Random Thoughts.....

awheelterd said:
I'm pretty sure they will spontaneously combust if they work past 4pm local time or on the weekend.
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Or if you hand them an Imperial tool. Its like an allergy,
 
RatLabGuy said:
LOL listen to you guys being all for things that are provided by their socialized state.
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Negative. I support the utility company that I pay putting it underground. More than one way to skin a cat.
 
JSJJ388 said:
Negative. I support the utility company that I pay putting it underground. More than one way to skin a cat.
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So you're willing to pay much higher rates up front now for that?
That was one of the options I posed.
 
RatLabGuy said:
So you're willing to pay much higher rates up front now for that?
That was one of the options I posed.
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I would indeed be willing to pay a bit higher rate for a better (more reliable) product. Internet and cable is already underground around here. Wouldn't pay double, but if it was 5-10% I'd be on board.
 
JSJJ388 said:
I would indeed be willing to pay a bit higher rate for a better (more reliable) product. Internet and cable is already underground around here. Wouldn't pay double, but if it was 5-10% I'd be on board.
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Duke looked into it about three years ago. The average Duke energy customer would see their power bill increase four fold for 15-20 years to be cost neutral.

Then you get into the conversation of HV transmission underground…
 
JSJJ388 said:
I would indeed be willing to pay a bit higher rate for a better (more reliable) product. Internet and cable is already underground around here. Wouldn't pay double, but if it was 5-10% I'd be on board.
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@Ron beat me to it.
This isn't a small percentage increase. It costs many billions to do this kind of infrastructure. Hell our rates are going up 10% just bc they're running new overground lines in from other states.

So where does the money come from?
You can do it at the private (ish) utility level so its spread evenly based on consumption and harder on lower level consumers, or at the state level so its spread across some other factor like income tax, property tax, whatever. Pick a poison.

Or you jusy bitch about the follies of overground power distrobution while enjoying more money in your pocket.
 
awheelterd said:
Yup. Underground wire is way more expensive than overhead. Nevermind the cost to install. Also, most utilities are publicly owned and no one wants to forego dividends for X yrs to cover that cost. Id be curious to see what the 30yr cost of ownership would be though for the utility for the upfront cost of undergrounding X area vs repair cost.
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This is the reason there is alot overhead. Working in the utility world, the cost to place aerial cable vs buried is 1:10 or less, not including materials. Most new construction is all underground now.

Alot of the damage/repair gets covered by insurance, and if not, that is Opex vs Capex.
 
Those that are pushing for us to stay in Ukraine are also the the ones who wanted us out of Afghanistan.
Those people that are yelling about peace for Palestine are also the ones who justify 20,000 rocket and mortars fired into Israels cities and population centers as a complaint against a "blockade" since 2005.
Those fighting DOGE are also the one with their fingers in the gov't cookie jar.
 
RatLabGuy said:
@Ron beat me to it.
This isn't a small percentage increase. It costs many billions to do this kind of infrastructure. Hell our rates are going up 10% just bc they're running new overground lines in from other states.

So where does the money come from?
You can do it at the private (ish) utility level so its spread evenly based on consumption and harder on lower level consumers, or at the state level so its spread across some other factor like income tax, property tax, whatever. Pick a poison.

Or you jusy bitch about the follies of overground power distrobution while enjoying more money in your pocket.
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Rates are going up because they can. 'Regulators' jump back and forth from government to private to line their pockets and keep the kickback train rolling. Not because they have to spend a few of the billions in 'profit' to run new lines. Running lines and maintaining them is their job. Where is all the extra money that is coming in, by the hundreds of millions, from the millions of new residents going?
 
Not really a thought more a random I'm getting old times have changed sorta something.

A fella I've been working around quite a bit lately is of the younger twenty something generation. I made a comment about some topic that led to sharing about sitting and reading encyclopedias as a kid. He didn't know what topics they covered or what they basically were.

