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Resources for Understanding Electric Power Reliability
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Electric Reliability in the News
- Investigation by the City of New York into the Northwest Queens July 2006 Power Outages. March 2, 2007.
- Blackout in South Africa
- Blackout in Victoria, Australia.
- New York Public Service Commission Report on Con Ed.
- Recent Markets-related News
- Cracking the Bottlenecks: Act Spurs Buildup of Transmission Corridors. EnergyBiz Magazine.
- Minnesota Wind Integration Study Final Report and Presentation. Minn. Public Utilities Commission. Dec. 13, 2006.
- Comments invited on FERC Staff Preliminary Assessment of NERC’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standards by February 12, 2007.
- Offshoring: Implications for the Engineering Workforce and Profession. Presentation at the NAE Workshop on the Offshoring of Engineering. Oct. 24, 2006.
- FERC Finalizes Electric Transmission Siting Rule. Nov. 16, 2006.
- NERC Issues 2006/2007 Winter Assessment [Press Release] [Report]
- IESO and The Weather Network Launch Exciting New Online Initiative. IESO. Nov. 16, 2006. (See the Weather Network's power consumption page)
- US Department of Energy
- Power crunch could lead to lots more lines. USA Today. Nov. 9, 2006.
- 2006 U.S. Electric Utility Industry Survey. Black and Veatch. Investor-owned utilities view service reliability as the No. 1 issue; electric infrastructure as No. 2, and the aging workforce as No. 3. Municipals view aging workforce as their No. 1 concern, reliability as No. 2. Nov. 6, 2006.
- U.S Electric Transmission System Shows Its Age. Fitch. October 31, 2006.
- Sir Nicolas Stern's Report on the Economics of Climate Change. Oct. 30, 2006.NPR Interview of Sir Stern.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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Con Ed to study underground grid system. Staten Island Advance. Nov. 3, 2006.
- U.S Electric Transmission System Shows Its Age. Fitch. October 31, 2006.
- Sir Nicolas Stern's Report on the Economics of Climate Change. Oct. 30, 2006. NPR Interview of Sir Stern.
- Wind Generation
- ISO New England's Annual Assessment Stresses Need for Continued System Enhancements. Oct. 26, 2006.
- Energy Trends and Technologies for the Coming Decades (webcast best viewed in IE | slides). Energy Institute at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Presentation by Dr. Steven Koonin, Chief Scientist, BP. Oct. 17, 2006.
- NERC Issues First Reliability Assessment as the ERO — Calls for Action
- U.S. Department of Energy Releases Strategic Plan to Address Energy Challenges.
- U.S. - Canada Power System Outage Task Force "Final Report on the Implementation of Task Force Recommendations." Sep. 2006.
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Implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005
- Circuit breaker fire in the 220,000 volt power yard causes biggest blackout in SW Australia. The Standard. Oct. 24, 2006.
- Hawaii Hikes Quake Damage Estimate. Consumeraffairs.com. Oct. 25, 2006.
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Electrical worries looming - Utility execs fret about the future. Denver Post. Oct. 22, 2006.
- Power agency to upgrade system in response to Bryan/College Station blackout. theeagle.com. Oct. 22, 2006.
- A grid for the 21st century. timesunion.com. Oct. 22, 2006. Gary Davidson, a spokesman for the New York PSC, said the issue of rising outage times is of special concern to the commission, which believes the trend is due to retirements among an aging, experienced work force at the utilities, leaving less experienced workers to handle what is a difficult job. "It's something that we are focusing on and trying to address," Davidson said.
- Automated system cut power to all. The Honolulu Advertiser. Oct. 16, 2006.
- Competitive Era Fails to Shrink Electric Bills. New York Times. Oct. 15, 2006.
- Con Edison Releases 600-Page Report on Northwest Queens Outage. Con Ed. Oct. 12, 2006.
- AEP to form joint venture for Texas transmission opportunities. AEP. Oct. 12, 2006.
- Reliability Standards Workshop. Oct. 19 and 20. Dallas. NERC.
- New Thinking in Regulation. Commissioner Sam Irvin, IV. Chair, NARUC Electricity Committee.
- U.S. - Canada Power System Outage Task Force "Final Report on the Implementation of Task Force Recommendations." Sep. 2006.
- Security and Assurance of the North American Energy System.Downloadable videos of equipment failures (transformer explosion, pole fire, high voltage arc during switching operation). Note: please submit your own videos of equipment failures to share with the power community!
- Power Outage Affected Thousands In Brazos Valley (text and video). Oct. 4, 2006.
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ComEd Restores Nearly 400,000 Customers Since Monday Storms. ComEd. Oct. 4, 2006.
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Operations Problem Causes Amtrak Delay. The Star Ledger. Oct. 4, 2006.
- Downloadable videos of equipment failures (transformer explosion, pole fire, high voltage arc during switching operation). Note: please submit your own videos to us!
- U.S. Department of Energy Releases Strategic Plan to Address Energy Challenges.
- U.S. - Canada Power System Outage Task Force "Final Report on the Implementation of Task Force Recommendations." Sep. 2006.
- Typhoon Milenyo Causes Severe Damage in Phillipines. Manila Standard Today. Sep. 30, 2006.
- Mylar balloon causes outage affecting 1000 customers. Chicago Tribune. Sep. 29, 2006.
- IESO Issues 18 Month Outlook. Galvin Institute updates website.
- Pakistan Blackout After Fault on 500 kV Transmission Line from Hydroelectric Facility. Sep. 26, 2006.
- ERCOT warns that Texas faces tight electricity supplies in the next two years and proposes a service interruption system for commercial users. Star-Telegram.com. Sep. 21, 2006.
- AEP recogized as climate leader in carbon disclosure project´s 4th survey of corporate approaches to climate change. AEP. Sep. 18, 2006.
- National Energy Board recognizes NERC as Electric Reliability Orgnization. National Energy Board. Sep. 15, 2006.
- Not Another Blackout! Scoop Independent News. New Zealand. Sep. 15, 2006.
- Russia makes its big power play. The Business on-line. Sep. 12, 2006.
- Modern Grid Initiative Presentations from the Southeast Summit, August 10–11, 2006.
- Survey of energy and resource executives shows unprecedented talent shortage in Canada. Deloitte. Aug. 30, 2006.
- New York PSC staff sees National Grid storm repair problems. The Business Review. Aug. 23, 2006.
- Comprehensive Reliability Plan Relased by NYISO - Study is a key step in grid operator's ongoing planning process. NYISO. Aug. 22, 2006.
- Con Edison came close to shutting off power on July 19 to the entire Long Island City network. New York Times. Aug. 23, 2006.
- Motorola's first family now focused on redesigning electrical distribution. Daily Herald. Aug. 21, 2006.
- Increased cooperation may help curb massive blackouts. Post Gazette. Aug. 21, 2006.
- Why the Lights Go Out in California. LA Times. Aug. 20, 2006.
- Three Years After Blackout, Power Problems Persist. Scoop. New Zealand. Aug. 20, 2006.
- Floating crane hits power line, causes Tokyo-area blackout. The Japan Times. Aug. 15, 2006.
- Blackout hits 1.39 million in Tokyo area. Macon.com. August 14, 2006.
- Reflections on the U.S. - Canada Blackout of 2003
- Experts: Aging equipment means trouble for electrical utilities. Newsday.com. Aug. 5, 2006. New!
- ConEd's Initial Report on the Power Outages in Northwest Queens, New York City, in July 2006. ConEd. August 2, 2006.
- Kevin Burke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Consolidated Edison, Opening Statement before the City Council’s Consumer Affairs Committee July 31, 2006. ConEd. August 2, 2006.
- Let's Keep the Lights On: Some Expert Advice for Con Ed. New York Times. July 30, 2006.
- "Can the US Electric Grid Take Another Hot Summer?" Hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Resources.
- Aging grids cited in blackouts. USA Today. July 28, 2006.
- London hit by power blackout. CNN International. July 27, 2006.
- NDP calls for hearing into Monday's blackout. Edmonton Sun. July 27, 2006.
- Transmission congestion threatens to clog nation's power grid. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. July 27, 2006.
- U.S. Breaks All-Time Weekly Demand Record for Electricity During National Heat Wave. Edison Electric Institute. July 26, 2006.
- Special Reliability Status Updates: Alberta Ameren CAISO Con Ed
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
- New York, Boston Broil as Heat Wave Hits East Coast. Bloomberg. Aug. 1, 2006.
- New York Region Faces Triple-Digit Temperatures. New York Times. August 1, 2006.
- Heat wave reaches Northeast; Connecticut finds ways to cope. Newsday.com August 1, 2006.
- Storms Cause at Least 323,500 Outages in U.S. Northeast July 27-30. U.S. DOE Energy Assurance Daily.
- Elderly moved after blackout. The Plain Dealer. August 1, 2006.
- Storms Knock Out Power to Over 600,000 Customers in Northeast July 18. DOE Energy Assurance Daily. July 19, 2006.
- France imports power in heat wave. July 19, 2006. BBC News.
- New Zealand came close to using all available electricity and nationwide prices hit $100,000 per Mwh during the depths of a June polar blast. Stuff. July 17, 2006.
- Draft of the U.S.- Canada Power Outage Task Force’s final report on the implementation of the recommendations contained in its April 2004 report on the 2003 blackout. DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.
- The Human Resource Crisis in the Canadian Electricity Sector. Perspectives. Canadian Electricity Association. April 2006.
- Investigation of the Report of Events that led to Controlled Outages February 18, 2006 - Public Service Company of Colorado. Colorado PUC. July 7, 2006.
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Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Infrastructures Ministry bashes Israel Electric Corporation for handling of blackouts. The Jerusalem Post. July 5, 2006.
- Amtrak's power crunch. July 3, 2006. NorthJersey.com.
- A Power Grid for the Hydrogen Economy. Scientific American. June 26, 2006.
- Transend defends 6-hour blackout. ABC News Online. June 23, 2006.
- New system trains good grid operators with bad data. PNNL. June 22, 2006.
- U.S. DOE Secretary Presentation on Administration's Approach to Energy Security. June 20, 2006.
- Shackle Failure Leads to Auckland Blackout. AP. June 16, 2006.
- Growing use of natural gas for power generation could affect prices says National Energy Board Report. (News release | Report). June 15, 2006.
- Power cut chaos hits over a million Bulawayo residents. SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe News. June 15, 2006.
- California ISO Planning for Boom in Renewable Power. CAISO. June 14, 2006.
