The electrical problem that Venezuela is currently experiencing is a difficult situation to explain to those who have not personally experienced all the stages of Hugo Chávez’s government from 1998 until today.
Nevertheless, I will try to summarize the most important aspects that have led us to this collapse, which is only a reflection of the profound economic, political, and social crisis.
The Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant was inaugurated in 1978. This plant has progressively become the main source of electricity for the entire country and part of the border with Brazil.
In 2007, given the increases in the population and the little-planned projects for the construction of free housing, both in the capital and in the interior of the country, specialized engineers suggested that President Hugo Chávez expand the complex as well as acquire thermoelectric plants that would alleviate the load on the hydroelectric dam.
Evidently, none of this was done, and thus began the rationing of electricity since 2010 in the interior of the country and since this year in several areas of Caracas.
Related: 9 Mind Bending Effects of a Grid Collapsing EMP
The Beginning
Electricity rationing schedules have been the norm throughout the country since 2010. This rationing has been intermittent, with some months being stricter than others, but it has been maintained over the years.
In Caracas, the capital and the city where I live, electricity rationing was talked about as a distant issue. It really wasn’t something that affected us. But from 2013 onward, a series of voltage variations began threatening to damage all the electric equipment in the house.
The sudden power surges that have occurred since then have forced me to buy voltage regulators for all the electrical appliances in my house, especially the refrigerator and air conditioning. In fact, one of those changes burned my air conditioning regulator.
Fortunately, this time only a few light bulbs were burned, and I did not suffer any loss of important equipment. But a nearby bakery suffered a voltage surge of such magnitude that it caused irreparable damage to two freezers. This situation is being experienced throughout Venezuela and is now part of everyday life here.
I am a surgeon at the most important hospital in Caracas, and I can attest to the damage we have suffered since 2013.
The voltage failures have not only damaged almost the entire light system inside the hospital, counting the emergency lights, but also clinical equipment such as blood freezers, centrifuges, and air conditioners in the operating room area.
In spite of this, we still try to work with relative normality, but I never imagined that the situation would worsen as much as it has.
Related: 7 Terrifying Realities Of Long-Term Blackouts (That You’ve Probably Never Considered)
Electric Collapse
In January 2019 some journalists announced that the water level of the dam that supplies the hydroelectric plant was very low and that it would not be able to supply and maintain the country’s electricity demand when taking into account the number of buildings, schools, and health centers that the government has built without the advice and planning of trained professionals.
In March of this year, there was a collapse for which no one was prepared. We suffered a national blackout that lasted three days throughout the country, extending to five in some areas of Caracas and some states of the interior.
During the blackout, the perishable food was lost; many food businesses, stores, supermarkets, and restaurants gave away their inputs.
Fortunately, I have a gas-powered kitchen at home, but in my mother’s case, her kitchen is electric, and her area was one of those affected for five days without electricity. The neighbors created a WhatsApp group to help themselves with this type of inconvenience.
Those who had gas stoves opened their doors to those who could not cook, and these, in turn, helped with other types of shortages.
The second major problem was water supply failures. In some places, it took more than a week for the water to be re-established.
Particularly, I had to live five days without a drop of water, which forced me to go to the houses of friends who have water tanks or deep well systems to bathe and wash clothes.One of the voltage changes burned the water pump that supplies the hospital where I work. Therefore for more than six months, this supply was not available. It has just been restored (but only up to the seventh floor). 
In addition, only one functional elevator was left. The motors of the remaining nine elevators were burned out in different power surges.
In Caracas, the electricity supply was restored, although voltage variations continue and are frequent. But in the interior of the country, rationing lasts from 5 to 12 hours.
From that moment, I had concerns that I never had before. I must make sure that the cell phones are always charged and that there is no lack of candles, matches, batteries for the flashlight, and non-perishable food. Also, I always try to have some cash.
The new situation has led to unusual purchases of power generators to meet basic needs. Those who can’t afford one must take basic steps to avoid the knocks of lack of electricity.
My aunt, who lives in the hottest state of the country, where temperatures reach 107°F all year, has had a rationing schedule from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. every day since March.
She is a diabetic and, along with some neighbors, bought a little electric generator to supply the refrigerator because insulin must stay cold. Unfortunately, the power of the generator is only enough for this purpose and to light some light bulbs. The heat at night is still unbearable.
Like her, many continue to live in this situation that does not seem to have a way out in the short term.
I believe that if something positive can be drawn from those dark days, it was the union and solidarity that I observed between friends and neighbors who were willing to help at all times.
