Electric Co limited power - Page 4

>I am not a USanian so I do not know about your regulations.

> If you aren't a crook then you must be inquiring for somebody that is.

>>
>>> Did you notify the electric company you were not going to pay your
>>> bills?
>>
>> I take pride in paying off my balance in full every month, so your
>> question doesn't apply to me.
>>
>> I thought state utility regulations and consumer protection laws prohibit
>> partial or full termination of service without prior notice.
>>
>>
>>
>>>> ...and some people can mistakenly assume there is an electrical problem
>>>> that needs service if they're not aware of this little device
>>>> installation...
>>>>
>>>>> That's my point, unless you google it you wouldn't really know about
>>>>> it. At least the phone companies let you know when they are going to
>>>>> limit your service due to non-payment or whatever.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Google is your friend. A simple search will find what you need.
>>>>>> "electric service load limiter" gets over 1.9 million hits.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I think you will find most of the thousand electrical supply
>>>>>> companies has information on them. GE, Westinghouse, S&C, etc..
>>>>>> etc...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> GEEESH. There are common devices called "Limiters" that are used
>>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Based on some responses in a forum, and a couple here, it doesn't
>>>>>>> seem to be too common.
>>>>>>> Is this information provided in a policy guide or info pamphlet with
>>>>>>> your first statement?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> serious non-payment customers to limit their consumption to the
>>>>>>>> bare legal limits.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> This device is plugged into the meterbase and the meter is plugged
>>>>>>>> into the limiter base.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It does a couple of things.
>>>>>>>> - It provides enough power (with a breaker or fuse) to run a
>>>>>>>> furnace motor and a lamp as the legal minimum requirement.
>>>>>>>> - It ties the two legs of the service so that bno 240 volts is
>>>>>>>> provided for a dryer, stove or other major electrcial consumption
>>>>>>>> appliance
>>>>>>>> - It acts as a deterent to the non-payment joker when he has to
>>>>>>>> walk through the snow and reset the breaker each time he/she
>>>>>>>> overloads the circuit past the preset and warned limits.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> This is removed once the rip-off pays the electrical bill. Many
>>>>>>>> would not pay their bills until the spring when the electrical
>>>>>>>> company gains right to cut their service off in the warmer weather.
>>>>>>>> I believe some areas have lost this law allowing the elctrical
>>>>>>>> distribution companies to cut the deliquent account off with a
>>>>>>>> warning. We do.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> edel wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> A fuse.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> A fuse?   assume all circuit breakers/cables, etc. are in
>>>>>>>>>>> perfect functioning order...
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> so I'm asking from any point outside the home is it possible to
>>>>>>>>>>> limit the amount of kilowatts supplied to a home limiting the
>>>>>>>>>>> amount of circuits/appliances that can operate at one time.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> am I even asking it correctly, i'm not sure
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Is it possible to limit the amount of power going into a home,
>>>>>>>>>>>>> by the energy company, so as to create a short circuit
>>>>>>>>>>>>> knocking off a line or two? ...limit sorta like when the phone
>>>>>>>>>>>>> company disables long distance when you haven't paid the full
>>>>>>>>>>>>> balance until eventually it's completely cut off...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> thanks, sorry if the question is absurd
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> The short answer is 'yes and no'.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> The phone company analogy is a poor one - phone lines in a
>>>>>>>>>> central office are allowed/disallowed access to various toll
>>>>>>>>>> circuits based on bill payment history as read from a
>>>>>>>>>> customer/account database. Eventually, you are not even allowed
>>>>>>>>>> access to dial tone, but all of this is determined by the central
>>>>>>>>>> office configuration, not the characteristics of the pair of
>>>>>>>>>> wires to your home.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> In power distribution, theoretically, the available power to your
>>>>>>>>>> home is infinite, up to the maximum that the pole transformer can
>>>>>>>>>> supply on a sustained basis.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> As you draw more energy from the power line (from the pole
>>>>>>>>>> transformer, through your supply feeder and into your circuit
>>>>>>>>>> breaker panel and then to the various connected circuits, and
>>>>>>>>>> assuming that you draw no more than the rating of the circuit
>>>>>>>>>> breakers, the line voltage will drop a bit - in the event of a
>>>>>>>>>> serious overload, either one of your circuit breakers will trip
>>>>>>>>>> to relieve load, or if there is a short circuit in your feeder
>>>>>>>>>> line prior to the main breaker, then the fuse or cutout on the
>>>>>>>>>> pole transformer will open, cutting off your power. It's all or
>>>>>>>>>> nothing.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> There's no 'throttling' of your individual power line supply to
>>>>>>>>>> limit consumption to a set amount other than the fusing mentioned
>>>>>>>>>> above - if a group of customers or area starts drawing more than
>>>>>>>>>> the grid can supply, then there may be 'droop' in the district
>>>>>>>>>> supply that amounts to a voltage lowering (through I2R losses in
>>>>>>>>>> the primary supply conductors - otherwise known as a
>>>>>>>>>> 'brown-out' - and everybody's electricity is affected equally.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> "Load shedding', or dropping off power consumers to be able to
>>>>>>>>>> sustain some capacity rather than losing _all_ of it is applied
>>>>>>>>>> on a regional basis, not individual households.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Probably more confusion than explanation, but that's usenet!
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Carla
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> So this is what I found
>>>>>>>>> http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6373150.html
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> "The present invention relates to electric service load limiters,
>>>>>>>>> and more particularly, to an electric service load limiter for
>>>>>>>>> limiting the amount of electricity that is allowed to pass from a
>>>>>>>>> power line and through an electrical power leg supplying
>>>>>>>>> electricity to a consumer.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> In the electric utility industry, household consumers pay for
>>>>>>>>> electric service according to the amount of energy consumed.
>>>>>>>>> Therefore, utility companies normally bill these customers in
>>>>>>>>> proportion to the total amount of electrical current drawn during
>>>>>>>>> a particular billing period. When such a customer becomes
>>>>>>>>> seriously delinquent in paying a bill, the utility company has the
>>>>>>>>> option of shutting off electric service until the bill is paid.
>>>>>>>>> While this usually is an effective incentive to cause a household
>>>>>>>>> consumer to make payments that are past due, it also presents
>>>>>>>>> potential regulatory problems. Local statutes often prohibit
>>>>>>>>> utilities from totally discontinuing service to the extent that a
>>>>>>>>> consumer is unable to operate essential appliances such as a
>>>>>>>>> furnace, a refrigerator, or a water pump. Regulations of this type
>>>>>>>>> typically prohibit discontinuing electrical service in the winter
>>>>>>>>> when operation of a furnace can be essential. For this reason, a
>>>>>>>>> utility company wishing to restrict a delinquent consumer's
>>>>>>>>> electricity consumption must be able to do so without seriously
>>>>>>>>> disrupting the consumer's essential electricity requirements."
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> So it is possible. And after talking to a few people recently who
>>>>>>>>> experienced this limiting of current I'm curious as to why the
>>>>>>>>> utility company doesn't notify them of this activity? Customer
>>>>>>>>> reps claim this isn't being done and that if they were going to
>>>>>>>>> disrupt power it would be to the entire home. Why is it kept
>>>>>>>>> secret from most consumers?
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>