- Mcguinty Government Delivers A Balanced Plan For Ontario's Electricity Future. Ontario Ministry of Energy. June 13, 2006.
- Short Circuits: Comments on New York's Power Market. Prof. Tim Mount. Cornell. New York Times. June 9, 2006.
- NREL, Universities Hail Renewable Energy 'Collaboratory' Bill. NREL. June 9.
- IESO Releases Ontario Reliability Outlook. June 9, 2006.
- Hydro-Québec's Strategic Plan 2006–2010 focuses on energy efficiency, hydroelectricity and wind power, and technological innovation. June 7, 2006.
- Illinois Commerce Commission Reports Choice Is Well-Established in the State. Alliance for Retail Choice. June 5, 2006.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- July 6 Technical Conference regarding Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System (RM06-16) (Archived webcast and presentations available)
- Comments filed with FERC on RM06-16 can be found using FERC Online eLibrary, searching under Docket RM06-16.
- Commission accepts settlement designed to resolve reliability issues in New England region
[ISO-NE Welcomes FERC Ruling Approving New Capacity Market Design]
- Commission proposes transmission line siting guidelines; public participation key component
- Commission conditionally approves Midamerican’s Transmission Service Coordinator Agreement
- Comments on Draft Report to Congress on Competition in the Wholesale and Retail Markets for Electric Energy are due by June 26, 2006.
- Technical conference on RTO Border Utility Issues
- Comments on Draft Report to Congress on Competition in the Wholesale and Retail Markets for Electric Energy are due by June 26, 2006.
- Technical conference on RTO Border Utility Issues
- Technical conference to address specific issues relating to the reliability mechanisms to be used by PJM Interconnection, L.L.C.
- FERC's Open Access Tariff Reform
- Codification of market-based rate standards proposed to streamline procedures, ensure market oversight. FERC. May 18, 2006.
- FERC Staff from Office of Enforcement Present Energy Market Summer Assessment for 2006 to the Commission. May 18, 2006.
- FERC Conference on Role of RTO/ISO Market Monitors, May 18, 2006 (presentation slides)
- Archived FERC meeting webcasts
- FERC staff seeks comments on preliminary assessment of NERC Reliability Standards. May 11, 2006.
- More blackouts a certainty on Oahu, Hawaii. Star Bulletin. June 3, 2006. HECO Press Releases.
- Electric Corporation is unable to meet Israel's demand for power. Haaretz.com. June 4, 2006.
IEC CEO Uri Ben Nun: IEC must increase its reserve generating capacity to 20%. Globes. June 6, 2006.
- Does U.S. Have Enough Coal On Hand? CBS News. May 29, 2006.
- Amtrak presses its probe of massive rail power outage. Philadelphia Inquirer. May 27, 2006.
- UES Chief and Moscow Mayor Forge Alliance One-Year After Blackout. The Moscow Times. May 25, 2006.
- Energy secretary says coal, oil will power U.S. for decades. Houston Chronicle. May 21, 2006. Key components of the administration's energy policy are the Advanced Energy Initiative and the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.
- Catawba nuclear plant outage. Charlotte Observer. May 24, 2006. (NRC action)
- World's Largest Dam completed on China's Yangtze River. China View. May 20, 2006. See also Dam Impacts. Scientific American. May 18, 2006.
- Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Hearing - Electricity Reliability. May 15, 2006. The hearing's purpose was to receive testimony on implementation of the Energy Policy Act of 2005’s electricity reliability provisions.
- Northwest Power and Conservation Council adopts regional standard to ensure an adequate energy supply. NPCC. May 10, 2006. "The standard will raise a red flag to alert the region when we are at risk of running short of electricity."
- FERC Conference on Role of RTO/ISO Market Monitors, May 18, 2006 (free webcast to be available).
- NERC Summer Assessment. May 15, 2006 (Press Release | Report). "...extreme weather continues to present a significant reliability risk in those areas with lower margins..."
- FERC staff seeks comments on preliminary assessment of NERC Reliability Standards. May 11, 2006. "The staff’s assessment finds that NERC’s existing program of voluntary standards represents “a solid foundation on which to maintain and improve the nation’s reliability.” However, the report cites various “deficiencies” in the current NERC standards and invites comment. In many instances, the deficiencies cited are among those identified by NERC, and are the subject of a work plan NERC has proposed. In other cases, the staff cites deficiencies that are not part of NERC’s proposed work plan."
- NERC: Permanent Cyber Security Standards; Reliability Standards Workshop Presentations and Handouts. May 2, 2006.
- Status of Response to the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005: FERC; U.S. DOE.
- Energy Assurance Daily from U.S. DOE
- ITC Holdings Signs Agreement to Acquire Michigan Electric Transmission Company. PR News. May 12, 2006.
- FERC accepts Entergy's Independent Coordinator of Transmission proposals, with limited modifications. April 24, 2006
- Making the Power Grid Smarter. Technology Review. May 12, 2006. A project is networking home appliances and thermostats to electricity grids...
- World's Longest Underwater DC Link in Operation. The Age. May 11, 2006. (Wikipedia article)
- Sharyland Utilities Breaks Ground on 'DC Tie' Between Texas and Mexico. Yahoo! Finance. May 8, 2006.
- PJM: System Ready for Summer; Ancillary Services Market Opened to Demand Response.
- Rotating Blackouts in Texas: Summary of Events, April 17, 2006.
- AEP to evaluate distributed energy resources through pact with research consortium.
- Selected Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure News and Information
- Web page update for DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.
- TransAlta CEO says Toronto could face brownouts by '08, urges power competition. cbcnews. April 5, 2006.
- Power Shortage in Maui. The Maui News. April 4, 2006.
- New Zealand Blackout Threat. Stuff.co.nz. March 31, 2006.
- IESO Issues Reliability Outlook Reports. March 28, 2006.
- Galvin Electricity Initiative Completes First Phase of Visionary Research. March 23, 2006. (News Release | Report)
- Presentations from 2006 National Electricity Delivery Forum.
- Symposium on Electric Power Systems: Reliability, Control and Markets.
- PJM 2005 Market Report. PJM.
- Canadian Electricity Association Advocates Greater Investment in Electricity Generation and Transmission across North America (News Release | Paper). March 2, 2006.
- The Energy Policy Act of 2005: Electric Transmission and Distribution Future R&D Needs. Feb. 1-2, 2006. All Conference Presentations.
- Alberta Electric System Operator Closes in on $1 billion in Transmission Investment. AESO. March 8, 2006.
- Rotating blackouts in northern Wisconsin narrowly avoided over weekend. American Transmission Co. March 14, 2006. Xcel explains blackouts. Denver Post. March 13, 2006. IntelliGrid Delivery Architecture to Debut in Poland. WEBBOLT. March 10, 2006. Avoidable Errors Led to Big Outage, Consultant Finds. LA Times. Nov. 30, 2005.
- NERC Posts Draft ERO Application. NERC. (Dec 2005 / No. 35)
- TXU And CURRENT Communications To Create Nation's First Multipurpose Smart Grid. ElectricNet. (Dec 20, 2005)
- EIA Annual Energy Outlook . DOE. (Feb 2006)
- Schools in Maine to plan for rolling blackouts. VillageSoup. Dec. 17, 2005.
- Russia's PM calls to improve electric power system reliability. PRIME-TASS. (Dec 8, 2005)
- Statement of Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher at the technical conference on electric reliability standards. FERC. (Dec 9, 2005)
- The Gridwise Constitution. DOE. (Dec 6-7, 2005)
The GridWise Architecture Council convened aConstitutional
Convention" to establish a constitution that will guide critical future
technology advancement over the next 10-30 years to realize a healthy,
self-sustaining, highly interoperable electric supply system.
- Electricity Restructuring: Key Challenges Remain. GAO-06-237 (Nov, 2005) [ Abstract | Highlights]
- Avoidable Errors Led to Big Outage, Consultant Finds. LA Times. (Nov 30, 2005)
- Blackout clues may lie in `graveyard' The Miami Herald. (Nov 26, 2005)
Studies
to determine what caused power and telephone poles to fail during
Hurricane Wilma have fueled tension between Florida Power & Light
and BellSouth.
- South Dakota shivers without power. Sioux City Journal. (Nov 30, 2005)
- UES Warns Power Cuts Likely. The Moscow Times. (Nov 30, 2005)
- Uncertain future for power in West The Enquirer. (Nov 25, 2005) Fast-growing areas require more lines.
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Developing the Modern Grid Workshop. GridApp, CTC, SAIC (Nov 9-10, 2005)
- Blackout of Nov. 9, 1965
- PJM Market Integrations Saving Customers $500 Million a Year. PJM. (Nov 10, 2005)
- Debate flares over health of power grid. HoustonChronicle.com. (Oct 8, 2005)
- Ontario Power Generation invests $10 million in education to help meet the growing need for energy specialists. Ontario Power Generation. (Oct 6, 2005)
- Retiree Wave May Swamp Unwary Employers. The Day. (Oct 2,2005)
Across a wide swath of industries, companies are starting to address
the impending exodus of baby boomers. About half the country's 400,000
electric-utility workers will be eligible to retire in the next five
years.
- APPA Survey Shows Need to Prepare Now for High Level of Workforce Retirements. APPA Press Release. (Oct 3, 2005)
Work Force Planning for Public Power Utilities: Ensuring Resources to Meet Projected Needs. American Public Power Association. (Report 2005)
The
most significant challenges created by retirements will be the loss of
knowledge, the difficulty finding replacements, and the lack of bench
strength within the organization.
- Hurricanes Rita and Katrina
- American Transmission Company Issues Its 10-Year Plan. (Sep 28, 2005)
- An Assessment of the Reliability of the Ontario Electricity System from October 2005 to March 2007. Ontario IESO. (Oct 24, 2005)
- Baghdad in the dark as power cuts continue to blight the city. The Independent. (Sep 27, 2005)
- Moscow Blackout of 2005 PSERC
- Why the lights mostly stayed on in the US this summer. The Christian Science Monitor. (Sep 20, 2005)
- Rethinking Energy. In katrina's wake, venture capitalists say country needs to overhaul infrastructure. The Mercury News. Sep. 19, 2005.
- Experts Assess Deregulation as Factor in '03 Blackout. New York Times. (Sep 16, 2005)
(See also Workshops on "Competition and Reliability in North American Energy Markets" sponsored by The U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force.)
- Human Error Blamed For Massive Power Outage in Los Angeles. 10News.com.
