electricity – News Stories About electricity - Page 8

Sep 6, 2007 4:07 AM CDT

Breaking SoCal Heat Wave Leaves 27 Dead

Eight days of triple-digit temperatures hits hard

(Newser) - Southern California's heat wave finally seems to be breaking after killing at least 27 people in crushing temperatures. The deaths include an elderly couple who told neighbors they were turning off their air conditioning to save money. Several victims died while illegally crossing the US-Mexico border in searing heat.

Iraq Electric Grid Seized
by Militias

Aug 23, 2007 11:31 AM CDT

Iraq Electric Grid Seized by Militias

Baghdad increasingly in darkness as armed bands horde power

(Newser) - Large swaths of Iraq's power grid have fallen under the control of armed militias, the New York Times reports. The balkanization of power stations worsens an already fragile situation in which insurgents blow up power lines and leave Baghdad without power at the height of a 110-degree summer.

Toyota Tests Plug-In Hybrids

Jul 26, 2007 5:20 PM CDT

Toyota Tests Plug-In Hybrids

(Newser) - Toyota will provide two experimental plug-in electric hybrid cars to the University of California for road testing, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The new vehicles can travel 100 miles on a single gallon of gas after a boost from a rechargeable battery that plugs in to a standard 110-volt current.

Quake Damage Halts Auto Assembly Lines

Jul 19, 2007 9:26 AM CDT

Quake Damage Halts Auto Assembly Lines

Japanese car makers hit by damage to key suppliers

(Newser) - Japanese auto makers known for their lean inventories have had to shut down assembly lines for want of parts in the wake of Monday's earthquake. A key supplier of transmission and engine components was damaged in the 6.8-magnitude quake. Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi have all halted production at some...

Booming India Is
Starved for Power

May 21, 2007 8:35 AM CDT

Booming India Is Starved for Power

Chronic electricity shortages belie booming economy

(Newser) - India's economy is growing so fast it has outstripped its electrical capacity, leaving burgeoning businesses, industries and homes to generate their own power with soot-belching diesel-powered generators for hours every day. Half of India's populace has no connection to the grid at all, and new construction often goes up without...

Plug-In Has Power to Spare

Apr 10, 2007 12:22 PM CDT

Plug-In Has Power to Spare

Higher-Capacity Batteries Open PossibilitiesMay Make Motorists Into Energy Traders

(Newser) - A souped-up plug-in hybrid unveiled yesterday has excited talk of a future in which cleaner-running cars are also profitable. With a new lithium-ion battery that can store up to nine kilowatt/hours of electricity, a hybrid owner could buy electricity at night, store it in the battery, and then sell it...