> "Solar Flare"  wrote
> >A fuse.
> A fuse?   assume all circuit breakers/cables, etc. are in perfect
> functioning order...
> so I'm asking from any point outside the home is it possible to limit the
> amount of kilowatts supplied to a home limiting the amount of
> circuits/appliances that can operate at one time.

>
> edel wrote:
>
>> "Solar Flare"  wrote
>>
>>> A fuse.
>> A fuse?   assume all circuit breakers/cables, etc. are in perfect
>> functioning order...
>>
>> so I'm asking from any point outside the home is it possible to limit the
>> amount of kilowatts supplied to a home limiting the amount of
>> circuits/appliances that can operate at one time.
>
> Not in any simple way.
>
> Graham
>

>Is it possible to limit the amount of power going into a home, by the energy
>company, so as to create a short circuit knocking off a line or two?
>...limit sorta like when the phone company disables long distance when you
>haven't paid the full balance until eventually it's completely cut off...
>thanks, sorry if the question is absurd

>>Is it possible to limit the amount of power going into a home, by the
>>energy
>>company, so as to create a short circuit knocking off a line or two?
>>...limit sorta like when the phone company disables long distance when you
>>haven't paid the full balance until eventually it's completely cut off...
>>
>>thanks, sorry if the question is absurd
>>
>  The power company will install a load-limiter, at your meter,
> when you are behind-in-your-payments.  (in winter months)
> But it's just a re-settable overload device - not selective to
> certain household circuits.
>  jt