[bratticus]

15-hr power cuts as demand at new high
The Times of India (TNN) / June 24, 2011

NEW DELHI: Large parts of the city reeled under power cuts of up 15 hours on a day when electricity demand touched an all time high of 4,909 MW on Thursday , putting a huge question mark on the power infrastructure's capacity to handle the rising summer load.

While the peak demand was recorded around 1pm, residents in east Delhi and parts of south and central Delhi, spent long hours sweating without power since Wednesday night. The crisis was caused by a series of faults in the infrastructure maintained by Delhi Transco. ...

[bratticus]

Workmen pelted by thugs flee Islington [UK] power cut repairs
Tom Marshall / Archant Regional Ltd / June 23, 2011

Workmen repairing a faulty electricity cable fled and left residents without power all night after coins were thrown at them from a tower block.

... “I couldn’t believe the police would not come out to protect these emergency workers. They should have come and chased the thugs away.” ...

[bratticus]

Greek Utility PPC To Step Up Power Cuts As Strike Deepens
By Alkman Granitsas / Dow Jones Newswires via WSJ / June 24, 2011

ATHENS (Dow Jones)--Greece's state-owned electric utility, Public Power Corp SA (PPC.AT), said it would step up rolling power cuts Friday as striking workers shut down additional power plants in an open-ended protest over government privatization plans.

In a statement, the company said that "today, Friday, June 24, the cuts in power will be of longer duration due to the increase in electric power production that has been placed offline, in combination with the expected increase in electricity demand."

As a result of the strike three additional thermoelectric power plants have halted operations, while a fourth plant was shut down due to a breakdown, the statement said. ...

[bratticus]

People in Japan get hot under the collar
MediaCorp Pte Ltd (Channel News Asia) / June 24, 2011

... The problem is, there is a severe power shortage and that is not only due to the fact that the Fukushima nuclear facility is shut down since the March 11 disaster.

Other nuclear facilities which are currently undergoing inspection cannot be resumed unless they gain public support. And if the ban rises, there could be a total blackout.

Tepco Power Demand Crunch: 92% and Rising?
By Anna Novick and Kenneth Maxwell / WSJ Blogs / June 24, 2011

Looking forward, the power forecast is cloudy.

If numbers from Tepco Friday are to be relied on – and who knows, they may be revised – power demand on the troubled utility’s grid crept up, along with temperatures rising to around 32 degrees centigrade (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in and around the capital, to reach 92% of available supply between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time Friday.

As Japan implements ever-more-inventive solutions to try to save energy in a post-March 11 world of damaged and closed nuclear plants, it’s disconcerting to think the grid might be only 8% off complete saturation before Japan’s really hot summer months begin. ...

[bratticus]

Reuters ran revisions of this three times. This is the latest one I've seen so far.

TABLE-China power shortage forecasts by region
Reporting by Jim Bai and Tom Miles; Editing by Chris Lewis / Reuters / June 15, 2011

Following are details on summer power shortage forecasts,
expected maximum loads, supply capacity in each region, as
reported by local grid operators, local governments or official
media.

All numbers are in gigawatts (GW).

Code: Select all

                                                    capacity   
CENTRAL CHINA   
  Jiangxi      2.2-2.4             14.5              12   
  Henan          4.85                               50.7^     
  Hunan          4.0                16              11.8    
  Chongqing      2.1               8.5*             11.6^   
  Hubei        1.8-3.8~           25.2              49.1^    
EAST CHINA    
  Zhejiang      3.5-5.0             50              57.2^   
  Anhui         2.5                                 29.3^   
  Jiangsu       11.0                69              59   
  Shanghai    0.6-1.1            28-28.5            27.4   
SOUTH CHINA*   
  Guangdong     4.0-6.5             73              70.9^   
  Guizhou      1.5-2.0              12              32.8^   
  Hainan        0.2                 2.3 -2.5         3.9^   
  Guangxi                           13.5-15.4       25.2^    
  Yunnan                            11-12           36.2^   
NORTH CHINA   
  Beijing        1.02               19.1             6.3^   
  Shandong       1.0                52              62.7^   
  Hebei          3.0                25-26.6         23.6   
  Tianjin        1.5                11.4            10.9^   
----------------------------------------------------------   
  Total#        42.87-47.87


^ total power generating capacity at the end of 2010. It
differs from supply capacity that includes delicate power
supplies from other regions or excludes delicate generation for
other regions. In addition, different types of generators,
nuclear, thermal, hydro or wind, have different utilisation
rates and thus represent different effective supply capacity.

