BlackMask Breaking News

Californians were told Wednesday not to charge their electric vehicles during peak hours, just days after the state said it would stop selling gas-powered cars, as the aging electricity grid struggles with a fearsome heatwave. Temperatures as high as 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) were forecast in some Los Angeles suburbs as a huge heat dome bakes a swathe of the western United States. The sweltering weather will put huge demands on the already-stretched power grid, especially when people crank up the air conditioners during the broiling hours after work and school. “Consumers are urged to conserve power by setting thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, if health permits, avoiding use of major appliances and turning off unnecessary lights,” said the California Independent System Operator, which runs the state’s power grid. Between 4:00 pm and 9:00 pm, “they should also avoid charging electric vehicles.” “Reducing energy use during a Flex Alert can help stabilize the power grid during tight supply conditions and prevent further emergency measures, including rotating power outages.” California’s power companies routinely ask households to limit their usage during the so-called “shoulder hours,” when rooftop solar panels stop producing electricity but demand remains high because of still-elevated temperatures.

 

The call to limit electric vehicle charging comes a week after state regulators banned the sale of new petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles from 2035.

All but a handful of SUVs, cars and light trucks will have to produce zero tailpipe emissions, with only highly efficient plug-in hybrids permitted to burn fossil fuels. The move was hailed as a game-changer for the EV industry because of the size of California’s auto market and the potential it has to set national, and even international, standards. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency that temporarily removes pollution controls on fossil fuel power plants to allow them to generate more electricity. He pointed to the punishing drought in the US West that has crippled hydroelectric plants, and noted the direct effect that climate change is having on day-to-day lives. “Energy reliability becomes more and more challenging… because demand increases at the same time supply decreases,” he said. NN: Some lefty louieee crazy shit. They mandate that new cars must be electric. But with a small number of electric cars in use they admit they cannot provide the power to charge them. Sounds like they are doing a Germany to me. That is mandating shit that wont work……..

VP Harris Mocked After unable To Plug Electric Car Into A Charging Station

Vice President Kamala Harris was mocked online on Monday afternoon after attempting to demonstrate how to use an electric car charging station in Prince George’s County, Maryland, as she seemingly struggled to understand how she would know that the car was actually being charged once it was plugged in.

“And there’s no sound or fumes,” Harris said after plugging the car in. “For all of us who are used to filling our tank, we, you usually can smell it and you can hear it and you can hear the guzzling sound. None of that.” “So how do I know it’s actually working?” Harris asked SemaConnect CEO Mahi Reddy. “It is,” Reddy said. “So typically, once you [inaudible] it’s actually charging.” “But how would I know that?” Harris continued. “Tell me how I would know that.”

https://youtu.be/v5UCmsXpngA

NN: Warren Buffet is the front man…. the show guy. The brains behind Berkshire Hathaway has always been Charlie Munger. It would be very foolish on your part to ignore the hundred year event that is about to destroy the world as we know it. I have spent a lifetime prepping for this day.

 

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union is drafting emergency plans to intervene in its energy market, as pressure grows from member states to put a lid on the surging price of electricity. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday Brussels was preparing an intervention to separate power prices from the soaring cost of gas, as well as longer-term reforms to ensure electricity prices reflected cheaper renewable energy. The EU’s 27 countries have disagreed in recent months over whether to intervene in energy markets, as reduced Russian gas deliveries to Europe have pushed up power costs.

But with gas prices almost 12 times higher than at the start of 2021 and power prices setting new record highs almost daily, even the most sceptical states are softening.

Germany is willing to consider a European price cap on gas, the country’s economy minister told other European energy ministers in a text message, a source who read the message told Reuters on Tuesday. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Meseberg in Germany on Tuesday. Spain, along with Belgium and Greece, has for months sought to cap energy prices and urged Brussels to decouple gas and electricity costs. “So far we haven’t seen how it will work. Is this a crisis mechanism? How will this fit legally into the [EU] treaty?” one diplomat said. In the current system, the EU wholesale electricity price is set by the last power plant needed to meet overall demand. Gas plants often set that price, which countries including Spain have said is unfair as it means cheap renewable energy is sold at the same price as costlier fossil fuel-based power. Von der Leyen will meet government leaders from Denmark, Poland, Finland and the Baltic states at a summit near Copenhagen on Tuesday – offering an opportunity to pitch the proposals to states wary of market reforms. Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Latvia – along with Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland and Luxembourg – had publicly opposed intervening in energy markets last October and said the best response to short-term price spikes would be to provide national support for vulnerable consumers and businesses.