The situation that seemed unsustainable has taken the grim pace of normality. The government no longer talks about the country’s electricity problem. Like many other problems, it has become an issue in the daily lives of the citizens.
You may also like:
No Gas, No Electricity… How To Cook Indoors Without Smoke
You Will Not Survive An EMP Strike Without This (Video)
I Lived In A Post-SHTF World For 3 Years, And This Is What I Learned
How To Heat Your Home Without Electricity
How to Tell in 5 Minutes If It’s a Power Outage or an EMP and Get a Massive Head Start
America’s bleak future if Americans keep voting in socialist and communist politicians. Thankyou for sharing
Gotta go back to teaching responsibility… there’s no free lunch. Kids don’t know how to earn and own, just how to want and take. And the progressive movement plays into that. Wealth is made by earning, not printed. Gov’t money, phones, housing, food banks…. gee what else does anyone need 🙁 I’m all for Hand-up’s, but not Hand-out’s…..
PB- dave,
I would agree; but, Pocahontas has given up on printing and now just wants to steal it from the rich. Billionaires should give back a little, since the companies and thousands of jobs they create don’t count to that envious fake Native American.
I would agree; but, if you hand them up and they no longer need your help, they may vote for the other side, and we can’t have that, can we? LOL
Boy do I agree. How dare she speak for the F#$%$ middle class, working class or poor. The corporations know best and they need to continue their rule. America will never be a Socialist country…. we’re too F%^%$$ selfish and love to see American children die from malnutrition. If they need food then they can get a job letting the rapist lovers, aka Republican elite, rape them. It’s the American way after all they appointed a child sexual predator as president.
You just proved you are a slave and stupid. Socialism never works.
WOW!!! Such Bitterness!!!!
Some day, when you’re ready, you’ll realize what conservatism is, and what socialism/communism causes. But first you have to separate emotion from your decision making processes.
And FYI: Many republicans are horrid to. The difference is, conservatives can recognize this. But all leftists think all demoncrats are good, and this is a shining example of group-think.
Brent,
There’s actually an easy way to discern this in both yourself and others.
When you state or hear someone else state an opinion do you say you ”think” or ”feel” or ”believe”? Anything but thinking is pure folly and can lead to disaster.
Not only that. Liberals think conservatives are ”evil” while conservatives only think liberals to be ignorant or stupid when for the most part they are just greedy people with low self esteem who have trouble with rejection.
Have we learned nothing from history? Lumping whole groups of people into “good” or “bad” is ignorant. And it’s a matter of opinion. We are all entitled to our opinions. We need to stand united and stop tearing each other down with rude, ignorant, inaccurate slander.
Blattgirl,
I wholeheartedly agree if we are talking about immutable aspects of people over which they have no control. The shade of your skin, your height, your hair or eye color, or ethnic background is a horrible way to judge someone; but, when talking about leftists, especially politicians, these people have made a choice to take over your life and run it for you, charging you of course for the privilege and your loss of freedoms and condemning them is an opinion that I am also entitled to have.
Once again I agree; but, if you can actually look Warren or Sanders, straight in the eye and think that they want to unite anything except your money in their pocket or your freedoms under their control, then you need to pay close attention to what they have been saying.
The same also applies to Steyer and Bloomberg, billionaires who know better than we simple folk.
You are missing my point entirely. You are entitled to your opinion of any candidate you choose. You are not entitled to lump all Democrats into an extremist group as if all Democrats share the same opinion on every topic. Terms like “baby killers” are offensive. You can’t possibly be correct in assuming that all Democrats are baby killers. And to think that someone wants to destroy our nation because they want to impeach the president is idiotic. Other presidents have been impeached. Did everyone involved want to destroy our nation? No! Quite the opposite…they wanted to maintain the honor of our country by not allowing people of poor character to run our country. Some of us care about morality, ethics and character, while others want to divide our country with generalizations meant to provoke anger.
Blattgirl,
Since you used no attribution I’m not sure who this was meant for; but, I’ll respond.
I don’t lump all people together except for those with disagreeable or anti freedom policies. I also find the term “baby killers” offensive; but, if you think that policy is OK, then you have earned that label.
No; but, for both Nixon and Clinton, the process was transparent and only began when real crimes like perjury, had been committed. Dems like Adam Schiff were calling for impeachment in mid November 2016, 2 months before Trump was even sworn in to office. They thought HRC would carry Obama’s socialist legacy and were dumbfounded that we in the “Basket of deplorables” would shun their heir apparent, so they have to correct our mistake.