Utility workers attempting to make it easier to prevent power outages
accidentally cut off power to approximately 2 million people,
authorities said, when they sliced through several cables incorrectly
and caused much of the power grid for the nation's second-largest city
to shut down. When the outages began, the workers were installing
automated monitoring controls to provide department officials with
immediate information about the status of its system.
- 2005 DOE Transmission Reliability Program Peer Review
- 2.3m Colombians without Power. News24.com. (Sep 6, 2005)
- 2005 Long-Term Reliability Assessment. NERC. (Sep 2, 2005) [Press Release | Report]
- Proposed regulations issued on mandatory electric reliability
standards and enforcement (Docket No. RM05-30-000) (Sep 1, 2005 ) [Press Release | NOPR | Bilateral Principles Referenced in NOPR]
- Workshops on "Competition and Reliability in North American Energy Markets" sponsored by The U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force. (Sep 15, 2005)
- Energy Policy Act of 2005 Signed into Law. NERC. (Aug 8, 2005)
- Major Power Line Outage Forces Southern California Transmission Emergency. CAISO. (Aug 26, 2005)
The Pacific DC Intertie, (PDCI) a 500-thousand volt transmission line
that runs between Southern Oregon and Southern California suddenly and
unexpectedly dropped out of service just before 4:00 P.M. today. The
loss of more than 2,800 megawatts of power coming into Southern
California, coupled with the area’s high demand required a reduction in
system load to keep the grid in balance.
- Rolling Blackouts Hit Southern California.
KCRA-TV. August 25, 2005. A transformer in Los Angeles' Sylmar section
that converts power from the Pacific Northwest took itself offline
automatically at 3:56 p.m. when an oil flow alarm went off.
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Outage May Leave Toronto Without Power Until Evening. Bloomberg.com. (Jul 26, 2005)
The electricity failed after a wooden utility pole broke at around
10:45 a.m. at a power station owned by provincial electricity
distributor Hydro One Inc., shutting down two Toronto Hydro
substations. The failure is affecting about 4 square kilometers (2 1/2
square miles) of Toronto.
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Rising Heat Spurs Fears of a Blackout. The New York Sun. (Jul 26, 2005)
With
temperatures today and tomorrow expected to reach the mid-90s and the
city blanketed with stifling humidity, NYISO planned precautionary
measures to avoid a blackout.
-
Bush urges agencies to assess possible coal shortage.
Kansan. July 26, 2005. On Friday, the North American Electric
Reliability Council sent a letter to utility managers about a team
being assembled by the U.S. Department of Energy to study reduced coal
deliveries because of "limitations established by the railroad."
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Lawmakers OK Electricity Reforms. Investors.com. (Jul 21, 2005)
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New England's Electricity Use Sets New All-Time Record. ISO New England. (Jul 19, 2005)
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Ontario dipping into its electricity reserves. CBC.CA. (Jul 20, 2005)
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Formation of ReliabilityFirst Corporation:
Regional Electric Reliability Councils Form ReliabilityFirst
Corporation, LRRC Initiative Takes a New Name and Moves Forward. (Jul
17, 2005)
The leadership of ECAR, MAAC, MAIN, MAPP and MRO have
directed their respective Regional Managers to have preliminary joint
discussions to determine alternatives for a broader Regional Council
encompassing the combined footprints of two Regional Transmission
Organizations (MISO and PJM), and other transmission areas of the
Midwest.
- Midwestern Governors Cooperate To Promote Electric Transmission Investment. Midwestern Governors Association. (Jul 16, 2005) [Press Release |
Final Protocol]
Midwestern governors have agreed they will work together to support
additional investment in a reliable electric transmission grid.
Further, they have committed to regional cooperation in permitting and
locating interstate and international electric transmission lines.
-
Grid watchdog: no May 27 review needed. National Post. July 15. NERC sees no need for a broader review of a brief May power outage in Ontario.
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Ontario breaks power consumption record. CBC News. (Jul 13, 2005)
- Terms of Reference for the Bilateral Electric Reliability Oversight Group. FERC. (Jun 30, 2005) [ Press Release | Terms of Reference]
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U.S. Senate Approves Bill to Revamp Energy Policy. Bloomberg. (Jun 28, 2005)
-
Power crunch forces blackouts. Ottawa Citizen. June 28, 2005.
The
demand for electricity in Ontario reached 26,157 megawatts, its highest
level in history. Ontario could only muster 25,087 megawatts [in
generation], meaning the province was kept afloat by imported U.S.
power. According to Hydro Ottawa, demand was too much for a Hydro One
power station near Bilberry Drive in Gloucester. The overload forced
Hydro Ottawa to implement rotating blackouts between 6 p.m. and 7:30
p.m. As a precursor to yesterday's power woes, striking Ontario Hydro
workers at the Nanticoke generating station, on the north shores of
Lake Erie, shut down six of eight units -- responsible for generating
3,000 megawatts of electricity.
-
A Flicker Away From a Blackout. Washington Post. (Jun 21, 2005)
Apparent protection system failures in Hydro One's system produced
power system oscillations and line outages that affected frequency in
the Eastern Interconnection on May 27. Head of the Northeast Power
Coordinating Council said the event was an "extreme contingency" but
that no additional precautions to prevent a recurrence are being taken
until an inquiry is complete.
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Power Restored to Entergy Customers. Entergy News Release. (Jun 16, 2005)
Approximately 150,000 customers lost power following outages that
occurred when high winds caused 16 transmission lines to trip off line.
Loss of the transmission lines resulted in a voltage imbalance, which
in turn forced the two generating units at Entergy's Lewis Creek Plant
north of Houston into emergency shutdown and caused outages over a
seven-county area. Emergency shutdown damaged both generators.
-
2004 State of the Market Report. FERC. (June 2005) An assessment of enery markets in the US.
-
FERC to Encourage Utilities to Sell Lines. LA Times. (Jun 16, 2005)
U.S.
regulators said Wednesday that they planned to change a policy that
aimed to encourage electric utilities to sell their high-voltage
transmission systems, saying the original policy led to too few
divestitures.
-
US-Canada Workshop on Draft Principles for an International Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) (Toronto). FERC. (Jun 22, 2005)
This workshop will explore draft principles that would allow an ERO to function as an international organization.
-
Secretary of Energy Announces New Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability. DOE. (Jun 9, 2005) [Press Release]
- Committee on Government Reform (Jun 8, 2005)
-
Energy Officials Warn of Summer Electricity Woes (California). LA Times. June 3, 2005.
California and federal energy officials warned Thursday that the
electricity system in Southern California would face hard times this
summer, especially if the weather was unusually hot, and that next
summer might be even rougher.
-
Midwest ISO Evaluation Shows Sufficient Reserve Margins for Summer Power Demand. MISO. (May 25, 2005)
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission continues push to prevent
market abuses and create greater transparency in energy markets. (May
25, 2005)
[Press Release |
Presentation].
The Commission today moved forward with a series of proposals and
rules addressing collection of information on the operating status of
generating plants, refining the calculation of available transmission
capacity, and streamlining a host of current reporting requirements.
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Growth in Transmission Investment. EEI Electric Perspectives. (May/June 2005)
Respondents to an EEI study of shareholderowned utilities reported that
their actual and planned transmission investment over the entire period
2004-2008 increases 60 percent over the period 1999-2003.
-
Power supplies in Moscow to resume Thursday. (May 25, 2005)
-
PJM Expects Adequate Power Supplies this Summer. PJM. (May 23, 2005)
- 2005 Summer Assessment. NERC. (May 16, 2005)
-
Notice Inviting Comments on Establishing Long Term Transmission Rights in Markets with Locational Pricing. FERC. (May 11, 2005)
-
Dominion Successfully Integrated Into PJM. PJM News Release (May 1, 2005)
According to PJM, 20 percent of the U.S. economy now depends upon PJM's reliable service.
- Northeast Power Coordinating Council 2005 Summer Assessment [
Press release (Apr 28, 2005) | NPCC Archives]
-
Blackouts Unlikely in Kentucky. Kentucky PSC. (Apr 28, 2005)
-
2004 Annual Report on Market Issues and Performance. CAISO. (Apr 28, 2005)
-
FERC Staff Report On Information Technology Guidelines For Power System Organizations. (April 2005)
Congested power lines are sending a signal to build more transmission in California
-
Long-Term AFC/ATC Task Force Final Report. NERC. (Revised Apr 14, 2005)
-
Midwest ISO, PJM Interconnection, TVA Sign Agreement For Multi-Regional Approach To Ensure Electric Grid Reliability. TVA Newsroom. (Apr 22, 2005)
- Power Trends 2005. NYISO. (April 20, 2005) [Report | Presentation | Press Release]
- Blackout in Western Switzerland on January 18th. EOS Holding. (
Documents in French only). A powerful lightning strike initiated transmission line outages affecting about 600,000 people.
- FERC Technical Conference:
The ERO as an International Organization - Issues Related to Regional Entities and Enforcement. (Apr 19, 2005)
- FERC Technical Conference
to Examine Impediments to Investment in Electric Transmission Infrastructure and Explore Potential Solutions. (Apr 22, 2005)
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Energy Policy Act of 2005 (H.R. 6). Introduced April 18, 2005, became Public Law 109-58 on Aug 8, 2005.
- Enhancing the Robustness and Resilience of Future Electric
Transmission and Distribution in the United States to Terrorist Attack.
National Academies Research Council Study. (Initiated Apr 10, 2005) [Project Information ]
-
Wind Energy in South Australia. Electric Supply Industry Planning Council. (Apr 27, 2005)
This
report provides a detailed, South Australian specific analysis, and
reviews international experience with wind generation and the potential
impacts of increasing levels of wind.
-
CAISO's 2005 Summer Operations Assessment. (Mar 23, 2005)
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A Review of System Operations Leading up to the Blackout of August 14, 2003 (Final). NERC
Blackout Investigation (Mar 18, 2005)
-
Grid operator blames human error for 3,800MW power cut. Business News Americas. (Mar 22, 2005)
Human error in the reconnection of a transmission line near the Ancoa
substation in central-southern Chile's Region VII caused Monday's
blackout that lasted approximately one hour.
-
Mass Blackout Hits Chile. Xtra News, New Zealand. March 22.
