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Gas-Powered Lawn Equipment Will Soon Be Banned In Cali, a broad category that includes generators.

Dude there is like 20 stickers of stick figure people cautioning not to run the generator in the babies room. I'm sorry but these are all operator error. If the generator was at a safe distance and the interlock properly installed all failures would be safe.

Like how I said proper and not permitted/inspected? Because a sheet metal interlock cover on the main breaker to feed the panel is 100% legal and safe but me backfeeding the panel with the main open is deadly, illegal, and starts an internet war. Yet they literally are the same thing and the first provides just as much potential failure as the second if the main breaker has a stuck contact.

Death is terrible but laws of stupidity dont care. If I had a dollar for every generator installed improperly, too close to a structure, or literally inside well I wouldn't have to work for a week then. It's not the generators fault.

Portables are not governed by the same code so nothing prevents some idiot from firing up the gennie and running it their garage.

I feel bad for California because a Bluetti isn't going to do much as a standby power system unless you are running just a fridge. You can't even begin to compare automatic home standby generator and a Bluetti as far as capability.

I'll also state that all the new equipment have cats, a good chunk of them are fuel injected, they all have charcoal canisters to trap evaporative emissions, and the fuel cans as we all know suck. So where is all the pollution coming from?
Volcanos!!! They need to legislate volcano emission standards.
 
Despite its sometimes unfathomable attitudes, California's actions led to meaningful clean air standards, which among other things, caused the nation to increase mpg and decrease tailpipe emissions - to everyone's benefit.
I suspect a similar outcome may occur because of its integration of electric vehicles, renewable energy, distributed transmission and off-peak storage.
Whether we live to see it is another question altogether.
Almost everything "Governor Moonbeam" (Jerry Brown) predicted decades ago has come about - and we are still early in the tale of Climate Change meets the Population Bomb on the Road to Disinformation.
It was market pressure from the oil embargo and import cars in the early '70's that drove mpg improvements. Nothing that California did had anything to do with it. Government mandates rarely have desired outcomes.
 
It was market pressure from the oil embargo and import cars in the early '70's that drove mpg improvements. Nothing that California did had anything to do with it. Government mandates rarely have desired outcomes.
CA had already started with evaporative emission controls implemented in 1970. My Mustang had this equipment and it was only in the CA version.
The CA draconian mandates for reducing emissions have made a world of improvement. If not we would be looking similar to Beijing at this point. We were getting close in the early 1970s. I remember grade school I could not always see across the playground due to smog that burned the lungs to breathe.
 
Nope. Not me. My rates have not changed at all.
Everyone who was on a normal fixed rate plan, did not have the bill go up.
Well I learned something. Evidently only 25-30% are on the variable plan.

"She said most people do not choose a variable-rate plan. Instead, she said, "they get chosen for it."

That's because if a customer doesn't actively renew their fixed-rate contract — or switch to a new provider at the end of that contract — they are often automatically placed on a variable-rate plan, Bridges said. That means some Texans may not even know their prices aren’t locked in."


A lot of larger businesses and customers got hit big-time though, not from the rates so much but from the non-negotiable 'line loss' charges. Lots of government entities got hit with 2000% increases, or more.

 
It was market pressure from the oil embargo and import cars in the early '70's that drove mpg improvements. Nothing that California did had anything to do with it. Government mandates rarely have desired outcomes.
Two different things. MPG improvements can be had without all the smog equipment on cars. Emission standard not related to MPG.
That said, they are linked from a regulatory standpoint with carbon credits and all that mess.
 
A lot of larger businesses and customers got hit big-time though, not from the rates so much but from the non-negotiable 'line loss' charges. Lots of government entities got hit with 2000% increases, or more.

A lot of people and businesses loose money from pretty much every other natural disaster (insured or not).

Many if not most of those people never had to pay the bills they got. Griddy Energy was the biggest culprit, and those bills were forgiven in a bankruptcy settlement.
 
Many if not most of those people never had to pay the bills they got. Griddy Energy was the biggest culprit, and those bills were forgiven in a bankruptcy settlement.
24,000 customers. Good for them, but...

