Why a total Eskom blackout in South Africa should scare the hell out of you

[ArtyLoop]

So you're a clone?

Nope, commented it using my profile on DISQUS.. can't seem to login to it lately. Will fix it later

 

[Lord Farquart]

Such a bull**** article by local idiots quoting idiots. Doomsday and nothing else. First of all, one Power Station can be used to start another, where power is needed. Secondly, when **** hits the fan, you can disconnect the Units from the grid( Not entirely sure that high demand would trip the units) If it can happen, then you disconnect one unit of a Sixpack and let the others trip, leaving you with power and heat to get the others going again.

Also, you have a window from trip to up again where you need nothing. It is called a "hot start" Added to that, each PS have what you call a Donkey Boiler, the one that was used to start that specific PS in the first place, and can be used in emergencies to recover from a total blackout. None of these measures will take weks, but mere hours. There was one incident years ago that took out multiple Power Stations, which is close to doomsday, but if you cant remember that, it means the measures I described here works. You experienced it as a power dip.

So many ****ing holes in that story it is not even funny. Sorry RPM, but your kids should sometimesconsult real experts, so people like me, that have been there, can not rip the facts to shreds. And I bet you there are others here that are more"expert". Talk to engineers, not beancounters when you want the real facts.

 

[Lord Farquart]

Oh, and some Power Stations also have gas turbines for emergency power in case of emergency. Takes a few minutes to have it up and running. Wonder why none of this was mentioned in the article?

 

[Peon]

Lord Farquart on a RAMPAGE!!!!

 

[HavocXphere]

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The 2 week estimate is from Eskom itself.

Not entirely sure that high demand would trip the units) If it can happen

Pretty sure it's not only possible, but the core issue at hand. Supply/demand mismatch = frequency drop = cascading failure = everything goes down = islanding

Very different from re-connecting a station to an already energised grid.

e.g. In the US it took 4 days to recover from such an event - and that was with the help of neighboring grids, which SA doesn't have.

Oh, and some Power Stations also have gas turbines for emergency power in case of emergency. Takes a few minutes to have it up and running. Wonder why none of this was mentioned in the article?

They refer to diesel turbines for blackstart in the article.

 

[RedViking]

Keep a look out for Generator sales and articles in the coming weeks.

 

[Lord Farquart]

Pretty sure it's not only possible, but the core issue at hand. Supply/demand mismatch = frequency drop = cascading failure = everything goes down = islanding

Which is not in control of a single PS, but managed by Simmerpan. Like I said, you must be pretty daft to get to that point. SOP will dictate how you prevent a total blackout, and the only way you get there is by not following the SOP. At the momnent the SOP id loadshedding.

Funny how these events follw the mothballing of Power Stations. Was not long ago that Hendrina etc came out of mothball status, and if I remember correctly, those stations were put back in mothball status, and now we have loadshedding.

They refer to diesel turbines for blackstart in the article.

Nope, this article refers to small generators. This article skimmed over the facts to paint a gloomy picture. As for your link, please quote the relevant section pertaining to this. Aint nobody got time for 75 pages.

I still maintain that this article was only a doomsday painting and none of the facts were given.