* Forecasts are for the second quarter.

The prior one had this for total vs. the current one:
Total 44.85-49.85 GW defict (June 2)
Total 42.87-47.87 GW defict (June 15)

[bratticus]

The poor nations will be the first to have permanent blackouts.

Electricity workers kick as power supply worsens
By Adeola Yusuf, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, Lagos [Africa] / Independent Newspapers / June 20, 2011

Electricity workers in Nigeria have called on authorities of the Ministry of Power to apologise to Nigerians as the epileptic power supply in the country worsened on Monday.

Power supply has crashed to 2,800 Mega Watt (MW) from 3,100 MW it was less than two weeks ago.

Managing Director of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Hussein Labo had earlier confirmed the drop in electricity generation from 3,700 MW to 3,100MW last weekend and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) described the situation as disheartening.

A source at the Ministry of power told Daily Independent on Monday that the power supply “now hovers between 2,800 MW and 3,000MW,” the drop, which Labo had earlier blamed on the maintenance at Utorogun gas plant and low level of water at the hydro power stations. ...

‘Load shedding snatching last morsel from his kids’
Daily Times / June 23, 2011

KARACHI: A large number of traders, shopkeepers and residents, affected by the loathing load shedding of Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC), on Wednesday staged a protest demonstration at the Zaib-un-Nisa Street, Saddar and blocked the road, suspending vehicle traffic.

Carrying wooden sticks and chanting slogans against both government and KESC, the angry mob broke windows of public transport buses, creating panic in the area. Traffic on the street and surrounding area remained chocked, stranding thousands of vehicles.

Protestors said the menace of load shedding was not only making their lives miserable in hot weather but also was badly affecting their businesses. They said the government was equally responsible for the anti-consumer crimes of the KESC.

They said the privately owned power utility has been given a free hand by the present regime to loot and fleece Karachiites. They said the ruling political parties were not sincere to get electricity load shedding problem of Karachi solved for a good.

A young protestor said he works at a goldsmith factory in the area and due to load shedding they have to remain idle for hours and resultantly their meagre earning is badly affected since they are paid on ‘per piece rate’. He said similarly, there are dozens of small garment and stitching factories in the buildings where thousands of daily wage labours work on per piece system. He said as now almost every vocational work is done through electricity-driven machinery, the hours long load shedding means idle and unproductive hours.

He said this cruel load shedding is tantamount to snatch the last morsel from the mouth of his children. He said millions of families belonging to daily wagers and low-income workers are facing hunger due to load shedding and the private owners of the KESC and their patrons were responsible for this big human tragedy. ...

[bratticus]

Venezuela to begin rationing electricity
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ / Bloomberg / June 16, 2011

CARACAS, Venezuela

Venezuela will soon begin rationing electricity in several regions because of recurring power outages, the country's energy minister said Wednesday. ...

Power lines struggle to meet high demand
Okaz/SG report
June 11, 2011

RIYADH/ BURAIDAH/MAKKAH – Power cuts were experienced in various regions across the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] Thursday ...

[vision-master]

As above

So below

[AgentR11]

Anyone now doubt me when I say that India and China are, and will continue, to build as many coal fired generating plants as they absolutely possibly can, as fast as they possibly can. They are in a race against the affluence of their own people, and they know that the price of defeat is unacceptable.

Behind it all: Its much easier to buy a $300 A/C unit, than it is to provide continuous power to it.