But after months of surging prices, such national measures are racking up enormous bills for governments. EU countries have spent 280 billion euros ($281.15 billion) in the last year to shield consumers from energy costs, according to the think-tank Bruegel. Spanish Energy Minister Teresa Ribera told RAC1 radio she wanted to share Spain’s experience of a scheme it implemented in June to cap the price of fossil fuel-fired electricity. “Our proposal would be to see up to what point this measure, which has shown itself to be effective…could be replicated in other EU member states,” she said. NN: Never forget Europe is a socialist wolf in sheep clothing. AND they will always come up with a lefty loueiee solution to any and all crises… Especially the ones of their own making. As is the case always the prudent states that not buy into the grennieewinne wet dream will pay for their fuck up. France generates 80% of its electricity so it should not have a electricity crises. But under EU rules they force France to charge the EU average price that includes LNG bought on the world market at emergency prices. Good for Germany no so good for everyone else. Electric rates have gone from .10 (ten cents) a kilowatt hour to Euro (100 cents) since January.  I hasten to mention that it was Europe who stared this shit story.   Way before the Russian invasion of Ukraine The German Greenwennies decided to not grant a operational permit for the Nord Stream II pipeline. After it granted a construction permit to begin with. It royally pissed off Putin and rightly so. After a investment of 10 billion dollars you could understand Putin being pissed. A man not to be trifled with. I believe one of the main drivers of Putin decision to invade the Ukraine was this pipeline. Remember he amassed troops for months while the Nord Stream II was i n contention. . I believe if Putin was granted a operation license he would have never invaded. Now the very gas Germany did not want it is buying from where ever it can at ten times the price. How does that make any sense?

22 people killed in Baghdad clashes; worst in years

BAGHDAD, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Iraq’s powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers to end their protests in central Baghdad on Tuesday and apologised to Iraqis after 22 people were killed in clashes between rival Shi’ite Muslim groups. “This is not a revolution because it has lost its peaceful character,” Sadr said. “The spilling of Iraqi blood is forbidden.” In a televised address delivered at 1 p.m. (1000 GMT), Sadr set a one-hour deadline for his supporters to leave their protests in the fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad, where they have occupied parliament for weeks. “Within 60 minutes, if the Sadrist Movement does not withdraw, including from the sit-in at parliament, then even I will leave the movement,” Sadr said. His address came a day after the worst violence in the Iraqi capital in years – which follows a 10-month political deadlock since October’s parliamentary election – prompted neighbouring Iran to close its border and halt flights to Iraq. The prolonged political standoff, during which the two camps have competed for power, has given the country its longest run without a government and led to new unrest as Iraq struggles to recover from decades of conflict. This time the fighting, in which Sadr’s supporters faced off against armed groups loyal to Iran, is among the Shi’ite majority that has ruled Iraq since the 2003 U.S. invasion which toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein. “There are uncontrolled militias, yes, but that does not mean the Sadrist Movement should also be uncontrolled,” Sadr, a former anti-U.S. insurgent leader, said in his address. Earlier on Tuesday militants fired rockets at the Green Zone and gunmen cruised in pickup trucks carrying machine guns and brandishing grenade launchers, while residents observed a curfew. Overnight, sustained gun and rocket fire rang out across the city. Members of Sadr’s Peace Brigades fighters gather during clashes with the Iraqi security forces near the Green Zone, in Baghdad, Iraq August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

An Iraqi government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said authorities were in no position to impose control. “The government is powerless to stop this, because the military is divided into (Iran) loyalists and Sadrists as well,” the official said.