Denton borrowed $140 million. Georgetown, just north of Austin, borrowed $48 million to cover the cost of providing electricity to its residents during the storm. Ratepayers will have to cover that, as well as a projected $5 million in interest and costs over the term of the loan.
Garland siphoned millions from its rainy-day account. Weatherford, a small city outside of Fort Worth, drew down $13.7 million.
The small city of Hearne borrowed $1.9 million to cover costs incurred by its publicly owned electric utility company. Ratepayers will pay off the debt over the next 10 years, said City Manager John Naron.
Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, the state’s largest and oldest member-owned electric company, declared bankruptcy after racking up about $2 billion in charges when its generators failed.
Still, analysts projected the taxpayer tab would come to roughly between $7 and $9 billion. Yet that doesn’t include numerous other hidden costs.
The University of Texas-Southwestern’s gas bill ballooned nearly 20-fold, from less than $400,000 in January, to about $7.1 million in February.
Corpus Christi will borrow $35 million to cover extraordinary storm expenses owed by its citizen-owned gas utility. City ratepayers will cover it.
CPS Energy, the San Antonio public utility company that is the state’s largest, racked up nearly $700 million in extra natural gas charges. It is suing its suppliers for price gouging. In the meantime, the company has hinted that local ratepayers may have to cover the tab over the next 25 years.
New Braunfels, a mid-sized Central Texas city, needed a $100 million loan to cover the costs of keeping the lights and heat on for its residents. ..... Ratepayers will repay it over time through small rate hikes, she said.
Kerrville will borrow about $25 million, said Mike Wittler, general manager for the city’s public utility company. He said the city would most likely sell bonds to raise the money, with ratepayers repaying it over the next few years.
I mean, that article just keeps going and going. Hundreds of millions of dollars being paid by citizens through increased rates. This is in addition to the people on a variable plan w/ a 3rd party. I'm very glad your rates weren't impacted, but that doesn't mean a whole lot of Texans aren't being hurt.
 
About all the above are bonds and bills to pay for the storm expenses. Equipment repairs, emergency generators, and massive overtime cost money. The company has a rainy-day fund (good job Garland), or they it gets charged to the customers. I don't see an issue with most of the above.

Same thing if you get into a car accident. Your insurance rates go up after. You do end up paying for the repairs, it's just over the long term.

Early this year, I had 2 weeks of very cold weather. I have never seen it that cold, that long before. I burned thought $100 in propane for the generator and heating in 2 weeks. That is normally what I spend for a years worth. Same thing, just on a smaller scale.
 
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I mean, that article just keeps going and going. Hundreds of millions of dollars being paid by citizens through increased rates.

<yawn>

Just as an example, IF CPS customers have to foot the bill, it will come to less than $3 per month per customer.

BTW, do you actually live in Texas?
 
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<yawn>

Just as an example, IF CPS customers have to foot the bill, it will come to less than $3 per month per customer.

BTW, do you actually live in Texas?

To add a little content to that, my little (corrupt) town in CA, took out a bond 10 years ago to expand the court house/police station and add a gym for the officers. The bond came due and the public really found out the details. Cost to add the gym, 7 million. For 30 officers. They added a charge to everyone's water bill of $6 a month to pay off the bond.
 
Volcanos!!! They need to legislate volcano emission standards.
Yes, EPA will add DEF tanks to each volcano amd a large dumpster to store all the used containers.

Yeah I would guess that emissions from shipping container vessels and high concentration of supporting equipment like tractor trailers are probably way worse then weed wackers...

Lets not forget thay as we tighten our belts many other countries with access to cleaner technologies choose not to use them.

BTW, car companies had vehicles capable of 40+ mpg back in the 80's and 90's. Vehicles struggle to maintain this figure as everything becomes larger and heavier.
 
my little town in CA, took out a bond 10 years ago to expand the court house/police station and add a gym for the officers. Cost to add the gym, 7 million. For 30 officers. They added a charge to everyone's water bill of $6 a month to pay off the bond.

30 officers for a “little town?!” By California standards then your ‘town’ is 1.2 million people and those people will recover the bond and then some in two months. Then they can move on to the leaf blower ordinances.
 
30 officers for a “little town?!” By California standards then your ‘town’ is 1.2 million people and those people will recover the bond and then some in two months. Then they can move on to the leaf blower ordinances.
30,000 people. So 3.2 years to pay it back. But the town has been shrinking and cost city cost have been going up, so ya.
 