[bratticus]

Electrical engineers deny any intention to darken Egypt
Heba Hesham / Al-Masry Al-Youm / June 25, 2011

[Ahmed al-Oqeiby, a Shubra al-Kheima power station employee and member of the Electrical Engineers Coalition, a group of protesting engineers] alleges that expertise at the ministry’s technical authority is waning. He particularly criticized officials for failing to accurately predict future demand for power in order increase production capacity accordingly. This has led to repeated power cuts in the past year.

Yemen blacklists 43 opponents for pipeline blasts
Reporting by Martina Fuchs; Editing by Alison Williams / Reuters / June 24, 2011

In March, tribe members opposed to Saleh attacked electricity pylons in the central Maarib province triggering power outages in parts of the capital Sanaa.

The same month, a blast on Yemen's main oil pipeline had stopped the flow of light Marib crude to the Aden refinery, bringing it to a halt and leading to country-wide fuel shortages.

A Greek tragedy long in the making
By Christopher Humphrys / The Telegraph / June 24, 2011

Yesterday, the electricity company workers announced a 48-hour strike. If their demands are not met they will continue. They aren’t allowed to shut down the national grid, but by striking in shifts they can bring about a shortage of power, leading to cuts of two or three hours a day and, for many Athenians, introducing the game of “lift roulette”.

Greece austerity plan goes for broke
By The Associated Press / June 25, 2011

Greeks have also faced intermittent power cuts for days as workers at the country’s power company continue 48-hour rolling strikes.

It's lights out at midnight in Essex
Newsquest Media Group, A Gannett Company / June 25, 2011

This week Essex County Council decided it would push ahead with plans to turn off 70 per cent of the county’s street lights between midnight and 5am, saving £14million in electricity bills and cutting carbon emissions Lights in town centres and at major junctions will stay on.

Greece austerity plan goes for broke
By The Associated Press / June 25, 2011

Greeks have also faced intermittent power cuts for days as workers at the country’s power company continue 48-hour rolling strikes.

Crippling powercut: Businesses left counting the cost
Johnston Publishing Ltd. / June 25, 2011

Gary Granger, from Tickhill, said: “I came down to go the Citizen’s Advice Bureau to talk about a personal problem. They were closed and said they didn’t know when they would be opening.”

Brian Radley, also from Tickhill, said: “I had some shopping to do, and some bills to pay. It seemed as though the whole of Doncaster town centre had shut down. I was not happy to see it.”

Gillian Smith, from Bessacarr, said: “I went to work at 7am and wasn’t able to do anything. I went to the bank, but I couldn’t get any money out. It caused me a lot of problems.”

Two-hour load shedding for 10 days from Monday
The Times India, TNN / Jun 25, 2011

CHENNAI: The state government on Friday decided to extend load shedding across the city for another hour, making it two hours of outage a day, from June 27 to July 7. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has attributed the additional hour of load shedding to the interconnection work between the Vallur thermal power plant and the interstate grid.

The government had earlier proposed a four-hour cut spread across the day, which has now been revised to two hours. The government had introduced a one-hour power cut since May due to the 3,000-MW deficit. TNEB officials said the government wanted to minimise the inconvenience. "The two hours of power cut will be during the day, since night hour power cuts could make things worse for the people. However, only on June June 28 and July 6 there will be one hour outage during the day and one hour at night," said a TNEB official. ...

Never-ending power woes irk consumers
Nidhi Singhi / The Times India, TNN / Jun 25, 2011

LUDHIANA: Tall claims of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited to provide uninterrupted power supply have fallen flat. From Friday onwards, the industrial units have been facing cuts.

Authorities have scheduled a two-day power cut on arc/ induction furnace and one-day on general industry. This decision has caused unrest among industrialists. They rued that power department is ''fooling consumers by making false claims of providing an uninterrupted supply''.

The residential areas too face similar issues. Due to ''excessive overload'', untimely power failures are common. ...

