Brittle Power- PARTS 1-3 (+Notes) - Natural Capitalism Solutions

120Disasters Waiting to Happenpipeline as for an oil pipeline. 167 The two together, nationally, are a significantenergy user: they probably use more energy than either water heaters or aircraft.Very long pipelines can have enormous energy needs: the proposedAlaskan gas line would need nearly two thousand megawatts of pumping andgas-conditioning energy, or a twelfth of its own throughput. The use of gasrather than electricity means that gas pipelines can work even in a power failure—providedthere is electricity to run their controls and valve motors. Onthe other hand, it is possible in some cases that a damaged line may not holdenough gas to drive the compressors needed to move enough gas through itto run the compressors, and so forth.Gas compressor stations, like their oil counterparts, are “virtually unguarded.There is a little or no standby equipment....The system can be easily damaged.It is highly vulnerable to almost any hazard either man created or natural.Repair to a damaged segment could take months.” 168 Most gas pipelinesautomatically detect breaks, isolate their sections (generally shorter than thefifty-mile average interval between compressors, as there are valves at each junctionand elsewhere), and turn off compressors if necessary. There is little protection,however, for the control and communications links tying all the valvesand compressors to a computerized central dispatching system. Because of thetotal reliance on remote telemetry and controls, “cutting of wires or destroyingradio [or microwave] facilities could cause considerable confusion.” 169 Withwidespread disruption of communications “the system could become completelyuseless.” (Interestingly, saboteurs in 1979 blew up a microwave station linkingTeheran to the Abadan oil refinery and to Iran’s largest port. 170 ) Further,The operation of complex pulse-time-modulation multiplex micro-wave equipment,telemetering equipment, facsimile units, automatic control systems and voice communicationis the responsibility of the communications engineer. In a large terminalarea, the engineer might have an assistant or two but as a general rule, one manhas responsibility for the equipment over a very large area....[I]t is doubtful that areplacement engineer could come into an [extensively] damaged complex systemand make much progress in its early repair....The loss of [key personnel]...couldcause very significant problems, even though equipment may not be seriously damaged.Even small repairs by one not knowledgeable of the [particular] system canbecome a major problem. 171Gas systems have a further point of vulnerability with no strict analoguein oil systems: the “city gate” station where incoming pipeline gas is metered,odorized, and pressure-regulated. This last function is crucial, since pipelinepressures are vastly greater than retail distribution and end-use pressures.“Should one substantially increase pressure on the service lines serving residencesand public buildings, the lines and/or appliances could rupture and the