2024 Hurricane Season thread of DOOM

SydneyCarton · July 18

4 minutes ago, Js1 said:

I obviously don't follow Grizzy because I'm not 77 with a Facebook, but I know she's been on top of shit in Houston. She gets reposted on Reddit often.

It's a good follow. I don't consider myself "in the hood" by any stretch, but she curates stuff from everyone, often ahead of the cops, and she's been point on getting several violent criminals arrested. She does good fucking work.

Okie State · July 18

Grizzy always gets the scoop.

Storm the Field · July 18

Now that almost everyone has power back, I notice that Houston is still dealing with Beryl hangover. Traffic has been worse than ever the last few days and I'm not talking about highways. I think it's a combination of several lights still being out and shipping delays. Seen more 18-wheelers on city streets than ever before. I was heading back towards my house yesterday morning and the line of traffic waiting at the light at Yale and 610 was backed up all the way north the railroad tracks at 34th. Over 50% or more were freight vehicles. You would have had to sit through 6-7 light cycles to get through.

Nice Guy Eddie · July 18

22 hours ago, tokamak said:

Centerpoint was woefully unprepared and disorganized, and trying to claim otherwise is absurd. They spend way less on tree trimming than neighboring utilities. Their infrastructure is visibly decrepit. If there have been any significant efforts to trim trees and harden infrastructure over the last few years, I certainly haven't witnessed it.

It might be minimal effort but there was partial 2022 Centerpoint updates in the Oak Forest neighborhood and north on Pinemont with extremely tall and tough electrical poles.

https://www.theleadernews.com/community/centerpoint-updating-utility-poles-to-meet-energy-demand/article_02ca7d6c-d14d-11ec-b27a-9bc638c67c96.html

Quote

CenterPoint Energy spokesperson Alejandra Diaz confirmed the poles are part of a project that is swapping the existing wooden poles for the steel ones and replacing the wiring with what she described as “newer, high-strength conductor.” The wire is strung through three pulley devices at the top of each pole.

This is on a residential street (Oak Forest Dr) of homes upwards of $1m in value, and many residents hated them based on the looks. Some of the streets near these poles were up running with power very quickly last week. I believe the power is delivered to each house with traditional poles and lines.

Quote

“It is atrocious,” reader [name redacted] wrote in a Facebook message to The Leader. “I haven’t found one person who was made aware of the work prior to it starting. Seems like the community and our elected leaders should have played a role in the process.”

This is the attitude when the city or Centerpoint want to improve. The woman quoted here would have fought against this change and prefer the traditional power delivery model. It's also very possible that this program didn't expand due to complaints to politicians. I imagine the pendulum will swing so that any tree within 10 feet of a line will be cut back, and homeowners will scream.

SydneyCarton · July 18

51 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

It might be minimal effort but there was partial 2022 Centerpoint updates in the Oak Forest neighborhood and north on Pinemont with extremely tall and tough electrical poles.

https://www.theleadernews.com/community/centerpoint-updating-utility-poles-to-meet-energy-demand/article_02ca7d6c-d14d-11ec-b27a-9bc638c67c96.html

This is on a residential street (Oak Forest Dr) of homes upwards of $1m in value, and many residents hated them based on the looks. Some of the streets near these poles were up running with power very quickly last week. I believe the power is delivered to each house with traditional poles and lines.

This is the attitude when the city or Centerpoint want to improve. The woman quoted here would have fought against this change and prefer the traditional power delivery model. It's also very possible that this program didn't expand due to complaints to politicians. I imagine the pendulum will swing so that any tree within 10 feet of a line will be cut back, and homeowners will scream.

And yet most of Oak Forest was still the last to recieve power.

Bert Orange · July 18

53 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

It might be minimal effort but there was partial 2022 Centerpoint updates in the Oak Forest neighborhood and north on Pinemont with extremely tall and tough electrical poles.

https://www.theleadernews.com/community/centerpoint-updating-utility-poles-to-meet-energy-demand/article_02ca7d6c-d14d-11ec-b27a-9bc638c67c96.html

This is on a residential street (Oak Forest Dr) of homes upwards of $1m in value, and many residents hated them based on the looks. Some of the streets near these poles were up running with power very quickly last week. I believe the power is delivered to each house with traditional poles and lines.

This is the attitude when the city or Centerpoint want to improve. The woman quoted here would have fought against this change and prefer the traditional power delivery model. It's also very possible that this program didn't expand due to complaints to politicians. I imagine the pendulum will swing so that any tree within 10 feet of a line will be cut back, and homeowners will scream.

Because God forbid they bury the fuckers.

Nice Guy Eddie · July 18

22 minutes ago, Bert Orange said:

Because God forbid they bury the fuckers.

Tax payers and electricity customers are not going to pay to bury the lines. And we know Austin isn't going to fund it.

