| California's
Wrong Move
With California adopting
National Fire Protection Association 5000 instead of the International
Code Council code (ENR 9/8 p. 9), here is yet another reason
that we should strongly consider revoking its statehood!
The NFPA 5000 code is completely
unrealistic and unworkable from a professional standpoint.
It simply is a method for NFPA to have people buy all the
remaining NFPA codes, which are referenced within its pages.
Imagine trying to apply all of the various standards to a
building project when you have to constantly try to figure
out what or where the requirement is. The ICC code is simple,
concise and detailed in its presentation, and its provisions
are well tested.
Of course, it should not surprise
us that California would want to do something different than
everyone else. It tries to run the rest of the country through
a multitude of other "regulations" that have snuck
their way into the country’s various legal books at both
the state and federal levels. Way to go, California!
Protect the U.S. Power
Grid
You
need to address what happened to the U.S. power grid protection
system installed after the 1965 blackout (ENR 8/25p. 12).
The first level of protection, called rolling reserve, required
that there be powerplants in operation not loaded to 100%
capacity. Unused capacity would equal the maximum that could
be dropped off line if any running plant or power line went
down.
The second level of protection
was load shedding. If supply on the system did not equal demand,
an automated system would open breakers and remove demand
until both supply and demand were equal.
These protection systems were intended
to keep the whole grid from cascading down. Have changes in
power supply and consumer use caused this protection system
to be eliminated? If so, why?
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