So can you tell us what ethics or morality has been violated? What was said that was meant to provoke anger? Please be specific, since you obviously don’t like generalizations.
As for poor character and lack of morality, do you remember Bill Clinton, with his cigar and the blue dress?
How about him hanging out with Epstein on his island?
How about Obama telling us we could keep our doctors and save $2500.00 on the worst health care plan I had in all my nearly 70 years. The only time he told the truth was when he slipped up talking with Joe the Plumber about how he would spread the wealth. That’s something I consider theft; but, perhaps you do not.
Blattgirl: Vote for one dem, you vote for all dems, good, bad and just plain ugly. the news media says nothing until forced to about any dem. How many innocent people burned alive in Waco? How many Tarahumara were starved to death in a planned famine? How many kids in Penna, many preteens, were kidnapped off the streets, often by police, and dem judges sold them. How many Nazis were released after the war? How many went to other nations, including the US, to continue the war, and the dems ignored it. dnc/kkk=nazi party usa is historical fact. People are telling us, mind your back because the Hunger Games are closing in. niio
So you’re saying that you would stand behind the abortionists and baby killers and allow children to die in the streets, to continue to get what you want for nothing.
How many American children have died from malnutrition in the past 3 years? Stats and sources, please. As far as sexual predator presidents go, are you talking about Clinton or Trump? There’s circumstantial evidence against Clinton, nothing against Trump.
Trump, nothing but lies about him. Coke-Nose Bill Clinton, he has a son by a cousin he raped and left bite marks on. How many women were on the run because they were terrified of him? An old, stale joke is why does billy love Thailand? He likes Bangkok. Ask some of the 56 ‘friends’ of the Clinton who conveniently committed suicide about that. He was raised in Hot Springs, AK, a place that used to rival the Black Hole of Kali-fornia for evil. niio
MikeyW,
Do you mean Clinton & Prince Andrew hanging out with their bff, pedophile Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction?
But, but, but, but, they didn’t know. LOL
Stupid Slave. Wrong. You are a stupid slave and you just proved it with your ignorance laced rant. Fortunately for the real world pesticides will take care of parasites like you.
Er, hm! About some we know, yes, but we also come here to learn, to express thoughts. YOU ARE A TEACHER. Teach, bust stone, have fun but be like an uncle. Encourage, not destroy. You’re a great, but too much like I used to be. Are you sure you’re not a coal miner from Penna? 🙂
Red,
Hey now!!!
One of my best teachers of esoteric rural things was my late uncle Blair who worked for Bethlehem mines in western PA.
He handled explosives and kept a case of dynamite in an outbuilding on his farm. First time I really got to play with big fireworks was with him.
One lesson I’ll never forget was a discussion and demonstration of spontaneous combustion that as an 8-10 year old kid I thought was mythology. One day walking around the farm he picked up a spud bar and nonchalantly stuck it into a large compost pile. We went off and did other things and as we were heading into the house later for food, he stopped and told me he forgot about that bar and asked me to go and get it. I dutifully ran over, grabbed it, and pulled it out of the pile; but, immediately dropped it, since it was burning my hands. Lesson taught and lesson learned with no words even being spoken.
Yeah, every man in the family has Uncle Blair’s sense of humor 🙂 The family worked mostly mines in Luzerne county. For lunch, they took fried ham fat sandwiches with plenty of mustard, and a few bottles of home brew. One grandfather walked 5 miles down to the Susquehanna River to catch a ride to the Wannamaker mine. Corn only pays by the jug, but they ran cattle and hogs in the brush, as well.
I know the heat of compost. We had horses and loaded manure each spring by hand onto the spreader. While it didn’t smell like roses, it boiled with steam. Dad housed the brood sows next to it and it kept them warm all winter. Cattle got to stay in the brush and hay fields all winter, but for three dairy cows. Come spring, before they farrowed, the sows went up on the mountain with the beeves. Like good liberals, they all sold themselves for a handful of food. 🙂 the turkeys, as well. Uncle Blair was a good teacher. niio
Supports the infrastructure need in the US. Population growth and the ever increasing phony alternate energy sources must be addressed. This is real whereas global warming is a hoax. Alternate energy is very unstable and makes our national power grid the same. We MUST always have enough main line energy to support ALL of the USA. We need hydro, gas, nuclear which are all very sustainable.
This is bullshit, Chavez got screwed by our demon worshipping government, he turned the country around financially and many other ways, look into it, MORE LIES FROM OUR DEMON WORSHIPPING MEDIA
Then why don’t you move there if you think Chavez is so great?
