So, there's this daily rolling blackout...

[afuna]

Hmm, apparently I need to check Meralco's website for when the (thus-far) daily rolling blackout is about to hit my area, so I can schedule a break or non-internet-reliant work stuff then.

I shouldn't be offline for more than an hour or two, but if it's going to happen every day, then I'd better figure out something to do with that time!

Comments

[starlurker]

Oh wow. I had forgotten about those! How long do they usually last these days?

[afuna]

Just a couple of hours. They're actually pretty rare nowadays! (I mean I remember vaguely lots of brownouts when I was a kid and it was Cory's time and the beginning of Ramos', but these days not so much).

What's triggering them is that this summer has been pretty bad. We've basically been in drought mode, so the water levels in the dams are low, and that's affecting a lot of things, including power.

And I just realized that it seems odd to talk about possible near-daily brownouts above, but then say they're pretty rare *G* I mean that we haven't had regular brownouts in ages; this year has been an exception.

[exor674]

Ah? Hydroelectric power there mostly or something?

[afuna]

Hmm, not entirely. We still have the less clean plants I think, so we have power for most people -- it's just there's not enough, unfortunately, to support everyone on the grid all the time.

[kerravonsen]

We've basically been in drought mode, so the water levels in the dams are low, and that's affecting a lot of things, including power.
Ouch. And here I thought our drought was bad, but at least it's not affecting our power. On the other hand, that is because, besides hydro and wind, Victoria uses evil natural-gas and even eviller coal for our power. 8-(

[afuna]

Oooh, I just looked things up and it's not *entirely* the drought (though that's not helping much, either!)

It turns out that we're having a lot of power plant maintenance so that there's less risk of power going out during elections. (When I was a kid, elections day/night usually meant a couple of strategic blackouts in polling areas. This was not god for democracy.)

I can't find any info on what we use here! I just get the vague impression that we're partially hydroelectric, definitely not wind-powered, and probably have either gas/coal somewhere.

[starlurker]

Gah, reading fail on my part. Sorry! It's been a weird day! /o\

[afuna]

Not your fault! I did imply in my entry that it's going to be a regular thing, so that was unclear on my part *g*

Ooops. I just realized you were probably talking about the length of time. Heeheehee. I misread your comment too. (Uhhh, I blame it on the heat!)

[starlurker]

Hahaha! A friend of mine always says "thank God we're not diplomats" whenever a situation like this happens, so, um, thank God we're not diplomats!

I didn't realize that the water levels were that bad though :( My relatives, true to form, have brushed it off. Fair enough, because it's not like I can send a Canadian iceberg close to Manila, you know? But still, I hope it gets better soon. I remember those blackouts hitting on the really hot days before - fun, broiling times for all!

[afuna]

I keep hearing about things on the news -- it hasn't really hit me except for the occasional blackout, and increased utility rates, but I've been trying to be nicer about how much I use... I don't know, even *g*

Life is life! Summer is hot though. (Gn)

[ursamajor]

Yipes, I didn't realize you were living with blackouts on a regular basis. Things I learn! Is it just specific to internet, or is it more widespread like electricity? If multiple utilities, do they all try to coordinate when things are down for specific neigborhoods?

Also, you know my answer for what you can do during said blackouts if they're internet blackouts, but I'm predictable ;)

[afuna]

Not regular! Just scheduled, and just for these couple of weeks. It's the electricity that's going down actually, but that takes down my router along with it *G*

(And hmmmm. Cook? Eat filipino food? *G*)

[markmanching]

Same in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. Rotating Brownouts it's Doomed their Business

MECO/Veco (in Cebu).. darn, just watched the News on TV, Radio, and Print

[afuna]

Ouch, yeah :-( I happened to pass by El Pueblo in Ortigas during a brownout. Very dead, even though it was peak dinner time.