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Re:ATT services down due to bombing in Nashville by jeffbee on Saturday December 26, 2020 @01:50AM (#25541902)
Facilities don't really keep that large of an inventory of fuel on site. Usually once they start running they have to call for fuel immediately and be regularly refueled until power is restored. They don't have a week of fuel or anything like that.

I don't see why natural gas is such a bad backup for utility electric. It doesn't share fate with the electric grid and it's buried. Seems pretty good.

Re:ATT services down due to bombing in Nashville by tgsovlerkhgsel on Saturday December 26, 2020 @04:12AM (#25542283)
How long will the gas grid keep working without electricity? Sure, the pressure is likely maintained from a reservoir, but many of the control systems likely depend on electricity, and I could imagine some being fail-safe (solenoids holding valves open and shutting if power fails).
Re:ATT services down due to bombing in Nashville by DebtDeflation on Saturday December 26, 2020 @06:10AM (#25542702)
For a very long time. The natural gas infrastructure uses natural gas generators to run the pumps that pressurize the lines and the meters are 100% mechanical. There's no reliance on the electrical grid. I lived through Northeast Blackout of 2003 (visible from space, the extent was so great) and Hurricane Sandy (power was out for a week) and in neither case was there an interruption to natural gas service. In my 40+ years, I don't ever recall the natural gas service ever going "out".
Re:ATT services down due to bombing in Nashville by jeffbee on Saturday December 26, 2020 @10:34AM (#25544012)
Gas runs forever without electricity. My folks have a gas generator on a pad at their home because ice storms take down the electric grid every year in their town. This year it ran for ten days straight.

Pressure in natural gas infrastructure is maintained by pumping stations that are fueled by the gas. These are huge and impressive and usually located far from any town.

Re:ATT services down due to bombing in Nashville by daniellarusso on Saturday December 26, 2020 @08:41AM (#25543389)
It depends how well it is maintained, like most infrastructure.

https://www.wvpublic.org/news/2014-03-10/ntsb-determines-cau...

Re:ATT services down due to bombing in Nashville by namibj on Saturday December 26, 2020 @08:57AM (#25543466)
They deliberately do not use grid electricity, as they don't like sparking and there is no need for it. It's just simple mechanical pressure regulators, along with gas turbine compressors on long supply lines to boost the pressure.
Re:ATT services down due to bombing in Nashville by Scoundreller on Saturday December 26, 2020 @05:43PM (#25547025)
Have they ever used those pressure-reducing stations to produce electricity?

Never sure if it went from theoretical to actual.

https://www.google.com/search?q=natural+gas+pressure+reducer...