Was this article mistitled? The article was supposed to be about the biggest mistakes you could make in a blackout. Was there even a single mistake mentioned?!
He said his mother had no power to run air conditioner…I’ve found that with a fan, I don’t need an air conditioner!!!!
Depends on humidity. Fans move air but they technically create heat as well.
WonderWheeler,
No matter what the humidity, moving air aill cool to some degree. It’s just basic physics.
by ” technically create heat, do you mean friction from the bearings or the little bit from the motor? In either case this is really nitpicky.
Well a box fan puts out about 110 watts at full power. So that is the extra heat going into the room from the motor. Of course a person gives off about 500 watts so its not a huge deal.
If the room temperature is higher than your body temperature its not going to cool you much at all. And if its say 115 or so degrees F its going to end up heating you even if the humidity is not high. Its basic residential heating and cooling. I have certainly seen temperatures that high outside but never indoors except maybe in an attic.
WonderWheeler,
Actually the fan motor ”uses” 110 watts, or in the case of the ones I have, about 95; but, these motors run @ about 80% efficiency, so the actual heat output is in the 20 watt range of the inefficiency with the other 80 watts used for motor magnetic operation that produces little significant heat.
I had to look this one up and it’s in the 100-120 watt range and still not all that significant.
You make a good point; but, it’s not basic residential heating and cooling, but more like being inside a convection oven.
This of course depends on where you live. Here I nOhio that is certainly true; but, areas like AZ where “it’s a dry heat” could possibly get that hot, which IMHO is a good reason not to live there. Those who do no doubt have learned to cope.
It’s really not about Chavez Venezuela is simply a beta test for other counties that will follow a harbinger for the U.S. as well as others
Prepare and create allies/friends
So much bitterness towards each other infighting….shame
Yet then again it’s part of the plan
“divide and conquer”
Part of the global take down/implosion
HE BECAME SMIE AUTHORITARIAN AND HYPER POPULIST. HE DID SOME GOOD THINGS FOR SURE. BUT AS WITH ALL THINGS SOCIALIST AND GIVING AWAY OTHER PEOPLES MONEY, OIL PRICES COLLAPSED AND THERE WAS NO LONGER ENOUGH OF OTHER PEOPLES MONEY TO GIVE AWAY. WHICH IS WHERE THEY ARE TODAY BUT WAY WORSE OFF.
Socialists never understand that eventually you “run out of other peoples money” It runs dry!!! then all hell comes upon all the people!!!!!
Consco you go on talking about Chavez. But he died in 2013. Since then, the former BUS DRIVER, Muduro has been President. Much of the chaos has been in the last six years. My family and I lived there from 1976-1978. I had my third child in Caracas At that time it was the richest country is South America. We lost power only once in the 2 years living there. We lived on the 14th floor and had to climb the stairs, in the dark, with 3 tired children. Also during 1977 the water pumping station had an accident and for weeks we had water turned on 3 times a day for 10 minutes. I spent the time running water, flushing toilets and taking a shower. I learned to keep a bucket in the shower to wash off soap and shampoo. Living there I truly came to appreciate the United States even more than before. We take water and electricity as resources we will always have, but we need to look to Venezuela as a blueprint if we elect a socialist.
Good post. 3rd world nation status: Kali-fornia, South under the DNC, New England, Mexico, and so on, all once places of wealth and health and a good life before neolibs took over and wiped it all out for fun and profit. niio
I don’t know if the US Government had anything to do with the failure of the Venezuela Government, but the fact Venezuela sided with Socialist communist policies says something. You say its all bull shit and that I should look into it. This is your argument , Prove it. With that being said, this forum is to help you get prepared for any disaster that may come our way. It’s not to vent political opinions. The Good Dr. is telling us what is going on from his/her point of view and I appreciate the insight..
Any idea how many socialist Communists we have in the Senate???
Please explain how he turned the country around financially. As I understand it, Venezuela went from a country with sound economic policies and a stable currency to a country with whacko economic policies and a currency that is just slightly more valuable than toilet paper. He nationalized the oil industry and as a result oil companies that were actually producing income for the country pulled out of operating their facilities in Venezuela with the resultant drop in foreign exchange. Before you do something like that it seems to me that prudence dictates that you have a replacement plan in place before you pull the plug. Or did Chavez really think that the international oil companies would stand still for having their property seized? Sounds like Chavez raised when he had a two, four and seven showing all in different suits and the oil companies were holding a full house with three aces showing.