23 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

And yet most of Oak Forest was still the last to receive power.

I'm guessing that most of Oak Forest still has pre-existing lines and the new poles/lines cannot protect lines downstream.

Edited July 18 by Nice Guy Eddie

SydneyCarton · July 18

10 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Tax payers and electricity customers are not going to pay to bury the lines. And we know Austin isn't going to fund it.

I'm guessing that most of Oak Forest still has pre-existing lines and the new poles/lines cannot protect lines downstream.

Why would Austin fund repairs that take place within Centerpoint footprint? Was this just a reference to them funding statewide education?

You're probably right, and that's my point: What good are centerpoint upgrades if they literally don't do any fucking good becuase they ignore the rest of it? Thanks for the billion dollars spent on those poles and those people on that one street.

Hate · July 18

5 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Why would Austin fund repairs that take place within Centerpoint footprint? Was this just a reference to them funding statewide education?

You're probably right, and that's my point: What good are centerpoint upgrades if they literally don't do any fucking good becuase they ignore the rest of it? Thanks for the billion dollars spent on those poles and those people on that one street.

I think he meant Austin as the center of state government.

SydneyCarton · July 18

15 minutes ago, Hate said:

I think he meant Austin as the center of state government.

The only funding involving Centerpoint and state government is the money they pay politicians and lobbyists to get their interests covered. Centerpoint, or the taxpayers, pay for everything in this footprint. And in this case, what is paid for is stock dividends.

Brisketexan · July 18

40 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Centerpoint, or the taxpayers, pay for everything in this footprint. And in this case, what is paid for is stock dividends.

Everyone needs to understand the truth of this, especially the bolded part.

1) Electric utilities in Texas, with limited exceptions, exist and operate not to deliver electricity, but to deliver money so executives and shareholders....and to Texas politicians.

2) That is by design, completely on purpose, and absolutely as intended by the state leaders you continuously, without fail, vote for. They fuck you over, hard....and you "punish them" by....re-electing them by a landslide.

Why in the hell would they change what they are doing? Not only are there no consequences for it, there is massive approval for it (as evidenced by vote totals).

We have the system we've asked for. And we're getting it. Good and hard, with no lube.

Bert Orange · July 18

3 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Tax payers and electricity customers are not going to pay to bury the lines. And we know Austin isn't going to fund it.

I'm guessing that most of Oak Forest still has pre-existing lines and the new poles/lines cannot protect lines downstream.

Did you poll them Tuesday? Vote would be unanimous.

By Friday they could have gotten gold buried lines passed.

Bert Orange · July 18

I know the industry. Everything is rate base pass through cost on any and all capex. But if folks want to complain about power outages vs 3 cents more per kwhr, let them make the choice.

twosheds · July 19

I think he meant Austin as the center of state government.

Austin might try to pay for it, but the legislation will be worded so that all Texas counties are eligible but only cities, with populations over 750,000 that the Colorado River flows through, are eligible for reimbursement.

royiv · July 19

Got my Centerpoint bill in the mail today. Good to see their billing system wasn’t impacted by the power outage.

Steel Shank · July 19

34 minutes ago, royiv said:

Got my Centerpoint bill in the mail today. Good to see their billing system wasn’t impacted by the power outage.

cold blooded

Dahobbs · July 19

1 hour ago, twosheds said:

Austin might try to pay for it, but the legislation will be worded so that all Texas counties are eligible but only cities, with populations over 750,000 that the Colorado River flows through, are eligible for reimbursement.

Are you kidding? If it anything, the law would be the exact opposite. The legislature hates Austin.

atomheartbevo · July 19

10 hours ago, Storm the Field said:

Traffic has been worse than ever the last few days and I'm not talking about highways. I think it's a combination of several lights still being out

atomheartbevo · July 19

12 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

in your kids lifetimes, the Vegans and the Meats will be at war, with each side perfecting ever better fire-hardened wooden spearpoints.

It will only be until one side finds the Shopping Channel Knife Show warehouse that the arms race will finally tilt to one side - and slavery is reintroduced..

That’s why people need to make sure their kids can handle the taste of human flesh now rather than waiting decades to find out that they can’t, and also it’s not just knives in those warehouses

tokamak · July 19

A piece of that tip just got me O'Dell

Nice Guy Eddie · July 19

SIAP. While people want to say how Ike was stronger than Beryl, the official wind reports don't back that up, at least in the north side of Houston. Hobby experienced stronger winds with Ike.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2024/hurricane-beryl-compare-data/

SydneyCarton · July 19

24 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

SIAP. While people want to say how Ike was stronger than Beryl, the official wind reports don't back that up, at least in the north side of Houston. Hobby experienced stronger winds with Ike.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2024/hurricane-beryl-compare-data/

Ike was stronger than Beryl, as a storm. Ike tracker east of Houston and we got the clean side, while Berly we got the nasty side for the entirety.

