There were 4 cables running into central Auckland, where 4,000 apartment and
60,000 workers were housed. 2 were gas filled cables dating back 50 years
(about the time Tesla passed on) and 2 oil filled ones were installed in
1975. Since 1990 the local power company, Mercury Energy, has known and
planned on replacing the cables, this time by an underground tunnel.
Accoriding to Mercury (whom I don't believe), the combined effect of the
cables (which heat under load) and the el nino weather pattern (producing
hot weather that also heats the cables) caused successive breakdowns over a
3 week period.
The social angle is pretty interesting too. Cops flooding the central city,
businesses relocating (in some cases to Australia), shopkeepers threatening
legal action, portable generators all over the place. Now the directors are
being considered for criminal charges (public safety endangered).
Most interesting is the makeup of the board of directors - apparently a
trust holds all the shares. But they only appoint 4 of 9 directors. The
rest, APPARENTLY, are appointed by a law firm. One thats already had it name
dragged thru the mud...
Aaah, Its tough being in the centre of the known universe ;)
DrJ
At 17:31 24/02/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>Yes and it is very strange indeed, There were many cables into auckland
>city,
>>six I think and they failed one by one for what seems to be different
>>reasons.
>
>That's probably due to general incompetence, but I find it amusing that the
>same day I read about the Auckland power failure on Usenet, I received by
>email a lengthy article claiming that Australia is overrun with anomalous
>fireballs (like Long Island, the San Luis Valley, or (in the past) Kirtland
>AFB), and that the American navy and/or Aum Shinri Kyo is conducting Tesla
>telegeodynamics experiments in Australia.
>
>--
>This high-speed modem is infuriatingly slow.
> --The Simpsons, 2/15/98
>
>
>