Dolly does damage to Texas grid
AEP lines accounted for most of the 28 lines the Texas grid operator said were out of service recently in the Rio Grande Valley.
Two 345-kilovolt lines belonging to AEP were shut in Cameron County, said spokesman Larry Jones, along with a dozen 138-kv lines and eight 69-kv lines, most serving South Padre Island and Harlingen.
Jones said it was too soon to determine whether the storm damaged transmission tower structures or simply knocked lines out of service. High wind from the remnants of the storm prevented aerial inspection of the lines early July 24.
Across the storm-damaged area, four 345-kv lines were shut after the storm, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
ERCOT said the lack of transmission posed no reliability problems.
However, the agency issued an emergency notice for the Brownsville area, saying 50,000 more customers could lose power if the remaining transmission line serving the area shut.
AEP said the number of customers without power fell to 155,500, down from more than 200,000 earlier in the day, according to a company website.
Related News
Geothermal Power Plant In Hawaii Nearing Dangerous Meltdown?
HAWAII - If lava reaches Hawaii’s PGV geothermal power plant, it could release of deadly hydrogen sulfide gas. That’s the latest potential danger from the Kilauea volcanic eruption in Hawaii. Residents now fear that lava flow will trigger a meltdown at the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) power plant that would release even more toxic gases into the air.
Nobody knows what will happen if lava engulfs the PGV because magma has never engulfed a geothermal power plant, Reuters reported. A geothermal power plant uses steam and gas heated by lava deep in the earth to run turbines that make electricity.
The PGV…
