Just sickening. "Emergency Manager" in Detroit caused blackout during heatwave to teach a lesson....

[etherealtruth]

169. We in the area are used to this with the Detoit Lighting Department

It is an antiquated system. The shut downs in 2011 (a much hotter summer than 2013) were more frequent and immediate.

Certainly, it would have been best if elevators had been cleared. I was in the Coleman Young Municipal Building and had just cleared security ... I had not even made it to the bank of elevators when the power went off. Sadly, the powers that be (keep in mind the Coleman Young Building is the City of Detroit Municipal Offices) appeared to know immediately what had happened.

The "teaching a lesson" remarks did make the news ... it was in the context of "when we say you have to power down you have to power down NOW" ... "We will not allow the system to 'fry' when you don't" Most in the region know the Detroit Lighting Department is archaic in infrastructure and technology. They had to call in the regional electric utility to help them fix the problems enough to get back on-line

There were relatively few instances of anything other than inconvenience.

Admittedly I would have been enraged if trapped in an elevator ... but, should (parts of) the distribution system be allowed to be destroyed because of it? Had this never happened before there may be some question ... it had not happened this summer because we had a very mild summer. We had several 90+ degree days after Labor Day (our unofficial end to summer and summer vacations)

The main point is VERY FEW Detroiters were impacted.

There are many, many BAD things being done to the city by Gov Snyder's henchman Orr ... this just isn't one of them

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?11286-City-of-Detroit-Dept-of-Public-Lighting-Blackout-today

Here are some issues:

September 09. 2011 1:00AM
Power failures prompt outrage

Residents losing patience with aging system's problems

Mike Wilkinson, Darren A. Nichols and Jennifer Chambers/ The Detroit News

Detroit— After power failures Thursday zapped the Detroit Public Schools and shuttered the Detroit Institute of Arts and the main branch of the Detroit Public Library, simmering anger resurfaced toward the city's public lighting system amid fears it is on the brink of collapse.

Separate incidents contributed to Thursday's woes, as a power pole snapped in west Detroit, closing four schools, and a substation malfunction near Midtown took out electricity to public buildings in that area, including dozens of schools. That prompted DPS to close the remainder of its 130 buildings early on just the third day of the new school year.

...

"You know when you get a good rain it may go out," said Shawn Crump, a business representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 58, which represents about 25 electricians in the Detroit Public Lighting Department.

"Really, there's a need for infrastructure repairs. Anything short of that is a Band-Aid. Nothing can be fixed short of infrastructure upgrades and putting (in) enough people to maintain the system."

Keep in mind this is from 2011