Karachi [Pakistan] faces 8-10 hours loadshedding
Pakistan Observer / June 25, 2011

Karachi—The menace of long hours load-shedding persistently continues in the Karachi city where residents are facing eight to ten hours long power cut which has badly affected their businesses. People in general and those doing businesses said on Friday that tussle between the Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) and the Labor Union has added fuel to fire, saying that at various places cable faults and scheduled load-shedding has restricted the residents to their houses because they cannot do any business without electricity.

Residents too faced acute shortage of water in some areas while fluctuations in the voltage of electricity have destroyed most of electronic items. KESC officials said that due to shortage of gas supply the duration of electricity load shedding has been increased to balance the generation and the shortfall. On the other hand the Labor Union protesting members said that their protest was peaceful and would continue till fulfillment of their demands.—INP

Growth: China, US, Europe Slowing
International Business Times / June 24, 2011

In China the HSBC Markit Economics flash Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) eased to 50.1 in June, from 51.6 in May.

(Remember above 50 it's expansionary, below 50 it's contractionary.)

That's the slowest rate of expansion in 11 months, according to preliminary results from the survey.

The final results will be out a week today, along with the official government survey.

But economists say the index could fall under 50 in the next quarter if the predictions of blackouts and power shortages eventuate.

[pedalling_faster]

As above

So below

how did you sneak into my kitchen and take pictures ?

[babystrangeloop]

Power shortages force Japanese car firms into weekly shutdowns
Phillip Inman in Tokyo and Dan Milmo / The Observer / June 26, 2011

Japanese car companies will stop working on Thursdays and Fridays next month and transfer shifts to weekends in a move that industry executives hope will relieve the pressure on Japan's faltering electricity supply.

... Office buildings across the country have turned down the settings on air conditioning, reduced the number of lifts in service and switched off lights in corridors to cut demand for power.

8-hr power cuts fry residents
Bhawna Gandhi / Times India, TNN / June 25, 2011

GURGAON: The residents of Gurgaon, especially those living in the old city, had a tough time on Saturday, with many areas facing more than eight hours of power cuts.

... Apart from loadshedding, many areas also experienced voltage fluctuation. The residents of Malibu Towne, Sector 40, Sector 45 and Sector 46 have been affected the most because of voltage fluctuation. Voltage fluctuations can damage electric appliances, said Dipankar Wadhwa of Sector 40.

‘Lagos accounts for 60% growth in Nigeria’
By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf / The Nation / June 25, 2011

The organised private sector (OPS) has continued to battle the challenge of incessant power cuts. As a facility management company, how have you been able to get around this challenge?

[Mr. Joe Igbokwe is the General Manager, Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA)] Yes it is true, inadequate supply of power is a problem everywhere. We are not an exception. Here, our light must not go off even for one minute. We have two big generators, which serves us on a 24-hour bases. The same thing telecoms operators tell us too, they expend alot on generating their source of power. In fact, every base station has two generators and they put security there 24 hours because some unscrupulous elements out there go and steal their diesel.

Tanzania announces indefinite power outages
Editing by David Clarke and Toby Chopra / Reuters / June 25, 2011

Tanzania's state-run power company has announced daily 12-hour power cuts for an unspecified period because of low water levels at hydropower dams and a shortage of fuel for thermal power generation.

East Africa's second largest economy has been plagued by frequent power-outages since December. ...

Greek Power Workers Ordered to Obey Court Order
By Maria Petrakis / Bloomberg / June 25, 2011

... The defiance of the order to the GENOP-DEH union to bring capacity back to June 23 levels is “creating a shortfall which places the stability of the system in a critical situation”, the Athens-based ministry said in an e-maied statement. The shortage led to extended power cuts today and yesterday, when Public Power sought to have the strike declared illegal, according to the statement. ...

Electricity shortfall reaches 5,500 MW [in Pakistan]
The News International / June 25, 2011

LAHORE: The severe heat wave in the country has led to an increase in the demand for electricity, Geo News reported. The current shortfall of electricity has risen to 5,500 MW. ...

Delhi reels under massive power cuts
MSN India / June 26, 2011

... Areas across east, south, west and north Delhi faced power cuts up to six hours, resulting in inconvenience to the people. ...

