On 8 Sep 2004 19:01:04 GMT, "G.T. Tyson" wrote:

ane the fault of the power company? My uncle is
down there right now helping FPL to reassemble your local electric grid
because it was largely trashed by Frances. He's a lineman here in NC
who volunteered to join the thousands of linemen and technicians from
other states who rushed in to assist FPL in this time of crisis. Those
guys have a tough and often risky job but they're busting their butts to
get it done. Are you doing anything to assist other than whining about
it in a newsgroup?

Well, if the utilities down there put the wires underground, they wouldn't
have problems with the trees ripping them down. Of course, that is also the
case here in North Carolina, where ice storms cause millions of outages,
lasting weeks at a time. (Remember two years ago?) -- I had no power, heat
etc for several days. Parts of the city were without for 2 weeks.

After just a few days people get grumpy. Then gain, if they are smart, they
buy a generator big enough to handle their house, and stay warm/cool/whatever
when the rest of the neighborhood is dark.