Monday’s violence was prompted by Sadr’s announcement that he would withdraw from all political activity – a decision he said was in response to the failure of other Shi’ite leaders and parties to reform a corrupt and decaying governing system. The Iraqi military declared an open-ended nationwide curfew and urged the protesters to leave the Green Zone, while the United States described the unrest as disturbing and called for dialogue to ease Iraq’s political problems. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that Washington saw no immediate need to evacuate staff from its embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone. Sadr has positioned himself as a nationalist who opposes all foreign interference, whether from the United States and the West or from Iran. He has insisted on early elections and the dissolution of parliament, saying that no politician who has been in power since the U.S. invasion in 2003 should hold office. He commands a thousands-strong militia and has millions of loyal supporters across the country. His opponents, longtime allies of Tehran, control dozens of paramilitary groups heavily armed and trained by Iranian forces. Sadr and his opponents have long dominated state institutions and run large parts of the Iraqi state. Neighboring Iran closed its border with Iraq and urged its citizens to avoid traveling there, a senior official said. Iran’s state television said flights had also been halted “until further notice because of the unrest there”. NN: the inflation induced food crises and skyrocketing energy is creating spreading poverty the word over. This is especially acute in the Middle East and Africa… The uprisings has started……. Oil rich states have a particular problem. The vast oil wealth does not trickle down to the impoverished masses.

• Concern about the potential for a radiation leak at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is persisting. Ukraine’s state energy operator has warned that there are “risks of hydrogen leakage and sputtering of radioactive substances” at the Russian-occupied plant. Authorities were distributing iodine tablets to residents who live near the plant in case of radiation exposure.
• Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling the area around Europe’s largest nuclear plant. Moscow’s troops have “repeatedly shelled” the site of the nuclear plant over the past day, the Ukrainian state nuclear company, Energoatom, said. Russia’s defence ministry has claimed Ukraine’s troops “shelled the territory of the station three times” in the past day.
• A team of inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog is poised to make an emergency visit to the Zaporizhzhia plant, according to reports. Sources have told the Wall Street Journal it is “almost certain” that a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency will visit the plant early next week, although details are still being finalised.
• Volodymyr Zelenskiy has issued a statement marking Ukraine’s Aviation Day, in which he pledged that Kyiv’s troops will “destroy the occupiers’ potential step by step”. The Ukrainian president vowed that the Russian “invaders will die like dew on the sun”.
• Russia has probably increased the intensity of its attacks in the Donetsk area of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region over the past five days, according to British intelligence. Pro-Russia separatists have most likely made progress towards the centre of Pisky village, near Donetsk airport, but Russian forces overall had secured few territorial gains, the latest report from the UK Ministry of Defence says

U.K. residents will see an 80% increase in their annual household energy bills, the country’s energy regulator announced Friday, following a record 54% spike in April. That will bring costs for the average customer from 1,971 pounds ($2,332) a year to 3,549 pounds. The latest price cap — the maximum amount that gas suppliers can charge customers per unit of energy — will take effect Oct. 1, just as the cold months set in. And bills are expected to rise again in January to 4,000 pounds. The blame for the increase is the soaring price of wholesale natural gas triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine, which is driving up consumer prices and roiling economies across Europe that rely on the fuel for heating homes and generating electricity .( NB: How about blaming the greenieewinnies that forced their green energy agenda defying all reality. If Europe and America for that matter had not throttled fossil fuel investment and Nukes and traditional PROVEN energy supplies that worked Russia would be a mere inconvenience instead of a global crises.) That includes the United Kingdom, which has the highest inflation rate among the Group of Seven wealthiest democracies and seen disruptive strikes for months as workers push for pay to keep pace with the increasingly expensive cost of living. The energy increases, together with rapidly rising food costs, are expected to push inflation above the 40-year high of 10.1% recorded in July and trigger a recession later this year, the Bank of England has predicted. Charities, public health leaders and even energy firms warn of catastrophic effects on poorer people already struggling to afford essentials as wages lag behind.