I don’t know who this lady is and if she is actually who and what she represents, just as I don’t know who you are and whether you are actually sane or not. I have to base my judgment on what is presented to me here in this forum as I don’t have the means to independently investigate either the author of this article or you, but based on the two posts, my gut feeling is that I place significantly more credence in her matter of fact recitation of circumstances than your slightly hysterical post.
left coast chuck,
I find it interesting that you mention the value of their money in terms of toilet paper, since that’s another commodity that has been reported in very short supply.
OtOH, if you don’t have food, you can’t poop and don’t really need the TP.
DJR,
Let me guess, you’re also a Bernie supporter and definitly not a student of history if you think Chavez got screwed by us. He took one of the richest countries in South America, plundered and trashed it. The oil revenues alone could have made every citizen middle class and educated.
DJR. If stupid caused pain you would need a permanent IV pumping fentanyl into your worthless carcass.
Yes, Doctor–thank you sharing your plight, observations, and experiences.
Let the young people and FED GOV “free-loaders” here in America see and hear this all. But, they will not ‘cuz of normalcy bias. The party will go on forever–until it doesn’t.
Every morning I’m on my prayer bones thanking the Good Lord we still have what we have, all through His mercy and grace.
Although your information is interesting, I am not sure it apples to America. Your country suffered for over 20 years under this system. Nothing was done to prevent it or fix it.
We are having some major blackouts in California, but they have a plan underway to fix it and even so, people are upset and will not let this get any worse or there will be trouble.
We in America, do not just put up with stuff like this, that is the difference.
I am reminded of the Overton window where things just gradually change and we accept them as the new normal. There are forces at work that just keep pushing and pushing the change. That is what happened to the Jewish people during Nazi times and suddenly you have ghettos and Kristalnacht. I am very concerned when people like Bloomberg says banning big sodas is not a ban, just portion control and Pelosi actually puts in writing that it is a weak response to allow the people to decide if Trump remains president. The fact that someone would actually propose that it is okay to take away 2% of a family’s wealth each year should be astonishing. Did you know that in the countries where they have a wealth tax the government uses Google Earth to look for things like cars that maybe someone didn’t declare? We in America are putting up with stuff like this on a daily basis. What does a bad regime do? They take control of the media then take away your guns. Sorry to carry on. You all know this better than I, but have been thinking lately of how less free we are as a people than we were when I was a girl.
Govtgirl,
I find it interesting that someone should mention, the Overton window or the window of discourse, since It’s something I’ve been aware of an watching for a long time and is in truth how most societal changes happen, especially when aided by mass production and technology.
Gays and some minorities once were targets of abuse; but, now at least have the same rights we all have, as it should be. This happened slowly as attitudes changed but, I think what you are pointing out is the forced coercion of political correctness being pushed on us by our want to be overlords and their MSM lackeys.
He’s also spent millions on his ”Everytown for Gun Safety”; but, will not be giving up his security detail.
Like many people of wealth, he seems to look down on the people that actually make this country work.
And then there is Congressman Al Green who said: ”We have to impeach him, otherwise he’s going to win the election.”
These people are devoid of ideas and when HRC called Trump supporters the basket of deplorables, they agreed at least silently.
How dare a mere plumber (remember Joes interaction with Obama?) have an opinion contrary to that of an Ivy League educated elitist?
But that’s only for the very wealthy that obviously don’t deserve it, right?
One needs only to remember the words of Maggie Thatcher, when she mentioned socialism and running out of other people’s money.
Of course the person proposing this 2% wealth tax has been a fraud most of her life, using cultural theft to get spots unavailable to the normal, honest masses.
Yep & even with HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) laws, we could eventually have them looking at medical & dental records. I have a pacemaker, worth quite a lot I suspect and a few gold teeth still in my mouth that could also be assessed as part of my wealth. Never mind the fact that most of our wealth was accumulated with after tax money, and in some cases, like real estate, are taxed on a yearly basis already.
Self important want to be overlords like Pocahontas will never have enough of our money, that they see as rightfully theirs, except for the bit they let us keep.
No need to be sorry. But remember that here we still have that pesky 2nd amendment and a host of lawful firearm owners, who will not accept being made into criminals at the stroke of some self important politicians pen.
They will have to physically ” take away” many of those firearms, and I don’t see that happening without another civil war.
It never hurts to be reminded and know others have your same thoughts.
And BTW, I assume you are still a ”girl”, just a bit more mature. LOL
You’re joking right… the country is failing hard right now. Your going to see a economic collaspe here. Structures and roads are crumbling because we are paying for illegals and welfare rats to not work .