I laughed at first. Then I wasn't surprised. Mostly sort of disappointed and actually felt bad for young people. Well read people of all topics large and small is a thing of the past.
 
HV underground isn't terrible. Concrete duct banks are pretty easy to install. All of the power feeds coming up from the substations for CLT light rail is underground.

I wish Duke would put the 4-5 poles in our backyard underground. They have been out 5x in the last 1.5 years to repair lines caused by falling trees. Cost would be less than 20k for that with a drill.

Boring through rock is doable but gets $$$ real quick. Railheads can cost anywhere from 15k to 45k and those are 2014 prices.
 
WARRIORWELDING said:
Well read people of all topics large and small is a thing of the past.
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Not universally true. The difference is you're not limited to what you can physically get your hands on in one place. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
I know a lot of teenagers and college age kids that read tons, its just bouncing from one web-based article to a different one. E.g. everything online now. Easier to go all over the place.

A big difference though is that they gotta want to be doing it. Back in ye olde days when we were kiddos you'd get sucked into reading encyclopedias bc there was nothing else to capture your attention.
 
skyhighZJ said:
Why can’t we as a country put our utilities underground. Spent a bit in Germany and their power and such are underground. Occasional termination or junctions are above ground but that’s it. How much do we waste on poles. How many accidents could be avoided if there were no poles above ground to crash into. Wind, ice, snow. If it’s subterranean it would be no issue. Hurricanes, tornados and the like can’t topple critical power infrastructure if they can’t blow them down??
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just be glad they didn't put sewer lines over head too
 
RatLabGuy said:
Not universally true. The difference is you're not limited to what you can physically get your hands on in one place. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
I know a lot of teenagers and college age kids that read tons, its just bouncing from one web-based article to a different one. E.g. everything online now. Easier to go all over the place.

A big difference though is that they gotta want to be doing it. Back in ye olde days when we were kiddos you'd get sucked into reading encyclopedias bc there was nothing else to capture your attention.
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I think much of the general idea you presented is also the problem. No starting point, and a limitless wealth of vetted and unvetted information provided to someone who can't tell the difference. I'm not saying things need to be censored, but what I am saying is those of us that grew up in the "encyclopedia era" had a good baseline before we were thrown out to the internet so we were blessed with a level of discernment that "kids these days" don't have.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I think much of the general idea you presented is also the problem. No starting point, and a limitless wealth of vetted and unvetted information provided to someone who can't tell the difference. I'm not saying things need to be censored, but what I am saying is those of us that grew up in the "encyclopedia era" had a good baseline before we were thrown out to the internet so we were blessed with a level of discernment that "kids these days" don't have.
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Yeah are they reading knowledge or propaganda or garbage mind numbing filler.
My wife actually taught in her English class courses on discerning topics based on this regard toward modern information. I cannot remember what it was titled but I thought it was highly necessary. It was geared toward research I believe but it's honestly a new life skill everyone of all ages really needs to have and exercise almost daily if not by the minute.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I think much of the general idea you presented is also the problem. No starting point, and a limitless wealth of vetted and unvetted information provided to someone who can't tell the difference. I'm not saying things need to be censored, but what I am saying is those of us that grew up in the "encyclopedia era" had a good baseline before we were thrown out to the internet so we were blessed with a level of discernment that "kids these days" don't have.
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Yes, but.....

The idiots I see spreading the most misinformation, at least on social media, are from the encyclopedia era.
 
awheelterd said:
Yes, but.....

The idiots I see spreading the most misinformation, at least on social media, are from the encyclopedia era.
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Where it's in print, on paper, to last several lifetimes as opposed to being online googlefoo where it can be change by a keystroke to serve someone's agenda.
 
kaiser715 said:
"If you die with money left over, it essentially represents potentially years you spent working for free, as it’s wealth you never got to use."
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"They say he died penny-less... I say that's perfect timing"
 


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