by Lazarenko – yayimages.com
Mother Nature can give human beings a rude awakening in the form of terrible weather conditions like thunderstorms, hailstorms, ice storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. These pose a threat to our lives and property including our electricity systems. Not only can that, but extreme drought, wildfires, and heat can also severely hamper the generation and distribution of electricity. For example in May 2016, severe thunderstorms in Dallas had caused as many as 1700 people to be without power.
Due to increase in greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, the planet has become unpredictable and more and more extreme changes in weather have created negative consequences for electric power utilities. This is mostly due to the electricity infrastructure being old and outdated; the only viable solution is to speed the development and deployment of renewable energy systems to establish a more resilient and robust electricity grid. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused people to be without power in 21 states.
Rising Sea Levels
As many as 100 electric power utilities in the United States are situated in regions at a distance of 4 feet from high tides. This includes substations and power plants. Due to global warming and the consequent melting of polar ice caps, sea levels around the world have risen since the year 1880.
According to a report, they will continue to rise a further 6.6 feet, thereby increasing the prospects of coastal flooding. When this happens, power plants and substations will go offline and power will be disrupted for many people. In such cases, home backup generators are a viable solution.
More Wildfires
Wildfires occur due to extreme drought and dryness and they can cause severe damage to electricity infrastructure like transmission poles, lines, etc. Another potential hazard arises from the fact that particulate matter and smoke particles can ionize the air, hence building an electrical channel away from the power lines and shutting them down.
Increase in Heat Waves
Heat waves are common throughout the U.S., but recent climatic changes have increased the intensity and duration of such heat waves. As it is known, extreme heat lowers the efficiency of power plants and that too, when more electricity is being consumed. This puts further stress on the electricity grid which can cause them to break down. Having a reliable backup solution like home emergency generator is a good choice.
Thunderstorms, Hurricanes, Gales, and Ice Storms
All of these storms are accompanied by strong gusts of winds and hailstones which can snap power lines and uproot power poles. This causes a massive power outage for thousands of people. In addition, lightning from thunderstorms might disrupt voltage regulation in electricity grids by causing brownouts and voltage surges which might damage electrical appliances.
Drought
Periods of extensive drought might cause decline in the availability of water supplies. Water is utilized by power plants for the purpose of cooling; hence, if water resources are scarce, power plants will be forced to limit the daily production of electricity or shutdown for a certain period of time. It’s important to possess a whole house backup generator in such circumstances.