Two different things. MPG improvements can be had without all the smog equipment on cars. Emission standard not related to MPG.
That said, they are linked from a regulatory standpoint with carbon credits and all that mess.
California has continued to press for higher fleet mpg standards. And electric vehicle adoption. And solar/renewables integration. It ain't perfect, but what is? Best not to confuse progress with perfection. The future is an omelette, not an egg.
 
California has continued to press for higher fleet mpg standards. And electric vehicle adoption. And solar/renewables integration. It ain't perfect, but what is? Best not to confuse progress with perfection. The future is an omelette, not an egg.

So a Prius doesn't have a complicated catalytic converter?

So diesel vehicles are injecting fuel into the exhaust to burn particulates dropping fuel economy?

So in the 80's manufacturers weren't just running the carbs rich and using air injection to burn it off in the cat?

Sorry but MPG and emissions are related for sure. Not exclusive but related dude.
 
So a Prius doesn't have a complicated catalytic converter?

So diesel vehicles are injecting fuel into the exhaust to burn particulates dropping fuel economy?

So in the 80's manufacturers weren't just running the carbs rich and using air injection to burn it off in the cat?

Sorry but MPG and emissions are related for sure. Not exclusive but related dude.

Touché

But I don't think the 80's cars were running rich to improve emissions. Air injection and cat did improve emission.
No particular harm to gas mileage so far as I know. Both carbs and mechanical fuel injection did this.

With O2 sensor and electronic injection, we got closed-loop mixture control.
 
Best not to confuse progress with perfection.
Probably better stated: best not to confuse policy with progress. I’m totally supportive of reducing emissions, I’m totally against stupidity in the process. As an outside observer, California looks myopic and gets explained and implemented like a still-half-drunk college student doing meth to make it through their early class.
No particular harm to gas mileage so far as I know. Both carbs and mechanical fuel injection did this.
So why did my 1973? AMC Concord get 26 mpg (with a 258 I6) on the highway but so many vehicles were ‘cleaner’ by 1985 and had no power and struggled to make good gas mileage? My dog 1985? Chevrolet Citation four cylinder was a similar car with half the horsepower and less gas mileage.
Yes, it’s 2021 and we’ve figured it out, but the foibles were real. Just like ethanol in gas: less BTUs per gallon = less mpg but they say how green it is. Right.
 
Probably better stated: best not to confuse policy with progress. I’m totally supportive of reducing emissions, I’m totally against stupidity in the process. As an outside observer, California looks myopic and gets explained and implemented like a still-half-drunk college student doing meth to make it through their early class.

So why did my 1973? AMC Concord get 26 mpg (with a 258 I6) on the highway but so many vehicles were ‘cleaner’ by 1985 and had no power and struggled to make good gas mileage? My dog 1985? Chevrolet Citation four cylinder was a similar car with half the horsepower and less gas mileage.
Yes, it’s 2021 and we’ve figured it out, but the foibles were real. Just like ethanol in gas: less BTUs per gallon = less mpg but they say how green it is. Right.
Keep this HUGE factor in mind when comparing the fuel economy of cars from the 70’s to today…

55MPH…

Yup… my 87Astro van got an amazing 27MPG when I drove it all the time… my replacement 2000 Astro van couldn’t get over 16MPG… better injection, better computer didn’t overcome the 70MPH average speed I can now drive… air resistance on a barn door is much higher above 60MPH… so, a 70’s car getting 28MPG… likely would struggle hard to top 15MPG with today’s fuels and speeds… we don’t have lead lubricants in the fuel any more, we don’t have high octane premium anymore… and yet, modern computer controlled cars are more efficient more powerful and more clean air exhausted…

None of that tech could be in a small engine device… too expensive for a 1000$ device…

This is a solar diy forum, sure, it will suck when ICE devices aren’t available for backup power… but, that just means the small generators will disappear… home backup systems will still exist, they will be larger, and more expensive… sure, but better built, and longer lasting I bet…

Anybody using a generac home backup system? They likely won’t pass in CA, and generac will either quit making them, or improve up to Koehler, or Honda standards…

I bet the Honda line of portable generators improves their exhaust output to keep selling in CA…
 
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