-
Power System Incident Report: 14 March 2005, National Electricity Market Management Company Limited (NEMMCO), Australia. [Final report (29 Aug 2005)]
-
Workshop on Establishing ERO as an International Organization
(April 19, 2005)
The Workshop is supported by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial ADM
Electricity Working Group, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
- Commission Accepts Entergy Proposal to Establish Independent Coordinator of its Transmission System. FERC. (Mar 22, 2005)
[Press Release
| Order 1
| Order 2]
- Commission gives green light to Midwest ISO energy market. FERC. (Mar 16, 2005)
[Press Release
| Order]
-
Technical conference on principles for efficient and reliable reactive power supply and consumption (Docket No. AD05-1-000) FERC (Mar 8, 2005)
[Staff Report]
Presentations from PSERC members include American Transmission Co.,
CenterPoint Energy, National Grid, New York ISO, and Southern Co.
U.S. Congress: Electric Reliability Legislation
NERC's Overview of Electric Reliability Legislation
Enabled Legislation
Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (H.R.6) became Public Law 109-58 on 8/8/2005.
H.R.6 sets
forth an energy research and development program covering: (1) energy efficiency;
(2) renewable energy; (3) oil and gas; (4) coal; (5) Indian energy; (6) nuclear
matters and security; (7) vehicles and motor fuels, including ethanol; (8) hydrogen;
(9) electricity; (10) energy tax incentives; (11) hydropower and geothermal
energy; and (12) climate change technology.
Legislation Leading to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (not passed individually)
H.R.6 Daylight
Saving Time bill (identified by CRS)
Title: To ensure jobs for our future with secure, affordable, and
reliable energy.
Sponsor: Rep Barton, Joe [TX-6] (introduced 4/18/2005)
H.R.983
Title: To amend title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
to establish a Federal renewable energy portfolio standard for certain retail
electric utilities, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Udall, Tom [NM-3] (introduced 2/17/2005)
Committees: House Energy and Commerce Committee; Subcommittee on Energy and
Air Quality
Latest Major Action: 3/22/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred
to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
H.R.1481 Interstate
Transmission Act
Title: To ensure reliability of electric service to provide for expansion of
electricity transmission networks in order to support competitive electricity
markets to modernize regulation, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Wynn, Albert Russell [MD-4] (introduced 4/5/2005)
Cosponsors: Rep Myrick, Sue [NC-9]
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Ways and Means
Latest Major Action: 4/22/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status:
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
H.R.1529
Title: To amend the Federal Power Act to provide for Federal and State coordination
of permitting for electric transmission facilities, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Shadegg, John B. [AZ-3] (introduced 4/6/2005)
Cosponsors: (None)
Latest Major Action: 4/22/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred
to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
H.R.1640 Energy
Policy Act of 2005
Title: To ensure jobs for our future with secure and reliable energy.
Sponsor: Rep Barton, Joe [TX-6] (introduced 4/14/2005)
Latest Major Action: 7/29/2005 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 122.
Note: For further action, see H.R.6, which became Public Law 109-58 on 8/8/2005.
H.R.1834 Efficient
Energy Through Certified Technology and Electricity Reliability (EFFECTER) Act
of 2005
Title: To provide for various energy efficiency programs and tax incentives,
and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Cunningham, Randy (Duke) [CA-50] (introduced 4/26/2005)
Cosponsors: Rep Markey, Edward J. [MA-7]
Committees: House Energy and Commerce; House Ways and Means; House Financial
Services
Latest Major Action: 5/23/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status:
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
H.R.4384
Energy For Our Future Act
Title: To improve the energy efficiency of the United States. - Amends
the Federal Power Act to repeal provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
governing the siting of interstate electric transmission facilities.
Sponsor: Rep Shays, Christopher [CT-4] (introduced 11/17/2005)
Latest Major Action: 12/16/2005 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred
to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
S.10 Electricity
Modernization Act of 2005
Title: An original bill to enhance the energy security of the United States,
and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Domenici, Pete V. [NM] (introduced 6/9/2005)
Cosponsors:
Committees: Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Senate Reports: 109-78
Latest Major Action: 6/9/2005 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General
Orders. Calendar No. 121.
Note: For further action, see H.R.6, which became Public Law 109-58 on 8/8/2005.
S.426 Electric
Reliability Security Act of 2005
Title: A bill to enhance national security by improving the reliability of the
United States electricity transmission grid, to ensure efficient, reliable and
affordable energy to American consumers, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Jeffords, James M. [VT] (introduced 2/17/2005)
Cosponsors:
Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA]
Sen Kennedy, Edward M. [MA]
Committees: Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Latest Major Action: 2/17/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice
and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
S.498 Interstate
Transmission Act of 2005
Title: A bill to provide for expansion of electricity transmission networks
in order to support competitive electricity markets, to ensure reliability of
electric service, to modernize regulation and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Burr, Richard [NC] (introduced 3/2/2005)
Committees: Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Latest Major Action: 3/2/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice
and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
S.509 Energy
Markets Improvement Act of 2005
Title: A bill to improve the operation of energy markets.
Sponsor: Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] (introduced 3/3/2005)
Cosponsors: Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] Sen Levin, Carl [MI] Sen Wyden, Ron [OR]
Committees: Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Latest Major Action: 3/3/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice
and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
S.596 Electric
Transmission and Reliability Enhancement Act of 2005
Title: A bill to reform the nation's outdated laws relating to the electric
industry, improve the operation of our transmission system, enhance reliability
of our electric grid, increase consumer benefits from wholesale electric competition
and restore investor confidence in the electric industry.
Sponsor: Sen Thomas, Craig [WY] (introduced 3/10/2005)
Cosponsors: (None)
Committees: Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Latest Major Action: 3/10/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice
and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
S.680 Efficient
Energy Through Certified Technologies and Electricity Reliability (EFFECTER)
Act of 2005
Title: A bill to provide for various energy efficiency programs and tax incentives,
and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Snowe, Olympia J. [ME] (introduced 3/17/2005)
Cosponsors: Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] Sen Feinstein, Dianne [CA] Sen McCain, John [AZ]
Committees: Senate Finance
Latest Major Action: 3/17/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice
and referred to the Committee on Finance.
S.1031 Electric
Reliability Act of 2005
Title: A bill to enhance the reliability of the electric system.
Sponsor: Sen Cantwell, Maria [WA] (introduced 5/12/2005)
Cosponsors: Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] Sen Jeffords, James M. [VT] Sen Reid, Harry [NV]
Committees: Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Latest Major Action: 5/12/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice
and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
S.1133 Clean
Coal Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment Act of 2005
Title: A bill to authorize the Secretary of Energy to develop and implement
an accelerated research, development, and demonstration program for advanced
clean coal technologies for use in coal-based generation facilities and to provide
financial incentives to encourage the early commercial deployment of advanced
clean coal technologies through the retrofitting, repowering, replacement, and
new construction of coal-based electricity generating facilities and industrial
gasification facilities.
Sponsor: Sen Byrd, Robert C. [WV] (introduced 5/26/2005)
Cosponsors: Sen Rockefeller, John D., IV [WV] Sen Specter, Arlen [PA]
Latest Major Action: 5/26/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice
and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
PSERC Resources
PSERC draws on university resources, working collaboratively with industry and government in a multi-university environment, to address challenges facing the industry. Its research includes industry-supported projects and leveraged projects, such as with DOE's Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS). PSERC's site directors and other researchers
are available as information resources on the operation and planning of
the transmission grid as well as on transmission policies. Various
materials about PSERC are available for downloading using PSERC website links.
- Transforming the Grid to Revolutionize Electric Power in North America.
Presentation by Jimmy Glotfelty, Director, U.S. DOE Office of Electric
Transmission and Distribution. (Dec 11, 2003), at the Industrial
Advisory Board Meeting of PSERC.
- Electric Power Transmission: Research Needs to Sustain a Critical National Infrastructure.
This March 2003 presentation by Prof. Robert J. Thomas, PSERC's
Director at Cornell University, provides background on the transmission
system, on recent studies of transmission congestion, and on research
needs pertaining to the future use of the transmission system.
- Feeding our Profession.
The electric power industry faces critical shortages in engineers
needed for development and reliable use of the electric power
infrastructure. Power engineering education feeds the power engineering
profession. Thus, education and research are vital elements of that
infrastructure. If the growing need for well-trained power engineers is
to be met, a renewed national commitment needs to be made to the
educational system. This article discusses how power education is at a
crossroads.
See also Reflections on the Status and Trends in Power Engineering
(Oct 10, 2003) for more statistics on trends affecting power programs
and perspectives on the need to invest in the education of our next
generation of power engineers.
- Reengineering the Electric Grid. Thomas J. Overbye. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The article in the American Scientist (May-June 2000) provides a
comprehensive overview of electric power systems (with a historical
perspective on technology and policy changes) and challenges that power
system networks pose to developing power markets.
- An Essential Industry at the Crossroads: Deregulation, Restructuring, and a New Model for the United States' Bulk Power System. Jeffrey Hein. Colorado School of Mines.
This thesis briefly reviews the history of the electric utility
industry, from its competitive beginnings to its regulation as a
natural monopoly and finally, to its evolution into the present day
configuration of three interconnected transmission networks that cover
North America. The thesis also examines the effects on the industry of
several compounding factors. Finally, the problems associated with
present-day restructuring efforts are summarized, and an architecture,
or model, which resolves these problems and introduces benefits to
industry restructuring, is proposed.
- Reactive Power Support Services in Electricity Markets.
As experience grows with alternative electric power market designs in
the U.S. and abroad, new research questions emerge reactive power
support services. This 2001 PSERC report addresses fundamental
relationships between costs, prices and physical provision of reactive
power.
- Consequence and Impact of Electric Utility Industry Restructuring on Transient Stability and Small Signal Stability Analysis.
This 2002 IEEE paper by Vijay Vittal, Professor, Iowa State University,
overviews operational reliability (referred to as security in the
paper) concepts pertaining to the operations and planning of electric
power systems, and examines issues related to power system dynamic
analysis. Professor Vittal is also project leader on the PSERC project,
" Detection, Prevention and Mitigation of Cascading Events."
- Blackout Mitigation Assessment in Power Transmission Systems.
The recent blackout is an instance of a complex system undergoing cascading failure. Research on cascading failures
examines such questions as (1) how likely are large blackouts; (2) how
does overall system loading cause cascading failure; and (3) what are
the pitfalls in mitigating out risks in complex systems? The indicated
paper is an example of this research. The co-authors found that North
American Electrical Reliability Council out data suggest that large out
sizes are more likely that might be otherwise expected.
- Technical Papers on Voltage Instability and Collapse.
This is a bibliographic database maintained at Iowa State University.
- Operational Defense of Power System Cascading Sequences: Probability, Prediction, and Mitigation
This presentation at the October 7, 2003, PSERC research seminar
describes an approach, developed in research on complex interactive
networks, for identifying and mitigating consequences of multiple
outage events. [Web streaming of audio and slides available.]