Raven tactical,
Economic collaspe?
Perhaps where you live; but, the economy where I live is in good shape and all of the normal indicators don’t point to collapse or even recession.
Infrastructure like roads & bridges here are in good shape or being repaired and I wish I owned the company with the Orange Barrel concession, since they must be making a fortune with all of the construction going on.
There are no doubt regions of the country being run poorly; but, that’s most likely the outcome of voting in politicians who make empty promises and then continuing to reelect them when they perform poorly.
Just more proof that we often get the government we deserve.
You might need to put down fox news and actually see something that is so maga kool aid . Trump is out spending Obama and guess what happens when your 30bl trillion in debt. 60 percent of the country’s income will go to pay the interest alone. The jobs created are nothing great it’s all a temporary bubble because we can’t curb spending and adding regulations. Maybe one day we might try and get a constitutional backing leader but for now it’s the same anti gun bs and anti American
Raven tactical,
For economic news I prefer Zero Hedge (https://www.zerohedge.com); but, Fox business also has some good unbiased talent.
30bl trillion? The country is $22,000,000,000,000 in debt and while that is too much, we can hold more than the current administration to blame for most of it.
As for the jobs, it’s a regional thing with many companies in my area having trouble finding people. I’ve been retired now for 2 ½ years and turn down job offers at least a few times per month. Almost makes me want to get back into the rat race.
As for regulation, the Trump administration has been cutting them with a chainsaw. Perhaps you need a bit less MSNBC.
I think we have a pro American and pro people leader in the white house now; but, his big problem was underestimating the size of the swamp and the number of creatures there who don’t want it drained.
It must be a real drag to live in your pessimistic world with nothing to look forward to or celebrate.
To me the best part of prepping is to make the best of what you can achieve, regardless of the impediments in front of you.
Tactless RavenTrump is outspending Obama? LIE. No where near the 10 Trillion your little buddy Barokedik Huslsme Obunghole stole from the treasury. Get your head out of CNN and MSN,s ass for a while so you can see daylight. Air will be a bit fresher also, LIAR
And by the way, when you make it to the 5th grade you will take American History and you will be taught, but most likely not learn. That Congress has the power to spend. Come on back in 8-10 years when you graduate from high school,LIAR
“We in America, do not just put up with stuff like this, that is the difference.”
should read “In some areas of America” >>> instead of fighting the socialist crap happening on both US coasts – people are bailing from the uber uber socialism and transplanting their own less minor version – but still damaging – into the “fly over” mid states …
100% of CA’s power problems are from associated socialist programs >>> try cutting down a dead tree instead of worshiping and crying over it …
The PDRK has a plan? This is news to me!
Mic, you must be on the inside. I’ve lived here 50 years and follow what is happening in the state pretty closely and if the PDRK has a plan, you are among the few who know it.
Windmills and solar panels just don’t cut it. They are not cost effective means of producing the electrical power this country needs in order to maintain its lifestyle.
While they are touted as being environmentally neutral or friendly, they actually are not. Windmills have a significant impact on birds. Apparently they cannot figure out that the whirling blades are dangerous. Solar panels and their rare earth contents are produced in China and we all know how environmentally focused the Chinese are.
The most efficient producers of electrical power in continuous, sufficient form are fission nuclear power, hydro power (including geothermal) and hydrocarbon (including demon coal)
The greenies never mention the cost of manufacture in terms of environmental impact and environmental cost of installation and distribution in terms of environmental impact when they talk about how clean those sources are. They fail to mention the unreliability of the systems. Oh, oh, oh, I know, there are always batteries. What do you do with used up lithium-ion batteries? How about lead-acid? Recycle the components?
Talk to the folks in LA that live in proximity of a lead-acid battery recycling plant. Or is it okay as long as it is in a low income neighborhood, just not Palo Alto, huh?
The folks who own Teslas found out about reliability of electricity during this year’s fires when the two major power companies in the PDRK cut off juice. Big OOPS!
You can store a 5-gallon can or two of gasoline in your garden shed in case of an electrical turn-off and no gas pumping but you sure can’t store a spare, fully charged Tesla battery in your garden shed. I imaging sticking it in your dead Tesla might be a challenge too. I don’t know how hard it is to change the battery. I suspect without power equipment (you know, no juice to power the hydraulic lift) it takes four men and a boy to handle the battery in a Tesla.