Ministry Reveals List of 43 Suspects amid Acute Fuel Shortage, Day-And-Night Blackouts
Yemen Post Staff / Yemen Post / June 25, 2011

... Blackouts happen more than 20 hours a day in many cities including the capital Sana'a which is also experiencing a week-long water shortage. ...

[John_A]

How is it reasonable that Duncans Cliff scenario, to be caused by lack of natural gas supplies in North America, would cause blackouts in India? A place which can hardly be considered a paragon of stable electrical power? Or is this more of a expansion of the concept?

[Sixstrings]

You know, things are sort of looking like post-peak..

a) electricity blackouts

b) world governments releasing their strategic oil reserves

[AdTheNad]

Seems serious. Good accounting. I wonder if there is any historical data to compare recent outage activity?

I have been wondering about this. These posts are really interesting, but I have no way of comparing it to if there were similar blackouts say 10 years ago. A graph to show worldwide blackouts maybe by number of people affected hours over time would be illuminating. Does anyone know if something like that exists?

And turning off streetlights between midnight and 5 am? I was under the impression that electricity is generated regardless at those times, and otherwise goes unused since coal plants have to keep running to stay hot, and from renewables that keep generating etc?

[babystrangeloop]

How is it reasonable that Duncans Cliff scenario, to be caused by lack of natural gas supplies in North America, would cause blackouts in India? A place which can hardly be considered a paragon of stable electrical power? Or is this more of a expansion of the concept?

• How is it reasonable to put a frame around this that insists that world peak energy is a US-centric thing?
• How is it reasonable to look at worldwide blackouts and say that this is only one nation's issue?
• I am aggregating news articles about the entire world having widespread blackouts and you are asking me what?
• My activity in this thread consists of real-time monitoring of worldwide blackouts, you are free to think whatever while I act as fire alarm.
• So my answer to "what does the lack of natural gas in North America have to do with blackouts in India?" is the Japanese word "mu" see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_%28nega ... references with emphasis on "Your question cannot be answered because it depends on incorrect assumptions."
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rr27lhMm9c#t=2m21s "whatever you think, you listen hard, I will make you see"

[babystrangeloop]

Dissent, strikes ahead for Greece on crisis reform road
By Agence France-Presse / MSN / June 26, 2011

The country's influential unions have called a 48-hour walkout from Tuesday on top of rolling power cuts by disgruntled electricity workers that have hit households around the country for the past week. ... "I insist that I will not approve this plan," said one Socialist lawmaker, Alexandros Athanasiadis, who opposes the sale of a 17-percent stake in the near-monopoly Public Power Company.

Power outages affecting health in Pakistan
News One / June 26, 2011

Islamabad, June 26 (IANS) More and more people are suffering from psychological disorders in Rawalpindi due to chronic power outages, with electricity cut up to 16 hours a day.

People are forced to spend sleepless nights due to unscheduled cuts. The day temperature hovers around 40 degrees Celsius. ... A doctor said that the heat made people aggressive.

Energy crisis greatest bottleneck in supply of resources to economy: PEW
Nawaiwaqt Group of News Papers / June 26, 2011

... Energy crisis is greatest bottleneck in the supply of resources to our economy; it is biggest problem than terrorism, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.

He said that some areas will have to bear 23-hour load shedding by 2020 if development of energy resources was not given proper attention. ...

Power outages: Women take to streets
DAWN.COM / June 25, 2011

CHARSADDA, June 25: With increase in intensity of heat wave, the public anger over the unabated power outages in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also gone up with women in Charsadda taking to the streets for the first time against prolonged loadshedding and low voltage on Saturday.

Fed up with the hours-long unannounced power cuts, women from different localities staged a protest demonstration at Farooq Azam Chowk here on Saturday and blocked all the link roads passing through this main square for over three hours in intense heat. Social activist Safia Noruz and Lala Rukh advocate of Pakistna Tehrik-i-Insaf led the protest rally. ...