Nice Guy Eddie · July 19

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

Ike was stronger than Beryl, as a storm. Ike tracker east of Houston and we got the clean side, while Berly we got the nasty side for the entirety.

Yes Ike was stronger for fewer people. Some really nasty winds offshore.

Hate · July 19

There is no way the the highest wind gusts for Ike were only between 40-50 mph in The Woodlands and the first chart seems to indicate. The damage is The Woodlands and surrounding areas from Ike were much greater than Beryl.

TOR · July 19

This is like comparing which hot chick gave you more STDs. They both did.

The real problem is development IN the Addicks reservoir and why county judges and real estate developers are not hanged on sight.

Guess what happens when you try to take a terrain view of Addicks Reservoir.

texasdago · July 19

14 hours ago, Dahobbs said:

Are you kidding? If it anything, the law would be the exact opposite. The legislature hates Austin.

Its hilarious to think that someone thinks the lege would do anything to help the city of Austin, right? Seriously.

TOR · July 19

Remember that time a hurricane hit Austin?

texasdago · July 19

30 minutes ago, TOR said:

Remember that time a hurricane hit Austin?

I'm just talking in general. Legislators, especially rural ones, and Hot Wheels want to do anything that does not help the city.

As for hurricanes, can we have some hurricane rain, please?

TOR · July 19

38 minutes ago, texasdago said:

I'm just talking in general. Legislators, especially rural ones, and Hot Wheels want to do anything that does not help the city.

As for hurricanes, can we have some hurricane rain, please?

Those nutcases arrested Perry. Granted, he is a corrupt POS, but THAT IS NOT WITHIN THEIR POWER. Why would anyone at the state level want to fund Travis County beyond their budget? To get their mugshot pimped nationally?

Anyway, Ike or Beryl, Houston got punched in the nose and kicked in the balls both times. The response to Ike was relatively good. The response to Beryl is a shitshow.

texasdago · July 19

15 minutes ago, TOR said:

Those nutcases arrested Perry. Granted, he is a corrupt POS, but THAT IS NOT WITHIN THEIR POWER. Why would anyone at the state level want to fund Travis County beyond their budget? To get their mugshot pimped nationally?

Anyway, Ike or Beryl, Houston got punched in the nose and kicked in the balls both times. The response to Ike was relatively good. The response to Beryl is a shitshow.

Who wants us to be funded beyond our budget? WTF are you talking about? If anything its the opposite.

House Bill (HB) 714 and a corresponding constitutional amendment, filed by state Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), would nominally eliminate the City of Austin government and establish the District of Austin in its place.

“Elected officials in Austin have failed their city,” Patterson said on Twitter about his bill. “Record high taxes and crime are pushing folks out of the city, and their San Francisco wannabe policies force the state to come over the top on legislation each session.”

He added that the idea is “to give the elected representatives of the State of Texas an opportunity to better manage a Capitol District, reduce taxes, enforce our laws, and defend Texas values.”

If passed, the law would abolish Austin as a standalone city and make it a capital district sort of like Washington, D.C. as of January 1, 2024.

Look, I used to live in Houston... the state consistently screws over Houston... but the state consistently screws over blue cities... well, they really screw over everyone.

The majority of Texas voters, courtesy of the most trusted news source ever!

atomheartbevo · July 19

2 hours ago, TOR said:

Remember that time a hurricane hit Austin?

I’ve seen what feels like more tree-trimming trucks than usual around Austin lately.

Brisketexan · July 19

I presume we're making that our new state flag?

Mez2 · July 20

On 7/18/2024 at 8:41 PM, royiv said:

Got my Centerpoint bill in the mail today. Good to see their billing system wasn’t impacted by the power outage.

Stealing this

billfromlaketravis · July 20

Well work sent an email/text stating WFH or we’re going to give you temporary “landing space” next week.

They’re still “removing” the water via dehumidifiers and fans on many floors at my office. This shit is no joke, the dehumidifiers empty into 55 gallon trash cans and many were half full at last check.

The Woodlands folks are going to stamp their feet, but we really need a new building/central campus that can at least handle a flash flood.

billfromlaketravis · July 20

On 7/18/2024 at 12:27 PM, Nice Guy Eddie said:

It might be minimal effort but there was partial 2022 Centerpoint updates in the Oak Forest neighborhood and north on Pinemont with extremely tall and tough electrical poles.

https://www.theleadernews.com/community/centerpoint-updating-utility-poles-to-meet-energy-demand/article_02ca7d6c-d14d-11ec-b27a-9bc638c67c96.html

This is on a residential street (Oak Forest Dr) of homes upwards of $1m in value, and many residents hated them based on the looks. Some of the streets near these poles were up running with power very quickly last week. I believe the power is delivered to each house with traditional poles and lines.

