electricity

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Aussies Told to Turn the Lights Off 2 Hours a Day

Aging coal infrastructure blamed for energy crisis

(Newser) - It's winter in Australia, and the country's new government is dealing with a severe energy crisis. Some 8 million people in Sydney and elsewhere in New South Wales, the country's most populous state, have been urged to do without electricity as much as possible between 6pm and...

Puerto Rico's 'Fragile' Grid Sees Major Blackout After Fire

More than 1 million customers are without power across the island

(Newser) - More than a million customers in Puerto Rico remained without electricity on Thursday after a fire at a main power plant caused the biggest blackout so far this year across the US territory, forcing it to cancel classes and shutter government offices. The blackout also left some 160,000 customers...

If Taliban Don't Pay Electric Bill, It'll Be Lights Out

Foreign suppliers could cut off power, leading to blackouts in Kabul

(Newser) - On top of everything else, the people of Afghanistan could soon lose power because the ruling Taliban aren't paying foreign electrical suppliers. "This would be a really dangerous situation," said Daud Noorzai, who quit as head of Afghanistan's power monopoly after the Taliban takeover, the Wall ...

Ikea to Sell Something New: Electricity

Furniture giant will sell affordable electricity from wind and solar parks to homes in Sweden

(Newser) - Ikea already sells solar panels in nearly a dozen of its markets. Now, the furniture giant based out of Sweden is taking an even deeper plunge into the renewable-energy market, starting on its home turf. Beginning next month, Ikea will sell electricity from solar and wind parks to domestic households,...

ERCOT Makes Plea to Texans Amid 'Unplanned' Outages

Power grid officials 'deeply concerned' as heat wave strikes the region

(Newser) - The power grid in Texas is facing its next challenge: a pre-summer swelter. After a winter storm and cold snap that left millions powerless in February, severe heat in the western part of the US—with temps reaching up to the triple digits expected to continue throughout the week—now...

A Typically Warm April Day in Texas Stressed Power Grid

Texan were urged to conserve electricity, though weather was not unusual for spring

(Newser) - The power grid in Texas, which was disastrously ill-equipped to handle a winter storm and cold snap in February, ended up struggling again on Tuesday when the day turned out to be warmer than expected in parts of the state, although conditions were not unusual for the time of year....

Sky-High Texas Power Bills Will Be Forgiven

Some customers got bills for thousands of dollars after February crisis

(Newser) - Electricity customers in Texas who received astronomically high bills after last month's devastating blackouts won't have to worry about paying them, and those who have already paid all or part of the bills might be getting some money back, officials say. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says electricity...

Hush-Hush Tesla Project Plugs Texas Into 'Mega-Battery'

Elon Musk's company reportedly has secret power supply set up after electric grid failed last month

(Newser) - Elon Musk has inserted himself into electric cars , space travel , artificial intelligence , and cryptocurrency , so why not take a dive into the US utilities arena? That's apparently what's happening in Texas, where Musk's Tesla is said to have secretly set up a "mega-battery" outside Houston after...

Another Head Rolls After Texas Blackouts

ERCOT board votes to fire Bill Magness

(Newser) - Another head has rolled following the devastating blackouts blamed for dozens of deaths in Texas. Bill Magness was fired as president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state's independent power grid, after an emergency board meeting Wednesday night, CNN reports. ERCOT says Magness...

In Texas, a Dire Situation for Hospitals
Amid Texas Chaos,
a New Calamity
Feb 18, 2021 6:49 AM CST

Amid Texas Chaos, a New Calamity

Hospitals are running out of water

(Newser) - The chaos in Texas amid freezing weather that has left millions in the cold and dark has made its way to the state's hospitals. One issue that has caused things to become especially dire at medical centers: a lack of running water, resulting in problems ranging from low water...

He Recalled His Winter With No Heat. Out Came His Wallet

Florida businessman ponies up $4.6K to pay off utility bills for 36 families

(Newser) - When Michael Esmond saw the Dec. 26 due date on his utility bill, he had a flashback to 1983. "My gas was shut off, and we had no heating for the whole winter," one of the coldest ever in Florida, the 73-year-old father of three tells CNN . Indeed,...

Electric Eel Keeps This Aquarium's Christmas Tree Lit

Miguel Wattson is providing the juice for seasonal lights at the Tennessee Aquarium

(Newser) - Visitors to the Tennessee Aquarium may be shocked to learn that an electric eel named Miguel Wattson is lighting up a Christmas tree, per the AP . A special system connected to Miguel's tank enables his shocks to power strands of lights on a nearby tree, according to a news...

PG&E Warns of 'Extreme Measure' Amid High Winds

Utility may be shutting off power to 2 million people in Northern California on Saturday night

(Newser) - More than 2 million people in Northern California may be without power Saturday night in a planned blackout meant to fend off wildfires. The Los Angeles Times reports that this anticipated move by Pacific Gas and Electric, which would affect 36 counties, is due to high winds forecast for the...

In Unprecedented Move, Power Shut Off in California Amid Fire Fears

45mph wind gusts predicted in Northern California

(Newser) - Northern California's biggest utility has shut off power to tens of thousands of customers in an unprecedented step to prevent wildfires amid rising winds and official warnings of extreme fire danger, the AP reports. Pacific Gas & Electric began turning off the lights in California's wine country and...

Calif. Makes Big Move on 'Existential' Climate Threat

Golden State will run on 100% clean energy by 2045

(Newser) - With ambitious new goals to eliminate fossil fuels from its electricity system and slash greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2045, California is headed "in the right direction" while the Trump administration and others lag behind, Gov. Jerry Brown said Monday. "California has been doing stuff that the...

Woman on Oxygen Tank Dies After Utility Cuts Electricity

Great-grandmother Linda Daniels was in hospice care in New Jersey for congestive heart failure

(Newser) - At 10am on Thursday, Linda Daniels' oxygen tank stopped; by 4:30pm, she had drawn her last breath. The reason for the New Jersey great-grandmother's death, per her family: PSE&G turned off her electricity due to an unpaid bill. Per NJ.com , relatives of Daniels, who was in...

After $3.8B Spend, Puerto Rico Power Grid Still 'Highly Fragile'

It's almost certain to collapse in the next hurricane

(Newser) - After an eight-month, $3.8 billion federal effort to try to end the longest blackout in United States history, officials say Puerto Rico's public electrical authority, the nation's largest, is almost certain to collapse again when the next hurricane hits this island of 3.3 million people. "...

New Problem in Puerto Rico: Energy Firm Puts Its Foot Down

Whitefish Energy says it won't fulfill remainder of work unless it gets the $83M it's owed

(Newser) - The Montana energy company that set up a controversial, since-canceled contract to help restore Puerto Rico's power after Hurricane Maria had agreed to work through Nov. 30 before heading out. But now it's stopping work altogether, claiming the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority owes it upward of $83...

Report: Energy Company in Puerto Rico Jacking Up the Tab

Contractors for Whitefish Energy making up to $100 an hour, but Whitefish is billing $319

(Newser) - Called an "unusual" arrangement right from the start, a Montana energy company working in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria is now raising eyebrows even higher. The New York Times reports Florida linemen hired as contractors by Whitefish Energy are making up to $100 an hour with double time, which,...

Tesla Restores Power at Puerto Rico Children's Hospital

Company builds massive solar array in parking lot

(Newser) - Puerto Rico is still struggling weeks after two powerful hurricanes last month—the territory's Electric Power Authority said Wednesday morning that power service was at 25%—but, thanks to Tesla, electricity has been restored at a San Juan children's hospital. The company used its solar panels and batteries...

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