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kinyutaka t1_itnifka wrote

Reply to comment by 685327594 in eli5: how long would power stay on if the power company abandoned their post? by larsattacks94

I am sure it depends on a lot of factors.

Some plants might go down in a heartbeat. Some might coast a bit. Like the Hoover Dam Hydroelectric Plant probably can run for a bit, especially since electrical demand would go down after an apocalypse.

I do not want to test that, though.

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685327594 t1_itninez wrote

Demand going down is bad too. The plants will trip offline either way.

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Maeghkor t1_itnjhpi wrote

Care to explain whys that?

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685327594 t1_itnk9we wrote

Without any load the turbines will start to accelerate. The protection systems will automatically trip the plant offline before it accelerates out of control and destroys itself.

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immibis t1_ito4mmz wrote

Is it not remotely possible that the load drops at a reasonable rate which the control system can cope with, ending with the dam powering just its own local area from a trickle of water?

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khalcyon2011 t1_itnlfqb wrote

Basically, the power has to go somewhere, so if demand drops, the system cycles off. I imagine it's automated, but starts and stops are wear and tear on the system. And things might get gummed woke it's down. Further, the start up systems need power, so there's another point of failure.

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