, like many others, is trying to get its money back from Enron.
"They're f------g taking all the money back from you guys?" complains an Enron employee on the tapes. "All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?"
"Yeah, grandma Millie, man"
"Yeah, now she wants her f------g money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her a------ for f------g $250 a megawatt hour."
And the tapes appear to link top Enron officials Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling to schemes that fueled the crisis.
"Government Affairs has to prove how valuable it is to Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling," says one trader.
"Ok."
"Do you know when you started over-scheduling load and making buckets of money on that?
Before the 2000 election, Enron employees pondered the possibilities of a Bush win.
"It'd be great. I'd love to see Ken Lay Secretary of Energy," says one Enron worker.
That didn't happen, but they were sure ... Bush would fight any limits on sky-high energy prices.
"When this election comes Bush will f------g whack this s--t, man. He won't play this price-cap b------t."
Crude, but true.
"We will not take any action that makes California's problems worse and that's why I oppose price caps," said Mr. Bush on May 29, 2001.
Frndlefire
09-13-2005, 02:35 PM
yup, that's about right
TheKOB
09-13-2005, 06:44 PM
basically, Enron's employees did what any business in their position would. They didn't do anything illegal. Basically what they did was withhold energy which caused blackouts/brownouts, which pushed up the prices, so then they sold the energy. Think of it as OPEC localized in one state, withholding oil to push the prices up and then selling and making a mint. It's called arbitrage, where you can buy something and sell it for more than you bought it for quickly (like if you can buy a stock for $20 a share and someone is willing to buy it for $25 a share).
The problem is that things like energy, gas, etc are necessities, not luxury goods. Because they're necessary, people'll be willing to pay whatever in order to get them, since they don't have a choice. Spikes in energy (and come to think of it, gas) hurt the general public and don't really do anyone any good.
Frndlefire
09-13-2005, 07:18 PM
Illegal? no. Sleazy as hell... yea. I guess I'm just one of these nuts who thinks capitolism can be extremely cruel and insensitive.
TheKOB
09-13-2005, 07:20 PM
Illegal? no. Sleazy as hell... yea. I guess I'm just one of these nuts who thinks capitolism can be extremely cruel and insensitive.
Yep....and that's why you make it illegal in the first place. Anything can be cruel and insensitive if you give it the chance....
Frndlefire
09-13-2005, 08:10 PM
Yep....and that's why you make it illegal in the first place. Anything can be cruel and insensitive if you give it the chance....
not true love *sigh*