Background Papers
The following background papers, written by PSERC researchers,
provide insights into power systems operations and technologies along
with current issues affecting the economical and reliable delivery of
power. They serve as a tutorial for individuals seeking a better
understanding of how an interconnected power system works. They are not
intended for power system experts.
- Monitoring and Control of Power Grids: Looking Beyond Reliability Standards. Anjan Bose. Washington State University (Sep 20, 2003).
- Modeling Post-Disturbance Consequences: Uncertainty in Power System Dynamic Simulation.
Ian A. Hiskens, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Bernie C.
Lesieutre, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. (Sep 16, 2003)
- Automated Monitoring and Analysis. Mladen Kezunovic. Texas A&M University. (Sep 8, 2003)
- Distributed Generation. Robert H. Lasseter. University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Sep 4, 2003)
- Power System Operation and Visualization. Thomas J. Overbye. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (Sep 10, 2003)
- What is Reactive Power? Peter W. Sauer. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Revised, (Sep 16, 2003).
See also: Elusive Force May Lie at Root of Blackout. New York Times. (Sep 23, 2003)
- The New Electric Power Business: An Information-Based Revolution. Robert J. Thomas. Cornell University. (Sep 5, 2003)
- The Protection System in Bulk Power Networks. James S. Thorp. Cornell University. (Sep 8, 2003)
- Transient Stability and Control of Large Scale Power Systems. Vijay Vittal. Iowa State University. (Sep 4, 2003)
- Analyzing out Events: Experience from the Major Western outs in 1996. Mani V. Venkatasubramanian. Washington State University. (Aug 20, 2003)
Grid Reliability Studies
- Berkeley Lab Study Estimates $80 Billion Annual Cost of Power Interruptions. Berkeley Lab Research News. (Feb 2, 2005)
- A copy of the full report, entitled, "Understanding the Cost of Power Interruptions to U.S. Electricity Consumers," [Report | Abstract] (Sep 2004) can be downloaded from the CERTS publications website (under the Electricity Reliability and Power Quality category)
- Integrated Energy Policy Report 2004 Update. California Energy Commission. (Nov 2004)
Over
the next several years, California faces significant challenges in
ensuring adequate electricity supplies to keep California’s lights on
during critical peak demand periods. This challenge is especially
evident in Southern California, which also faces regional and local
reliability challenges. To address these, California must step up its
efforts to achieve the goals already established for demand response
programs, make better use of its existing fleet of power plants, and
move aggressively to bring new resources on-line.
- NERC Issues 2004/2005 Winter Assessment [Report | Press Release] (Nov 19, 2004)
- NERC Long-Term Reliability Assessments. [ 2004-2013] NERC. (Sep 2004)
- U.S. Transmission Capacity: Present Status And Future Prospects.
Prepared by Eric Hirst for the Edison Electric Institute and Office Of
Electric Transmission And Distribution, U.S. Department Of Energy. (Aug
2004)
- DOE Prepares Federal Register Notice of Inquiry on National Interest Electric Transmission Bottlenecks.
DOE is preparing to issue a Federal Register Notice of Inquiry seeking
comments on issues relating to the identification, designation and
possible mitigation of National Interest Electric Transmission
Bottlenecks (NIETB). The preliminary scoping and planning work consists
of three reports prepared for DOE by the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS).
- NERC reports: Resource and Transmission Adequacy Recommendations and Gas/Electricity Interdependencies and Recommendations. (Jun 15, 2004)
- NERC Issues 2004 Summer Reliability Assessment. [Press Release | Report] NERC. (May 12, 2004)
- Illinois power deemed reliable in post-blackout tests. Bloomington Pantagraph. (Aug 14, 2004)
- Presentations and materials now available for FERC Summer 2004 Reliability Workshop on July 15 in Cleveland, OH (Docket No. PL04-11-000). (Jul 15,2004) [ Notice of Technical Conference ]
The
discussion covers responses to the 2003 blackout, preparations for
Summer 2004, electricity infrastructure issues, and longer-term
reliability issues.
- Repeat of blackout unlikely Akron Beacon Journal (subscription). July 15.
"The most important thing we did to prepare for this summer,
unfortunately, was last summer," Clair Moeller, vice president of the
Midwest ISO said. "It clarified our thinking."
- Deregulation system takes a jolt from electric company executive. Cantonrep.com (subscription). June 3.
Ohio's
electric companies expect no repeat of last year's widespread blackout.
But at least one executive added a caveat, and others told Gov. Bob
Taft it might be time for the Legislature to revisit the deregulation
of the electricity industry. Taft set up Wednesday's meeting because he
wanted reassurances about the reliability of power in Ohio as it heads
into the traditionally high-demand summer. He said he doesn't want
another massive blackout like the one that began here and knocked out
power throughout the East Coast and in Canada on Aug. 14. Anthony
Alexander, chief executive officer and president of FirstEnergy,
cautioned Taft and others that "we're asking the transmission system to
do what it was not set up to do. We're pushing the system harder and
harder and farther than we have done before." Mike Morris, chairman and
chief executive officer of American Electric Power, said that for
companies to invest in new power plants, revitalize current plants and
remain cost effective, re-regulation of the industry may be necessary.
- Utilities say they're working to prevent another major blackout. Newsday. June 2.
The leaders of Ohio's four investor-owned utilities assured state
officials Wednesday they have taken steps to try to prevent another
crippling blackout like the one last summer.
- NiMo: No shortage of power for summer. Troy Record. June 12.
Barring any abnormal swings in the weather this summer, Niagara Mohawk
officials said Friday the utility has enough electricity in its upstate
New York service area to meet demand.
- Letter from Michehl R. Gent, President and CEO, NERC
to the Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham concerning the reliability
of the North American bulk power system. NERC. (June 2, 2004)
This letter outlines the initiatives NERC and the regions have under way to ensure reliability this summer.
- New York Utilities Recall '03 Blackout With Fingers Crossed. New York Times (May 31, 2004)
"Unfortunately, until a lot more questions get answered involving what
left this region vulnerable, we really can't say that we are fully
protected," said Michael C. Calimano, vice president for operations of
the New York Independent System Operator, which manages the state's
power grid.
- Midwest ISO, PJM and TVA Make Grid Reliability Progress With Multi-Regional Data Exchange Agreement. (May 24, 2004) Power Report Newswire. [News release]
The
Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. (Midwest ISO),
PJM Interconnection and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) today
announced they have signed a data exchange agreement to pursue the
development of a multi-regional approach that will strengthen
coordination of their respective systems' electric transmission,
operations and related transactions. The ultimate goal of the Midwest
ISO, PJM and TVA is to improve the reliability, congestion management
and adequacy of the transmission grid while providing broad, seamless,
non-discriminatory transmission service and energy markets across a
large portion of the Eastern Interconnection.
- Energy Secretary: U.S. Power Grid Still Vulnerable. Reuters. May 18.
- FirstEnergy doesn't anticipate another big blackout. Associated Press. The Wichita Eagle. May 18.
- U.S. Power Grid Expected to Perform Well. Fort Wayne News Sentinel. May 11.
The
industry group that monitors the nation's electric grid expects the
system to perform adequately this summer, although it warned that
"uncontrolled blackouts" were possible if power providers fail - as
they did last August - to comply with reliability standards. The North
American Electric Reliability Council also warned Tuesday that the
increasing volume of power trading that goes on in deregulated markets
can cause "volatile and unpredictable flow patterns (that) can pose
significant challenges for transmission system operators."
- Illinois:
- Michigan:
- New York:
- Pennsylvania:
- Wisconsin:
- Faults Still Plague Electric System As Peak Summertime Use Nears (online subscription service or print edition). Wall St. Journal. Apr. 13.
- U.S. DOE's Transmission Reliability Program peer
review presentations. Jan. 31.
- NERC's
2003 Long-Term Reliability Assessment
. The Reliability
of Bulk Electric Systems in North America. (Dec. 23, 2003)
- NERC's 2003 Summer Assessment: Reliability of Bulk Electricity Supply in North America.
(May 15, 2003)
Related New York Times article: Oversight Group Warned
Utilities on Power Flows. (Aug 21, 2003)
- National Transmission Grid Study. U.S. DOE. May 2002.
PSERC
researchers contributed to this
DOE report prepared in response to the President's National Energy
Policy directive to the Secretary of Energy to study the Nation's
transmission
system, identify transmission bottlenecks and identify measures to
eliminate those bottlenecks. The technical work was coordinated by CERTS.
- Electric Transmission Constraint Study. Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission. (Dec 19, 2001)
- Final Report of the Department of Energy's Power Outage Study Team. U.S. DOE. (Mar 2000)
This
report provided findings and recommendations to
enhance reliability after a team of experts (including PSERC
researchers) who studied power outages and other system disturbances
that occurred in the
summer of 1999. The study covered events in New England, New York City,
Long Island, Mid-Atlantic Area, New Jersey, Delmarva Peninsula,
South-Central
States and Chicago.
- Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator's (MISO) Transmission Expansion
Plan.
Selected Media Articles
Articles Involving PSERC Researchers
- Electrical Blackouts: A Systemic Problem. Issues in Science and Technology. (Summer 2004)
- Remember last year's big blackout? Get ready for another one. GlobeandMail.com. (Aug 14, 2004)
- Blackouts Are Inevitable:
Coping, Not Prevention, Should Be the Primary Goal. By Jay Apt and
Lester Lave, Carnegie Mellon University. Washington Post. (Aug 10, 2004)
- Advanced mathematical modeling suggests that big blackouts are inevitable.
The Unruly Power Grid, Fairly, P., IEEE Spectrum. (Aug 2004)
- The Power Grid as Complex System. SIAM News, Volume 36, Number 10 (December 2003)
Last August 14, a series of seemingly unrelated events conspired to
produce a massive power out. But even as politicians focused on the
single event, scientists were considering the problem from a broader
perspective. As an example of what is often called a complex system,
the power grid is made up of many components whose complex interactions
are not effectively computable. Accordingly, some scientists have found
it more useful to study the power grid's macroscopic behavior than to
dissect individual events.
- Research generates reliable energy source during outages. Wisconsin Week. (Dec 8, 2003)
- Experts Agree: Nation's Electric System Aging, Byzantine. Newsday. Nov. 17, 2003.
- Averting out crisis. Akron Beacon Journal. Nov. 15, 2003.