Folks who had installed solar panels in anticipation of having juice during a blackout suddenly found out that they didn’t read the four point type on the back page of the sales brochure and the six point type in the sales contract. Their “tax deductible” solar panels don’t store electricity. They don’t generate enough to run the electrical appliances in the house. They just sell a trickle of juice at very cheap rates to the electric company. When the juice goes out their solar units don’t do them a bit of good without the batteries to store the juice and the converters to change it from DC to AC and the correct voltage. Many of them were significantly disappointed to find out that they should have bought gasoline or propane driven generators instead of getting the tax deduction for the solar panels.
Keeping your fingers crossed and whistling a happy tune is not a plan. Closing electricity generating plants along the coast because they mar the view and use hydrocarbons to gen the juice is not a viable plan either.
If you can’t tell the difference between the American state of California and North Korea, you are severely handicapped mentally. And maybe emotionally.
A classmate of mine was Cultural Attache from Venezuela. As soon as he was eligible to retire, he did and applied for U. S. citizenship under special application. Uncle Joe Biden who is also an alumnus of the same school sponsored that special application for U.S. citizenship. This was just shortly before the Venezuelan collapse. I guess he knew something the average Venezuelan didn’t know. He is now safely tucked away in the U.S. with citizenship for him and his family.
Smart guy
In fact, if you want, you can read his book free on Kindle:
From Watergate to Hugo Chavez, An ex diplomat’s memoirs Kindle Edition
by Gonzalo Palacios (Author)
I just learned of it and haven’t read it myself but inasmuch as it is free on Kindle, I am going to order it as soon as I post this.
Viva Nieve, thank you, we need to be warned about how so many top nations were dragged down to 3rd world status by the greed of power brokers. A lot of folks in agriculture are putting in windmills and solar, but it’s only a drop in the bucket, when the government is so eager to own us they happily let people die. niio
The story is an interesting perspective on a fallen regime and country and a classic demonstration of socialism; but, applying the lesson to the US is a bit of s stretch.
At 353841 mi² or about 553 acres, we have local farms here larger than that.
The US lower 48 is 3797000 mi² 5933 acres) and our power grid is distributed over an area 10 time larger
I know of no rationing going on in the US and none likely anytime soon.
In my opinion, a gas-powered kitchen as well as other appliances is smart, more efficient, and less prone to interruptions. We use gas (propane) for heating (with or without electric power), cooking, heating hot water, and running the whole house generator. While this does not make us completely immune to a SHTF upheaval, it does insulate us rather well, with firewiid as a final backup.
I find this kind of thing common during emergencies; but, building these relationships before you need them when you can assess skills and assign roles, can be a real lifesaver.
This is the classic definition of prepping.
And so is this.
The country collapsed because Chávez seized the banks, industry, medical field, education and made it all state run. Soon after their financial infrastructure collapsed one by one because the government didn’t know how to manage any of it which gave them one means of supporting their monstrosity of a failing system and that was oil. When oil prices plummeted so did their last means of income which funded all their wonderful socialist programs. All a sudden there was no money. And that is why Venezuela is a failure because dictators stole everything their good citizens had spent a lifetime building and just pissed it away. That is the truth about the country.
Wannabe,
Something that seems to be lost on the likes of Bernie & AOC, is the fact that, That is the truth about all socialist countries, anywhere and everywhere it’s been tried.
The fact that anyone would even consider such a system shows the ignorance of the masses and the arrogance of those pushing it.
Agreed
Wannabe: You forgot the biggest error — seizing the oil fields and POL producing plants. When that happened the folks who knew how to run them said, “We’re outta here.” It left Chavez attempting to fill rather technically sophisticated shoes with folks who were politically correct but who didn’t know Shinola about running oil fields and POL plants. That in connection with the collapse of oil prices put him out of the business as a major oil supplier to the world. Talk about shooting oneself in the foot!
The pols and the greenies are doing that here in this state. The oil business used to be a source of good paying jobs and support to the many small businesses that go along with the oilfield business. California, probably the biggest single user of POL products in the world outside of the U.S. federal government, as with electricity generating facilities, is doing everything it can to drive the oil production business out of the state. Presently it is a fraction of what it could be and the greenies in this state won’t be happy until we are importing every drop they burn in their SUVs from some other state. I fount that they will be happy with that event. It seems to me they are happiest being unhappy about something.
left coast chuck,
The sad and interesting thing about this move was it’s the same thing the Soviets did with their collective farms, assuming that soldiers with guns can somehow force crops to grow. All of the socialists seem to think that they can do it better than those before them, since they are so much smarter than those old socialists.
