In the post-9/11 world, American society has seen dramatic shifts. Some are large, like instability in the financial markets and stronger security measures at airports and border crossings. Others are less dramatic but changed longstanding traditions: The Super Bowl is now played in February and “God Bless America” is sung during the seventh inning stretch at baseball games.
The recent widespread and prolonged power outages caused by Tropical Storm Irene and an unusual October noreaster have added another destabilizing factor to the publics already changing consciousness.The volatility of the regions power grid affects everyone, although not uniformly. Coastal and eastern Connecticut were hit worse by Irene in August, while the central and northern parts of the state bore the brunt of the recent snowstorm. Schools were closed for an entire week both times, Halloween celebrations were postponed in many towns and people took showers at places like health clubs and emergency shelters, or at homes of neighbors that had power.Generator sales spiked because of Irene, and people who were still on the fence about buying one have probably signed a waiting list to make the purchase following last weekends noreaster. Wood and pellet stoves, which became “hot” commodities several years ago as energy prices spiked, will likely be popular this year as residents seek heat sources that dont require electricity.
POWER failures have brought out the best and worst in people, exposing concern for others as well as frustration, desperation, boredom and even criminal tendencies such as night-time break-ins. Just as Hurricane Katrina drew attention to pockets of Third-World poverty in our inner cities, is power volatility exposing the soft underbelly of society as a whole?Politicians are promising hearings and proposing various measures to prompt reform, but if this instability is the new normal, for the immediate future at least, is society ready to cope with the stressors that emerge when the power goes down? What changes will occur?For one thing, power, and who supplies it, will no longer be taken for granted.”People will start to question where they get their electricity from and whether or not they have options, and if they dont, why dont they?” said Lauren Sardi, a sociology professor at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.
EVEN though deregulation has allowed competition in the power generation market, the transmission system and lines, which failed during the storms, are still maintained by utilities such as Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating.”We have these other options but do we really?” Sardi asked. “I think thats frustrating to people. I think a lot of times people look to the government to help in situations like this and people find that the government is failing.”Connecticut House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, who was still without Friday morning, six days after the storm, proposed the state craft legislation similar to a Massachusetts law that requires utilities to restore 95 percent of power service within 72 hours. If its not restored then penalties – taken from profits that would have gone to shareholders – would be refunded to ratepayers.”We feel like that would put the pressure on the utilities to be better prepared. Right now, were finding that theyre not prepared,” said Donovan, who proposed the legislation with Rep. Vickie O. Nardello, D-Prospect, who is co-chairwoman of the Energy and Technology Committee.
via Is this the new norm? – MyRecordJournal.com: Connecticut News.