Jon Taylor, who helps Jones and others at debt counseling charity Christians Against Poverty, said growing numbers of people who have never had debt problems are turning to the group’s helpline. “What I’m seeing a lot of at the moment is personal tragedies, losing loved ones, emotional health problems,” he said. “The pressure of not knowing how to pay the next bill or having enough food to survive just accentuates whatever they’re already going through.” About 1 million low-income households have had to take on new or extra debt to cover an essential bill, according to a May study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on U.K. poverty. The drop in living standards is “of a scale we haven’t seen for many decades,” said Rebecca McDonald, the charity’s chief economist. “It really warrants big and creative national policy interventions in order to prevent what is a difficult year becoming essentially a catastrophe for many low-income families.” Britain’s Conservative government is under heavy pressure to do more to help people and businesses — and fast. Authorities have said they’re sending around 1,200 pounds to low-income people. Every household, no matter their financial situation, will get 400 pounds off their energy bills this winter. Many say that financial support needs to be doubled — at least —and some have called for an immediate freeze on the amount that suppliers can charge for energy. The opposition Labour Party has called for an extension of the government’s temporary tax on the windfall profits of oil and gas companies to help pay for relief. But the government has said no further measures will be announced until the Conservative Party announces a new leader to replace Boris Johnson on Sept. 5. Neither Liz Truss nor Rishi Sunak, the two politicians vying to become the next prime minister, appear to support taxing energy giants. Treasury chief Nadhim Zahawi acknowledged that the increase in the energy price cap would cause “stress and anxiety.” But he insisted the government was ready to develop more options to support households. Unions across multiple key sectors have reacted by going on strike to demand pay raises that keep pace with inflation. A series of national rail strikes brought the U.K. train network to a standstill during peak travel days this summer, and postal and port workers, garbage collectors and lawyers have all staged walkouts over pay disputes. Meanwhile, a grassroots movement called “Don’t Pay” is campaigning to gather 1 million people who will commit to not paying their energy bills on Oct. 1 if the price hike goes ahead. The group is hoping that mass nonpayment will force energy firms to end the crisis. “Everyone we speak to thinks that the price increases we’ve seen and are going to be seeing on Oct. 1 are beyond a joke and will push people to the edge,” said Jeffrey James, one of the campaign’s organizers. “We are being forced into poverty, whilst others who are already in poverty will be forced into a life-or-death situation this winter,” he added. “That is the level of discontent and despair we are talking about.” NN: Think pitchforks and Torches!!

The flaring first came to light a few weeks ago when Finnish people noticed a large flame on the horizon at the Russian border. Analysis suggests around 4.34 million cubic metres of gas is being burned every day – an estimated $10m worth. Russia is burning off large amounts of natural gas that it previously would have exported to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, analysis suggests. Satellite monitoring of heat levels at a new liquified natural gas facility near the Finnish border indicates it has been happening since 11 July – and an estimated $10m (£8.4m) worth of gas is being burnt every day. The flaring first came to light a few weeks ago when Finnish people noticed a large flame on the horizon at the Russian border. Analysis by Norway-based Rystad Energy, an independent energy research company, suggests around 4.34 million cubic metres of gas is burnt each day. This is “enough gas to supply 1.5 million European homes”, Sindre Knutsson, senior vice-president of gas and LNG markets at Rystad Energy, told Sky News. Although the flaring may be part of testing procedures at the Portovaya LNG plant or because of a lack of coordination between different operating segments, experts said “the likely magnitude and duration of this continuous flaring period is quite extreme”. NN: Russia is playing a serious game to destabilize the great democracies and advanced societies.. Its diabolically cleaver and as you are seeing working.They are single minded in their objectives and very serious, very dangerous people. On the other hand Europe is lead by some very corrupt and very silly people. The crises in the global economy especially as far as food and energy is concerned is a result of inept leadership. And the hell of it is they are not correcting their proven mistakes. This is the stuff that triggers uprisings of the masses. The 1930’s depression led to the World war of the 1940’s. It will be no different this time as famine spreads in poorer less developed countries. And the chasm between rich and poor expands in the developed world. The masses are becoming poorer and poorer by the day. And they are getting angrier and desperate.