Anyone with half a brain or less ego would have of course seen this coming; but, socialism always seems to be predicated on an alternate view of reality, including the current spawn running for president.
What, everything hasn’t switched to electric yet?
Of course when it does, they’ll hopefully have a better source to charge their vehicles, than PG&E.
Also, I assume your reference to POL means petroleum products; but, I’m unfamiliar with the acronym.
Life must be pretty good if all you can do is complain about things others do to annoy you. An example of yet another 1st world problem.
Ohio: Perhaps our views of the significance of the direction the PDRK is taking differ.
When I consider the effects of single party rule and the top-down micromanagement of our individual lives, I think it should be of concern to the whole country.
California has officially, ten million more people than Texas. It has twice the population of Florida and significantly more population than New York. I didn’t stop to figure it exactly, but it may even be that it has more population than Florida and New York combined. I used the term officially because California politicians freely admit that there are far more folks living within the confines of the state than get counted by the census. They would REALLY LIKE to have all the folk living in the PDRK counted because that would give them more far left leaning representatives in the house and they could easily dominate that branch of the government to the detriment of the rest of the country. When the man from the government comes around to ask a bunch of questions, frequently folks whose status in this country is somewhat hazy seem never to be home.
Couple that with the fact that more than 50% of the population of the PDRK has strong leftist political ideation and that they don’t keep it in the state but have infected the surrounding states with their malignancy by migration. I think there is cause for considerable alarm not only by the unfortunate conservatives, who, by personal circumstance, are not able to flee the borders of that communist state, but by all conservatives residing within the boundaries of the United States. I think it is more than a mere personal annoyance. I think it is a severe challenge to the continuation of the Republic of these United States.
I don’t know the cure. In fact, what is happening is that conservatives are fleeing the state, thus enabling the autocratic socialists to gain even more control over the population. I envy them their ability to flee the state, but it bodes ill for the PDRK ever getting back on track.
left coast chuck,
While you make some good points about the population of the PDRK and the possibility of snagging more house members than other states, other states while losing a few will not lose them all, and no matter the population, all states will still get only 2 senators, a balance the founders put in place on purpose, for this very reason.
Also, considering the blatant disregard of federal laws in places like the PDRK and others on subjects from immigration to marihuana laws, they have already set the precedence for states like mine to ignore edicts they propose that go against our laws.
I know people often flee the PDRK to Texas and other free states and almost instinctually try to bring their leftist tendencies with them; but, I think you may underestimate the fight those in free states are capable of if push comes to shove.
What PDRK are you alluding to?
Are you talking North Korea, or you using some kind of code?
WonderWheeler,
No alluding, just calling it what many of its residents like Left Coast Chuck, call it.
The Peoples Democrapic Republic of Kalyfornia.
Yeah, LLC knows it too well. Kali-fornia, Kali because neolibs are many-armed, violent, cannibalistic and blood thirsty. they wear a chain of victim’s skulls around their waists, and tell us to be thankful for all they do for us. niio
Amen.
Little to no value in this article
Where was the list of “mistakes”?
I agree the title didn’t fit the article, but we all read articles with lists all the time. I felt the blow-by-blow was very valuable and hindsight provides the wisdom. For example, don’t let your Prepper status be common knowledge and don’t give out food. Perhaps it would be best not to even answer the door.
Yes, exactly. Call it a taste of Venezuela on the home front. niio
There is no such thing as a pure government. The US is not entirely a Democracy. Socialism, Communism, some level of Fascism and any other type of political association all play a part. It appears the most difficult thing is when to use more of one over the others. Once the correct balance and affect are achieved, it’s time to pull from another one for awhile. It”s a never-ending cycle.
Deb,
You are correct and it was never designed to be. The US is a Republic, utilizing democratically elected representatives.
A democracy is considered the tyranny of the majority with the comparison between a democracy and a republic demonstrated in a simple story:
A democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.
A republic may also be two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner; but, it is illegal to eat sheep and the sheep are armed.
I’m not quite sure what this even means; but, I think Winston Churchill hit the mark when he stated: ”No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms.”
OK, so what exactly are the “biggest mistakes you can make in a blackout”?…..I saw only that the gbmt was lacking the proper upkeep for the power grid….nothing else. Huge mistake, certainly, but not something WE can do anything about.
To use voltage regulators and gas powered stoves…..those aren’t mistakes. They are solutions.
Poorly written post, with almost nothing constructive about it. Better to have titled it “My experience in Venezuela when the power grid broke”