Wow! Heard a big bang like a sonic boom, then the power went out. All the neighbors pretty much came out simulteneously to check it out. Fire rescue and emergency personnel have us blocked off! How exciting!

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Swear to god we're like small town America up here. That's like the excitement for the day. People will be talking about it for months!

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Where abouts in Minnesota ? My Mom was from the Hibbing/Chisholm area, and we always used to make the pilgrimage every summer to the Mesabi Range.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

Transformer blew. We were throwing the football in front of my fraternity house one day and knocked down a wire, causing said excitement. Good thing we had a lot of lawyer alums.

i had a transformer blow in my back yard once. that was a shocker!
they sound like a bomb.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I used to live in an area where the local transformer would blow like clockwork whenever outside temperatures dipped below 5 degrees F. Lotsa fun, until you realize that while you have gas heat, the thermostat is electrically driven.

I knew a guy who was stopped at a traffic light during a thunderstorm, and the transformer blew. The oil splattered all over his car, a early '60s VW bug. It ate the paint down to bare metal, and he just laughed and got a few cans of Krylon to fix it.

Oh I'm in the Twincities, Golden Valley MN to be exact. Just that our street only has houses on one side and most of our neighbors are retired, or have a parent who stays home, or work at home.

So you used to make the pilgrimage eh? For what, Dylan Days?

http://www.dylandays.com/

Don'tcha know...

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

...with what power?

Had a "back to school" party one year at the neighborhood pool...Whole neighborhood was there!

Was particularly hot that day...by the evening, we could hear transformers blowing throughout the community...sounded like fireworks! Finally, two in our neighborhood blew, taking out half of the homes in the area. We finished the party out by running very long extension cords over to the homes that still had power!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Kuan:

Sounds like Xcel isn't keeping up on their preventive maintenance program very well up there!

Hopefully, all your confuser (computer) gear is on a UPS system! Nothing like the explosive EMF spike tearing into your little wonders to create a little, down-the-road, mahem later on! No insurance company will pay for that later!

Just be happy we haven't got -30° temps predicted for this evening!

Good luck dude - and remember - if you're heading east this weekend, over here to "Cheezehead" land, make sure you're wearing the right color "cheddar" on your noggin'! It's deer-hunting time! (Insert your own, favorite, deer-hunting story hear - GOD knows I've heard WAY TOO MANY! Some of them would qualify for Darwin-awards, except the REALLY DUMB ONES are still out pro-creating! )

GOD, I LOVE THIS TIME OF THE YEAR!!!

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M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
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“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

Why do electric companys advertise? What are your options?

Community presence--to let you know they care. Their monopoly status also has some strings attached about public safety warnings, educational stuff, ect...

In many places, you do have options. While the delivery network is owned by the local power franchise, you often can buy the electricity from other parties. You'll have to pay a small delivery fee on top of the price of the power, but you already pay this either as a line item or included in the price per KWh.

Oh god that could have been the best hazing opportunity for pledges of all time.

Oh yeah. Not many people know Dylan was from Hibbing, and I guess he doesn't like to dwell on it much. No we went to see all the relatives, but they all have died off or moved now.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K