Off Grid Power For Homes

Mesa transformer fire: Power restored; cause unknown

A fire in a power substation in East Mesa has triggered a cascade of power failures Thursday that left about 150,000 homes and businesses without power on a hot summer afternoon.

Power was restored to all customers, SRP spokesman Scott Harelson said Friday morning. Recent customers in Mesa without being able to service was restored around 23:30 Thursday, he said.

SRP does not expect to apply for any of its customers to conserve electricity Friday, Harelson said.

Problems started Thursday by a fire in an electrical transformer. Though the fire was doused, the extra load placed on other stations led to failures throughout the afternoon. There is still no answer as to what caused the fire, Harelson said. There will be an investigation, but it could still be weeks until a cause is declared, he said.

Blackouts hit nearly every area of Mesa and Apache Junction at various times, forcing hospitals to use emergency generators and prompting companies to send thousands of workers home early.

Business took a hit as stores and theaters closed, and staffers at nursing homes worried about their most vulnerable residents as the Valley’s official high reached 105 degrees.

SRP officials estimated that 150,000 homes and businesses lost power at one time or another throughout the day. As of 10 p.m., there were still an estimated 22,500 customers without power.

City officials opened the Mesa Convention Center as an emergency shelter Thursday evening for anyone who needed to escape the heat.

Doug Noble, 84, a retired Maricopa County sheriff’s deputy, has heart trouble and grew concerned as the temperature reached 100 inside his east Mesa mobile home. He drove to the shelter for respite.

“I’m glad this place was here, and I’m glad they have cold water,” he said.

The fire started about 11:45 a.m. at the Thunderstone substation near Power Road and University Drive in Mesa, SRP’s Harelson said.

Spokesman Jeff Lane said that the transformers use a type of mineral oil for cooling and that the oil was likely what burned.SRP officials said they do not know what caused the fire, but Mesa Fire Chief Harry Beck said fire station are usually caused by an increase somewhere on the grid causing damage to the transformer.

Fire crews could not extinguish the fire for three hours or more because the power lines had to be stopped first, then grounded to remove static electricity, which can pose a threat to firefighters, Beck said.

Go Off Grid…Your Very Own Renewable Energy | Stardust Homes

There are legitimate reasons to go off grid. Anyone who lives in very rural or remote areas, knows to well about the advantages and disadvantages of going off grid. The costs of local utilities are so high, in most cases it is not a question of going green but rather a purely financial one. Whatever your reason for researching off grid power, your options have now turned green. Solar and/or wind energy are the only options available in this case. Your best bet is solar, unless the area you are looking into is a windy one. Even in that case, I still recommend that solar power be your main source of off grid energy.  Did you know that the small amount that hits your roof, greatly surpasses all the energy that is transported through the utility company electric wires? That is the reason many people who have  switched over to solar power, either go off grid, or sell back to the utility companies for a profit. It is for that reason, installation of a proper system can more than handle all your electricity needs.

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