- Cascading Failures: Survival vs. Prevention. To appear in the Electricity Journal. (Dec 2003)
- Healing the Grid: Several near-term solutions can keep the juice flowing. Scientific American.com. (Oct 13, 2003)
- "Imaginary Power," Anyone? Transmission & Distribution World (Oct 1, 2003)
- Elusive Force May Lie at Root of out. New York Times. (Sep 23, 2003)
- Overseers Missed Big Picture as Failures Led to Blackout. New York Times. (Sep. 13, 2003)
- Experts doubt FirstEnergy could have quit grid. The Plain Dealer (Blackout Investigation)
- Technology and brain power used to tame an aging grid. New York Times. (Aug 25, 2003)
- The Blackout of 2003. IEEE Spectrum Special Report. August 21, 2003.
- Analysts say blackout began with a zap, and then got weird. Detroit Free Press. August 17, 2003.
- Protections worked to keep the power on in Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne Sentinel. August 16, 2003.
- Plenty of buzz about causes. The Sacramento Bee. (Aug 16, 2003)
- Search is on for a cause, and a remedy. The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 16, 2003.
- Why we were spared. Philadelphia Inquirer. August 15, 2003.
- Blackout hits 50 million in U.S. Canada. Philadelphia Inquirer. August 15, 2003.
- Blackouts unlikely here, utilities say; others not so sure. Seattle Times. August 15, 2003.
- Northeast power outage. Washington Post. (Aug 14, 2003)
Media Archive
- Blackout rules are voluntary. New power grid reliability standards may help, but firms may not follow them. Detroit News. (Feb 4, 2005)
- U.S. Electric Transmission System Must Be Upgraded to Meet Consumer Demands According to Expert Panel. Consumer Energy Council of America. (Jan 25, 2005)
- The balance of power. Herald Tribune. August 30, 2004. Even after the 2003 blackout, power transmission problems remain unresolved.
- Power Play.
Rocky Mountain News. August 28, 2004. Utilities in the West face the
growing complexities of transmitting electricity to keep the lights on.
- Electricity supply jeopardised by power engineers shortage. Engineers Australia eNews. August 26, 2004.
- Power blackout hits Bahrain.
Middle East Online. (Aug 23, 2004) Cause of power outage which left
Bahrain without electricity, air conditioning is not known yet.
- PG&E Submits Final Report on December 2003 Substation Fire in San Francisco. PG&E. (Aug 20, 2004)
- Blackout compensation scheme. Melbourne Herald Sun. August 22, 2004.
QUEENSLAND power companies will have to "perform or pay" under new
rules to compensate people for power blackouts from the state's
under-performing electricity system. A report last week by the Queensland Competition Authority into service quality performance for the March 2004 quarter found blackouts on both the Energex and Ergon Energy systems had worsened since last year.
-
Blackout of 2003 One Year Later (Video). CBS News. (Aug 9, 2004)
- Did Blackout Enlighten Officials? CBS News. (Aug 14, 2004)
- A year after blackout, power grid still at risk. The Buffalo News. August 16, 2004.
Experts
say that too many states, as well as the federal government, have
failed to learn the valuable lessons provided by last year's blackout.
Unlike New York, many states still lack mandatory reliability
standards, a problem that many observers think could be remedied by the
adoption of national maintenance and communication standards.
- Michigan sees light after the blackout. South Bend Tribune. August 15, 2004.
- Remember last year's big blackout? Get ready for another one. Globeandmail.com. (Aug 14, 2004)
...groups of scientists and engineers have started to argue strongly
that a truer reason for the largest power blackout to ever hit North
America was the predictable nature of chaos itself. And what an arcane
branch of mathematics known as chaos theory suggests is anything but
comforting to everyone who hopes that the 2003 power outage was an
aberration that can be easily fixed. "Blackouts are inevitable," Ian
Dobson, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of
Wisconsin, says simply.
- Blackout prevention progresses. Year after worst outage ever, some safeguards are in place. The News Journal. August 14, 2004.
New
York has spent millions of dollars on new high-tech gadgets to avert
the chaos that followed the blackout. The city has completed, or is
close to completing, most of three dozen improvements recommended by a
task force that studied the city's response last year, according to
Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Bruno. A Brooklynite is taking
it easy. "If you prepare, it's almost accepting the fact that it's
going to happen again."
- Illinois power deemed reliable in post-blackout tests. Bloomington Pantagraph. (Aug 14, 2004)
- Debate rages among power critics. Miami Herald. August 14, 2004.
Twelve months after massive power failure, fractious debate continues regarding investment and reliability.
- Domino effect blackened Friday. NEWS.com.au. August 16, 2004.
QUEENSLAND'S
Black Friday blackout is believed to have been caused by the failure of
a wheelie-bin-sized piece of equipment at a NSW electricity generator
plant. In what is being described as acatastrophic event", the
equipment failure caused the domino-like collapse of six NSW
generators, necessitating power shedding across the four states
connected to the national energy market.
- Statewide power cuts in Queensland Australia create Black Friday. News.com.au. August 14, 2004.
Power
loss was reported in areas from Cairns, Toowoomba, Stanthorpe, Logan,
Gold Coast, Townsville, Beenleigh and across Brisbane with estimates of
more than 250,000 homes affected. Powerlink CEO Gordon Jardine said the
outages were "definitely not a Queensland network problem" and had
affected the eastern seaboard. "It started in NSW when five different
generator units tripped off at once because of a problem they had in
the switch yard down there in the Hunter Valley," he said.
- Call for urgent report on blackout. The Australian. August 14, 2004.
The
National Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO) confirmed in a
release this morning that equipment failure in the NSW Hunter Valley at
9.42pm (AEST) yesterday caused blackouts across four states -
Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. Queensland Energy
Minister Stephen Robertson held urgent talks with senior executives
from state electricity suppliers Energex, Ergon and Powerlink this
morning over the outages which affected Queensland homes in Logan,
Brisbane, Townsville, Cairns and parts of the Gold Coast. "It's totally
inexcusable that when a safety switch goes off in the Hunter Valley,
that that many homes go off in Queensland." Angry Queenslanders
inundated Energex's hotline last night, with around 180,000 calls
logged.
- Power site blast causes blackouts. Queensland Sunday Mail. August 14, 2004.
AN explosion in electrical transmission equipment caused major blackouts across four states.
- Sluggish movement on power grid cyber security. SecurityFocus. (Aug 13, 2004)
- Michigan, hard hit by last summer's blackout, sees improvements a year later. Detroit Free Press. August 13, 2004.
- A Look Back at the 2003 Blackout on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition." (Aug 13, 2004)
One year later, we look at the big blackout and whether it could happen again.
- Utilities take to heart lessons of 2003 blackout. The Enquirer. (Aug 13, 2004)
- Officials say lessons from 2003 blackout unlearned. The Journal News. August 13, 2004.
- Still stressed. A year after the biggest blackout in U.S. history, the nation's power grid remains unreliable. The Star-Ledger. August 13, 2004.
- Politics stalling U.S. blackout changes. CBC News. (Aug 13, 2004)
- Blackout Anniversary to Pass Without Promised U.S. Legislation. Bloomberg. (Aug 13, 2004)
- No outlet for electricity reforms. Newsday. August 12, 2004.
A year after lights went out for 50 million people, politicians still plug away at plans to fix fragile power grid.
- Industry learned lessons from Blackout 2003, but consumers still in the dark. Ottawa Citizen. August 12, 2004.
- Energy minister plugs national power grid. Toronto Star. (Aug 12, 2004)
- National electricity grid pushed by Ontario makes little sense, analysts say. CNews. August 12, 2004.
- Countdown to an Energy Crisis. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Environmental News Network. August 12, 2004.
- Why a Blackout Can Happen Again. BusinessWeek online. (Aug 12, 2004)
A
stalemate in Congress has blocked steps to improve the power grid's
reliability. Meanwhile, industry improvements are sluggish.
- PECO Energy: Greater Focus on Electric Reliability, A Year After Massive Blackout. Yahoo! Finance (press release). August 12, 2004.
- ComEd Enhances Transmission Reliability Through Proactive Blackout Self Assessment. PRNewswire. (Aug 11, 2004)
- Connecticut works to improve grid as blackout anniversary nears. Newsday. August 11, 2004.
- Utility says power lines better off after massive blackout. Newsday. August 11, 2004.
- New York Business, Labor, & Community Leaders Outline Electricity Solutions to Prevent Blackouts, Foster Prosperity. Yahoo News (press release). August 11, 2004.
Ask New Yorkers to Remember 'Where were you when the lights went out?' and Issue Challenge to Legislators.
- Senators urge strengthening of power grid. Poughkeepsie Journal. August 11, 2004.
Schumer, Clinton say progress poor.
- Blackouts: The Power Grid Is Too Sensitive for Its Own Good. New York Times. (Aug 10, 2004)
Relays
did not start the blackout; the cause has been traced to much simpler
problems... As the United States and Canadian governments put it in
November in their report on the blackout, these relays helped spread acascade" of failures, reducing "the potential time in which grid
operators might have identified the growing problem and acted
constructively to contain it."
- Bandaged Grid Still Vulnerable. Washington Post. (Aug 10, 2004)
2003
Blackout Shed Light on Weaknesses, But Power System Fixes Fall Short of
Need. Industry executives and outside specialists are divided about why
there has not been another major outage in the past year. Utility
officials credit the improvements they have made and the increased
adherence to the voluntary rules. But academics who study the nation's
aging power grid, a 200,000-mile network of high-voltage transmission
lines, said the reason may actually be a combination of moderate
temperatures and good luck.
- Blackouts Are Inevitable. By Jay Apt and Lester Lave, Carnegie Mellon University. Washington Post. (Aug 10, 2004)
Coping, Not Prevention, Should Be the Primary Goal.
- Tskhinvali experiences blackout for 12 hours. Itar-Tass News Agency. August 11, 2004.
The
capital of the self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali,
experienced a blackout for half of the day on Wednesday. Four
high-voltage power line supports were damaged during a shootout in the
morning.
- Whole of Jordan blacked out. The Australian. August 10, 2004.
JORDAN
suffered an unprecedented nationwide power cut today when supplies of
Egyptian gas to the kingdom's main electricity generator in the Red Sea
port of Aqaba were abruptly halted.
- Utilities Adopt System to Contain Electric Blackouts. On-Line Wall St. Journal (subscription). August 10, 2004.