Electricity workers threaten blackout over Nnaji’s appointment
By Jide Jegede / Timbuktu Media / June 23, 2011

Members of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) have threatened to throw the nation into darkness if Barth Nnaji, the current chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power is appointed the minister of power by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Addressing a press conference in Ibadan on Thursday, assistant general secretary of the union, Johnson Fati, said his members were ready to shut down the distribution of power for a whole week if the man eventually emerges the minister of power.

According to him, the union had examined the intractable power crisis in the country and recommend that the president enlists the service of a technocrat to handle the sensitive sector for the good of all and development of the nation's economy.

... "You will recall that since two licenses were issued to Barth Nnaji to generate power since seven years ago and up till today, Geometric and Aba Power Limited have not generated one watt of electricity. We don't know whether this level of competence informed his choice by Mr President."

Tanzania slides into 12-hour power cuts
By JOINT REPORT / The EastAfrican / June 26, 2011

Tanzania’s chronic energy crisis deepened last week after the country announced a 12-hour power-rationing schedule.

... Power shortages and expensive energy continue to pile pressure on manufacturers in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya. East Africa’s grid connection rate is the lowest in Africa. According to the World Bank, only 15 per cent of households in the region are connected to national grids. Tanzania is the least electrified of all, with 7.2 million off-grid households. This is followed by Kenya (6.2 million), Uganda (5.5 million), Rwanda (1.7 million) and Burundi (1.4 million).

Japanese parents fume over Fukushima radiation impact
By Antoni Slodkowski / Reuters / June 26, 2011

... Reactors at the Genkai plant had been considered among the likeliest candidates for the first idled reactors in Japan to restart after the Fukushima disaster as electricity shortages loom for the summer, but residents remained worried. ...

China reiterates ban on favourable power tariffs
Reporting by Judy Hua and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Chris Lewis / Reuters / June 23, 2011

... The government last month raised power prices that grid operators charge industrial, commercial and agricultural users in 15 provinces by about 3 percent, the first increase since 2009, as it tackles widespread power shortages.

Chinese copper imports may rise in H2 2011- Aurubis
Reuters via SteelGuru / June 26, 2011

... The global copper market is also facing disruption from tight electricity supplies in some Asian countries. Energy scarcity has become a significant risk factor. If there should be large scale shortages in the electricity supply in a copper producing country it is highly likely that copper production will also suffer. ...

Power shortage hits offices, malls in Shanghai
By Wu Yiyao and Li Xinzhu / China Daily / June 20, 2011

SHANGHAI - Shopping malls and office buildings in Shanghai are being urged to close on extremely hot days this summer to save power for residents' use in the midst of a shortage of supply, according to a recent notice issued by the Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company.

The unprecedented power-rationing plan for 3,000 non-industrial users has been approved by the Shanghai municipal government but is not mandatory.

The Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company is also calling on non-industrial users to set the temperature of their air conditioners above 26 C and says office buildings with power loads of more than 100 kilowatts may be asked to turn off their air conditioners for an hour on days when the temperature rises above 35 C.

On days when the mercury rises above 37 C, non-industrial users are being called on to shut to ensure there is enough power for residents.

In addition, as many as 24,000 electricity power users, most of which are industrial users such as factories, will be subjected to power rationing this summer. The number of affected users is higher than during any summer since 2003. ...

[John_A]

[*]How is it reasonable to put a frame around this that insists that world peak energy is a US-centric thing?

A good question for the theories author. I never understood how he went from a US centric problem (which did not happen) to a world wide result.

[*]How is it reasonable to look at worldwide blackouts and say that this is only one nation's issue?

The original reference was to Indian blackouts, not worldwide ones. Do you have actual exampels where the entire world has lost electrical power? Solar flares might cause this I suppose? Unless a tornado wipes out the powerlines, electrical power in the US and Canada is still pretty much a 24/7 thing.

[*]My activity in this thread consists of real-time monitoring of worldwide blackouts, you are free to think whatever while I act as fire alarm.

Blackouts have been happening since the invention of electrical power. Are you claiming that there are more of them now, then before? Do you have a chart showing how blackout frequency or length is now substantially different than all those other years?