It is easy to criticize the utility companies for not restoring power fast enough, or taking your power down while they try and restore the local grid. I am frustrated being without power but more importantly, I am scared of the cold and what it will do to our property if the pipes freeze. That being said, I started thinking about the utility worker and his frame of reference. Yes, he has a job to do but he is working many hours, has left his family alone and some of them may be without power. It's not his/her fault the lights are out. Hurricane Sandy did a number on the infrastructure. I am confident the men and women working for the utility companies are doing the best they can as quickly as possible to "get the lights turned back on." I am sure they want to get back home. I think about the crews from other states and I am thankful we have so many coming together to help us get through this as quickly as possible.
This brings up a point - what do you do if it gets cold enough to freeze the pipes inside your home? Drain the system; shut off the main water supply to the house, open all the faucets and leave them open. Flush your toilets. If standing water is left in the tank or bowl, pour in antifreeze. Power off your boiler and drain it. It is very important to make sure you turn off the power to the boiler if you do this step; you don't want the power coming back on and having a 'dry' boiler starting to try and make heat. Skip this step of you are uncomfortable but remember, radiators in a hot water system contain water, they can freeze and the pipes inside the walls that carry the water through the system can burst.
I like the idea of Karma. If I think positive thoughts and thank the utility crews for all their hard work, power will be restored before we have bigger issues to deal with.
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