This is the attitude when the city or Centerpoint want to improve. The woman quoted here would have fought against this change and prefer the traditional power delivery model. It's also very possible that this program didn't expand due to complaints to politicians. I imagine the pendulum will swing so that any tree within 10 feet of a line will be cut back, and homeowners will scream.

Montrose residents went nuts when Centerpoint put in new ugly power line poles. Do they want electricity or a mild eyesore that they’ll look at once and forget?

fattyflattie · July 20

2 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Montrose residents went nuts when Centerpoint put in new ugly power line poles. Do they want electricity or a mild eyesore that they’ll look at once and forget?

They want whatever allows them to bitch. And whine, and complain.

royiv · July 20

6 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Montrose residents went nuts when Centerpoint put in new ugly power line poles. Do they want electricity or a mild eyesore that they’ll look at once and forget?

I’m not complaining. Didn’t lose power for more than 30 seconds during the storm. Suck it, bitches.

billfromlaketravis · July 20

3 minutes ago, royiv said:

I’m not complaining. Didn’t lose power for more than 30 seconds during the storm. Suck it, bitches.

I think my neighborhood got gridded. Centerpoint has replaced everything since 2020. Zero linemen in the hood until today.

royiv · July 20

6 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I think my neighborhood got gridded. Centerpoint has replaced everything since 2020. Zero linemen in the hood until today.

Those big ole ugly power polls kept us nice and comfy over here in Montrose. Before those big ole ugly power polls got installed we didn’t have power for 78 hours during the 2021 freeze.

Captainant · July 20

https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/centerpoint-bill-hurricane-beryl/285-9ae6118f-51f6-40b4-bd75-a9d8894cff11

"As a matter of public policy, we don’t want them going broke. Who’s going to take it over?" Hirs said. "And so we allow them a rate of return."

Hirs said it’s a profit negotiated with state regulators and historically that rate of return has hovered around 10% on capital investments, such as new wires and poles and other equipment needed for the transmission and distribution of electricity.

But Hirs said what is not as profitable for electric utilities are the costs of routine maintenance.

"If I spend $1 on prevention, tree maintenance, cutting the trees down, I make two or three cents," Hirs said. "But if I spent $100 on disaster recovery, I'm going to make a significantly much greater profit. Therefore, we (utilities) kind of wait for disaster to strike."

After disaster strikes, utilities go through a regulatory process with the Public Utility Commission of Texas to try to recoup storm recovery costs (including a rate of return) by passing them along to customers’ monthly bills.

In past disasters, such as Hurricane Ike, the monthly increases could go on for years.

"So the customer may end up paying $1, $2, $3 (per month), it depends on how much CenterPoint decides this cleanup cost will be," said Sandra Haverlah, President of the Texas Consumer Association.

While CenterPoint has yet to officially tally up the cost for the derecho in May and Hurricane Beryl, the credit rating agency Fitch Ratings estimates it could likely climb north of $1 billion.

"So every single time a storm comes now, CenterPoint turns around and says, 'OK, customers, here's another $2 on the bill,'" Haverlah said. "And we're starting to question when does that become too much?"

Haverlah said it’s even more important to question given that CenterPoint, a for-profit, investor-owned utility, is under scrutiny for mishandling the response to Hurricane Beryl.

WBT · July 21

On 7/19/2024 at 1:04 PM, TOR said:

The response to Ike was relatively good. The response to Beryl is a shitshow.

In what way was the response to Ike better?

HouTex · July 21

1 hour ago, WBT said:

In what way was the response to Ike better?

My question as well. I was without power for 10 days after Ike, six days after the derecho and two days after Beryl. It depends on your location, vegetation density and the nesting issue. I do agree that CP’s PR after Beryl was awful.

huge · July 21

Friend of mine was renting a house on Banks just S of 59 during Ike. No power for 27 days.

I think some people have forgotten just how nasty Ike was.

Hate · July 21

I was out for 15 days after Ike. Ike sucked.

FartingMonk · July 21

I think there is some Harvey hubris too. We all said oh wow. Look at awesome we are helping each other. I remember saying it back then. We got lucky we didn't lose power because we would be acting a bit different. Beryl showed it us how much it sucks to lose power and have it be 105 degrees for the week.

tx 3 putt · July 22

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

UTexasFight · July 22

10 hours ago, Hate said:

I was out for 15 days after Ike. Ike sucked.

F selig

Captainant · July 22

8 hours ago, TOR said:

Unpossible. I was told global warming was going to kill us all.

https://www.noaa.gov/explainers/what-s-difference-between-climate-and-weather

ConferenceRoom · July 22

48 minutes ago, Captainant said:

https://www.noaa.gov/explainers/what-s-difference-between-climate-and-weather

I'm sure you've seen the snowball on the floor of the Oklahoma congress? Checkmate.

TOR · July 22

This is about right.

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