Major
utilities are beginning to use a new system developed by the Energy
Department to contain blackouts and pinpoint their causes on the
nation's largest electric power grid. The so-called Phasor Project is
intended to fix a major flaw in the Eastern Interconnection, the grid
that experienced the largest power failure in the nation's history. The
Energy Department and participating utilities, including the Tennessee
Valley Authority and American Electric Power Co., spent about $1.7
million to develop the new system, which has been used to monitor
problems in the Western Interconnection, the grid that serves the West
Coast along with British Columbia and Alberta.
- Blackout Prevention Effort Launched As Anniversary Looms. AScribe Newswire. (Aug 9, 2004)
As
the dog days of summer approach, the electrical grid feels the heat,
but a new integrated data network may help the aging transmission
system weather the season without another massive blackout like the one
experienced over much of the Eastern United States and Canada last
August. The Eastern Interconnection Phasor Project will "go live" this
summer providing the first real-time, system-wide data to utilities and
transmission operators within the Eastern power grid.
- Keeping The Lights On. Information Week. (Aug 9, 2004)
Power
utilities have spent millions on business technology in the hope that
they can make last year's regional power outage the last of its kind.
Here's what they've done so far and what still needs doing.
- Focus On Energy: Nation’s Electric Grid Needs Overhaul. Small Times. (Aug 9, 2004)
- Massive power failure's anniversary highlights progress and problems. The Plain Dealer. (Aug 8, 2004)
- Porous power grid. New York Daily News. (Aug 8, 2004)
Year after blackout, few new safeguards.
- Dim Outlook. New York Post. August 8, 2004.
Nearly
a year after the biggest blackout in U.S. history, industry experts say
improvements have been made to the nation's power grid, but not enough
to keep another blackout from happening.
- Blackout Fails to Give Power Reform a Jolt. AP. Casper Star Tribune. August 8.
There
is growing frustration among many power-industry officials and
watchdogs that, one year after the country's biggest blackout, electric
reliability rules are still voluntary. They worry that as the memory of
that day fades, the momentum to improve the grid will, too.
- We're still in the dark. Albany Times Union. (Aug 8, 2004)
A year after the massive blackout, national grid standards not yet formed.
- Politics short-circuits utility accountability. MLive.com. August 8.
A blackout like last year's may not be far off.
- The 2003 blackout: Fallout and lessons. Chicago Tribune (Aug 8, 2004)
Regulations stall, leave power grid vulnerable.
- Blackout anniversary: Response cuts deep for some. AP. Fremont News Messenger. August 7, 2004.
- One year later: Canadians and the blackout of 2003. CNW Telbec. (Aug 7, 2004)
Looking
back on the day the lights went out, August 14th 2003, Canadians
believe the utilities and the government share the blame for the big
power outage.
- LOCAL COMMENT: Power Failure. Peter Lark, Chair, Michigan Public Service Commission. Detroit Free Press. August 6, 2004.
Michigan's electric reliability improves, but Congress fails its part.
- American Superconductor's SuperVAR(TM) Synchronous Condenser Successfully Generates Reactive Power on Ohio Transmission Grid. PR Newsire. August 6, 2004.
- The Kerry-Edwards Energy Plan. US Newsire. (Aug 6, 2004)
PART IV: Make the Electric Grid More Reliable and Safe.
- Enact Mandatory, Enforceable Reliability Standards for the industry.
- Employ
Innovative Technologies and cutting edge software capabilities to
revolutionize our antiquated system and develop aSmart Grid."
- Deploy New Technologies that are clean, efficient, reliable and less vulnerable to terrorism.
- One-Year Anniversary of Great Blackout of 2003.
PR Newswire. August 6, 2004. The Alliance to Save Energy urges that
energy efficiency must be a prime consideration to solutions to the
electricity reliability problem.
- The blackout of '03: What hasn't changed. Mlive.com. August 5, 2004.
- Short-term response to blackout complete; future of power transmission oversight unclear. Ohio News Now. August 5, 2004.
- "Despite fixes, power outage threat lingers: Upgrades bolster
system, but regulatory reforms stall", The Toledo Blade (Aug 1, 2004)
To
retreive this article, search for "Despite fices, power outages threat
lingerspower outages threat lingers" in the headline at Newbank archives.
- Lights on, but next outage is blip away. Little done to prevent repeat of Blackout '03. Detroit Free Press. July 28, 2004.
- BLACKOUT 2003 | THE FALLOUT: Consumer use, tree trimming are keys. Experts say states can take action to protect grid. Detroit Free Press. July 28, 2004.
- Industry group forms to address critical power issues. EE Times. (Aug 4, 2004)
- The Unruly Power Grid: Advanced mathematical modeling suggests that big blackouts are inevitable. IEEE Spectrum. (Jul 2004)
- Toward
A Consumer-Oriented Electric System: Assuring Affordability,
Reliability, Accountability and Balance After a Decade of Restructuring. National Association Of State PIRGs for the National Commission On Energy Policy. (July 30, 2004)
Nearly
one year after the August 14, 2003 blackout, government and industry
have failed to resolve the critical problems that caused the blackout
and that threaten the future reliability and affordability of
electricity, according to a report released today by consumer advocates.
- Recent blackouts in US and continental Europe: is liberalisation to blame? Janusz W. Bialek. Cambridge-MIT Institute. (Jan 16, 2004)
Italy (28-Sep-03)
ATEL Swiss (power energy company)
ETRANS Swiss (Swiss co-ordination centre)
ETSO (European Transmission System Operators Association)
GRTN (Italian system operator)
RTE France (French operator)
UCTE (Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity )
- Report on Italian electricity blackouts raises political questions. Euractiv. (Published Aug 16, 2004) Includes links to other sources.
- Report on the Events of September 28th, 2003 (Apr 22, 2004) Culminating in the Separation of the Italian Power System from the Other UCTE Networks
- Swiss Federal Office of Electricity Report underscores need for binding electricity trading regulations throughout Europe. Nov. 25, 2003.
- Interim Report of the Investigation Committee on the 28 September 2003 blackout in Italy. UCTE. (Oct 27, 2003)
- JOINT PRESS RELEASE (Apr
23, 2004) The joint conclusions of the inquiry of the Italian and
French regulatory authorities on the international causes of the
September blackout.
- Swiss blamed for European electricity fiasco.
Financial Times. Apr. 25. The French and Italian energy regulators have
called on Switzerland to implement a legislative and regulatory
framework coherent with European Union legislation to ensure the
security of electricity supplies in Europe. This follows the findings
of a six month independent investigation by the two authorities which
put the blame squarely on Switzerland for the disruptions in the
European electricity network that led to a complete blackout in Italy
on the night of September 28 last year.
- Swiss Federal Office of Electricity report underscores need for binding electricity trading regulations throughout Europe.
Nov. 25. The underlying causes of the incident that occurred on 28
September 2003 are the unresolved conflict between the trading
interests of the involved countries and operators and the technical and
legal requirements for safe and reliable operation of the networks.
- Italian blackout sparked by insufficient control. Swissinfo. (Nov 25, 2003)
The
Swiss Federal Office of Electricity on Tuesday admitted that the
Italian power outage was triggered by the failure of a power line at
the Lukmanier pass in central Switzerland. But it said this had been
the result of an underlying lack of regulation in the European
electricity market, with electricity suppliers failing to take into
account the technical limitations of the power grid. On September 28,
Switzerland was supplying 550 megawatts more power to Italy than had
been agreed, leaving operators unable to restore power after the
breakdown on the Lukmanier line, the report said. The FOE blamed the
enormous discrepancy between agreed limits and actual supplies on
Italian and the French network operators. These did not take security
requirements enough into account when allocating electricity capacity
quotas to other European countries.
- UCTE'S REPORT ON THE ITALIAN BLACKOUT OF 28 SEPTEMBER 2003. GRTN. Oct. 28
- Swiss Blamed for Italian Blackout. Swissinfo. Oct. 28.
- UCTE Report Confirms Swiss Position And Reveals Weak Points in Italy. Etrans. Oct. 27.
- UCTE's report on the italian blackout of 28 September 2003. GRTN Gestore del Sistema Electrico (Oct 1, 2003)
- UCTE investigation committee. UCTE. (Oct 2, 2003)
Northeast North America (14-Aug-03)
- NYISO Releases Final Report on the Blackout of 2003. (Feb 28, 2005) [Report | News Release]
The Final Report reaffirmed the primary conclusions that were published
in the NYISO’s interim report – that New York did not initiate or
contribute to the system disturbance.
- The August 14, 2003 Blackout One Year Later: Actions
Taken in the United States and Canada To Reduce Blackout Risk.
Canada–U.S. Power System Outage Task Force. (Aug 13, 2004)
- U.S./Canada Power System Outage Task Force, Final Report on the August 14th Blackout in the United States and Canada: Causes and Recommendations. (Apr 5, 2004)
Read "Current Reports" on line at US DOE Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability
- Interim Report: Causes of the August 14th Blackout in the United States and Canada (webpage with PDFs)
- Utility Vegetation Management Initial Report. (Dec 2003)
- Utility Vegetation Management Final Report. (Mar 2004)
- Utility Vegetation Management and Reliability Final Report. (Sep 7, 2004)
- 2003 Preliminary Report on the Findings of the Data Exploration and Requirements Team. CERTS, (Feb 21, 2004)
- Technical Analysis of the August 14, 2003, Blackout: What Happened, Why, and What Did We Learn?
Report to the NERC Board of Trustees by the NERC Steering Group. NERC, (Jul 13, 2004)
- NERCouncil Board Approves Actions to Prevent and Mitigate the Impacts of Future Cascading Blackouts. NERC. (Feb 10, 2004)
- A Review of System Operations Leading up to the Blackout of August 14, 2003 (Final). NERC. (Mar 18, 2005)
- ECAR Investigation of August 14, 2003 Blackout By Major System Disturbance Analysis Task Force
- Report of the Massachusetts Governor's Task Force on Electric Reliability and Outage Preparedness. (March 2004)
- Michigan Public Service Commission Report on August 14th Blackout, (Nov 5, 2003)
- NYISO Interim Report on August 14, 2003 Blackout. New York ISO. (Jan 8, 2004)
- Initial Report by the New York State Department of Public Service on the August 14, 2003 Blackout. (Mar 1, 2004)
- Public Service Commission of Wisconsin's Blackout Report calls for mandatory reliability standards for utilities. (Jun 3, 2004)
Blackout Description
- Video: The Power Grid (History
Channel's Modern Marvels). (Sep. 3) Probe the cascading forces that led
to the largest blackout in history, and see how the government and
utilities are working to prevent a recurrence. 1 Volume Set. 50
Minutes. Availability is: 3-6 wks.
- Blackout 101
- see the presentations made to congressional staffers on Feb. 6, 2004
by PSERC researchers and other expert members of the Power Engineering
Society.
- Gerry Cauley (Director-Standards, NERC) Presentation to International Right of Way Maintenance Conference.
(June 22, 2004). Overviews outage sequence of events, blackout
investigation findings, and NERC strategic initiatives. See also NERC Blackout Presentation to the APPA, (Mar 9, 2004); and NERC Presentation to IEEE - Tampa, (February 2004)
- Final Report on the August 14, 2003 Blackout in the United States and Canada: Causes and Recommendations. (Apr. 5, 2004)
- ECAR Investigation of August 14, 2003 Blackout By Major System Disturbance Analysis Task Force. Technical Report. (Feb. 2004).
- Task Force Interim Report. (Nov. 19, 2003) Presentation on the Interim Report. NERC. (Dec. 1, 2003)
- Blackout of 2003: Description and Responses. This presentation integrates material linked on this web page to provide an overview of the Blackout of 2003. An accompanying simulation
of the Eastern Interconnection uses a 1998 system case to illustrate
consequences of selected generation and line outage events along the
Joint Task Force timeline. (Updated 11/5/2003) (Note: PDF versions are available.)
- System Restoration from the PJM Training Series PJM. (August 2003) This Power Point training presentation outlines reasons for blackouts and describes restoration processes.
Initial Description
- NERC's August 14, 2003 Blackout Investigation
- Maps of NERC's Preliminary Disturbance Report Events. Created by Jeff Dagle of the Pacific Northwest National Lab. (August 16, 2003)
- Satellite Pictures of Blackout Area
Sequence of Events
- Joint U.S. - Canada Task Force Releases Power Outage Sequence of Events. (Sep. 12, 2003) The PSERC Blackout NENA Investigations page lists sources of additional information.
- FirstEnergy's Chronology of Events. Includes brief discussion of conditions existing within the region on the day of the event. Presentation on the chronology. (Sep. 4, 2003)
- MAAC Outage Review Team Presentation (PJM).
Dec. 16. PJM initial observations on key interim report findings. What
operator actions were taken? Were system conditions similar to those
for which the system was planned? Adequacy of real time models? Why did
the system split where it did? Compliance with MAAC/NERC rules?
Enhancement of communications.
- Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator's (MISO) Selected Time-points in the Chronology of Events.
Roger Harszy, Director, Reliability Coordination. Testimony to Michigan
Senate Energy & Technology Committee. (Sep. 4, 2003)
- Ohio timeline for 8/14/03.
Introduction: The timeline was created by the Public Utilities
Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and is a chronology of events. Due to the
integrated nature of the electric grid, these events should not
necessarily be interpreted as a direct cause of the blackout. The PUCO
has shared this timeline with Governor Bob Taft and the Bi-National
Task Force reviewing the causes of the blackout. As a member of the
Bi-National Task Force, PUCO Chairman Alan R. Schriber will work with
the Task Force to review the causes of the blackout and make
recommendations to prevent further occurrences. At this time, all
analysis of this timeline will be deferred to the engineers reviewing
the data for the Task Force.
- Ontario's Independent Market Operator's Chronology of Events. (August 29, 2003)
- PJM Interconnection's Chronology of Events. PJM, (August 11, 2004)
- Integrated Timeline Compiled by the New York Times. The New York Times (Sep. 13, 2003) compiled a timeline using a transcript of control center telephone communications along with chronologies provided by the bi-national task force and other organizations.
- A Timeline of the 2003 Blackout. Excerpts from an Associated Press News article. (August 17, 2003)
Additional Information
- Software Bug Contributed to Blackout. SecurityFocus, (Feb. 11, 2004)
- Transcript of control center telephone communications
during the afternoon of Aug. 14 provided by the Midwest Independent
Transmission System Operator to the House Energy and Commerce
Committee.
Related media articles:
- Cambridge Energy Research Associates has made its description of the sequence of events leading to
the blackout available in a web streaming video production. The analysts used information obtained from industry interviews.
See also:
Data and Analyses
- Economic Assessments of the Consequences of the Blackout of 2003
- Northeast blackout proved cleansing, scientists say.
Baltimore Sun. June 10. University of Maryland scientists say they have
found a bright side to the great blackout of August 2003 that darkened
the homes and workplaces of 50 million people in parts of the Midwest,
Northeast and Canada. The idling of electric power plants across the
affected region resulted in drastically healthier air and bluer skies
downwind, including the Baltimore-Washington corridor, the researchers
said.
- Gerry Cauley (Director-Standards, NERC) Presentation to International Right of Way Maintenance Conference. (June 23, 2004) Overviews outage sequence of events, blackout investigation findings, and NERC strategic initiatives.
See also NERC Blackout Presentation to the APPA, (March 9, 2004) and NERC Presentation to IEEE - Tampa, (February 2004)
- Report on the Findings of the Data Exploration and Requirements Team. (Feb. 21, 2004)
- Frequency charts, based on data from I-Grid
power quality monitors in the Blackout area, show frequency variations
across the affected states as the grid separated. Frequencies were in
the range of 49 to 63 Hertz (i.e., cycles per second) as compared to a
more normal range of about 59.5 to 60.5 Hertz. Trajectories in the
frequency data from the different monitor sites show how the system
separated geographically in New York. SoftSwitching Technologies also
provided a series of three charts showing the propagation of the
disturbance throughout the affected area between 4:09:57 p.m. and
04:10:58.
- 9am-9pm Frequency Time Chart Recorded in Chattanooga, Tennessee During the August 14th Disturbance. TVA. (August 15, 2003).
- Michigan Electric Coordinated Systems Data (frequency, MVar flows, voltages, power flows). International Transmission Company. (Sep. 4, 2003)
- PJM Data on Frequency, Voltage, Interchanges, Load and Line Flows. PJM Presentation on the Events of (August 14, 2003)
- PQ Data from Transmission and Distribution Sites in the Northeast.
These data were recorded by power quality monitors on the 115kV side of
a 345kV/115kV autotransformer in the northeast and several distribution
substations fed by the 115kV system. EPRI PEAC. EPRI PEAC's initial analysis is also available along with clarifications. (Aug 14, 2003)
- Preliminary Analysis of Measured Data.
EnerNex Corporation. Time-series measurements are reported for sites in
Knoxville, TN, near Newark, NJ and the New York metropolitan area. The
data are from the time of the blackout. (2003)
- August 14 Data Recorded at the Service Entrance of Dranetz-BMI's Manufacturing Facility in Edison, N.J. Electrotek.
- Signatures of the Blackout of 2003.
Electrotek. This report features rms voltage and waveforms recorded
during the blackout. One of particular interest is a waveform captured
during the grid collapse in New York City that shows the instability of
the system. Oct. 6.
Investigations and Related Inquiries
U.S./Canada Power System Outage Task Force
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Massachusetts
Michigan Public Service Commission
New York Public Service Commission
North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC)
Ohio Public Utilities Commission
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S.
Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of
Columbia
U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Hearings on the Blackout
Investigation Perspectives
U.S./Canada Power System Outage Task Force
- The August 14, 2003 Blackout One Year Later: Actions Taken in the United States and Canada To Reduce Blackout Risk. Canada–U.S. Power System Outage Task Force. (August 13, 2004).
- A Question Still Unanswered: How Did the Blackout Happen?
New York Times (subscription). (May 10, 2004). Alison Silverstein,
senior energy policy adviser to the regulatory commission, who drafted
much of the [Joint Outage Task Force] report, said in an interview:
"Reliability is about taking care of the basics every single day.
That's what all of those prior blackouts told us. That's what this
blackout told us." The report cautions that "simulation of these events
is so complex that it may be impossible to ever completely prove"
theories about the events. Such a thorough analysis was "not a job we
could do in the time we had available," said David Meyer, senior
adviser to the Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution in the
Department of Energy.
- Final Report on the August 14, 2003 Blackout in the United States and Canada: Causes and Recommendations. (April 2004)
- Task Force News Release. (April 5, 2004)
- Secretary Abraham Releases Statement on Final Blackout Report. (April 5, 2004)
- CANADA-U.S. TASK FORCE PRESENTS FINAL REPORT ON BLACKOUT OF AUGUST 2003Press Release from Government of Canada. (April 5, 2004)
- Statement by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Wood. (April 5, 2004)
- Statement by Public Utility Commission of Ohio Chairman Alan R. Schriber. (April 5, 2004)
- Hydro One Responds to Blackout Task Force Report. (April 5, 2004)
- Disregard for standards marked run-up to blackout; task force calls for new rules. Akron Beacon Journal. (April 5, 2004)
- Officials Warn Blackout Could Be Repeated. Courier. (April 5, 2004)
- New York Independent System Operator Commends Final Blackout Report. Yahoo Finance. (April 5, 2004)
- Panel Calls for Tougher Power Grid Rules. Reuters. (April 5, 2004)
- Massive power blackout deemed preventable Urgent action required: Report. Fort Frances Times Online. (April 5, 2004)
- Disregard for standards marked run-up to blackout; task force calls for new rules. Detroit Free Press. (April 5, 2004)
- MSBlast not to blame for blackout, report says. CNET News.com. (April 5, 2004)
- Utility Could Have Halted '03 Blackout, Panel Says. New York Times. (April 6, 2004).
- Officials Seek New Rules to Stem Blackout. Daily Press. (April 6, 2004).
- NERC Welcomes U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force Final Report. (April 6, 2004).
- Penalties urged to prevent blackout. Detroit Free Press. (April 6, 2004).
- Utility's excuses rejected. The Plain Dealer. (April 6, 2004).
- NERC Welcomes US-Canada Power System Outage Task Force Final Report. (April 6, 2004).
- Technology in works to cut risk of blackouts. The Plain Dealer. (April 6, 2004).
- Tracking the blackout bug. SecurityFocus News. (April 7, 2004).
- Ratepayers Likely to Pay for New Electricity Grid, Task Force Says. The Miami Herald. (April 8, 2004).
- Akron utility looking forward.
Akron Beacon Journal. (Mar. 26). Chief Executive Officer Anthony J.
Alexander said the company has tightened up control room operations and
beefed up training since a major blackout Aug. 14. It has also enhanced
its tree trimming and vegetation management programs.
- Electric Reliability Panel Featuring FERC and DOE Representatives Confirms Need For Increased Study, Accountability. (Washington,
DC - March 8, 2004) National Association of Regulated Utility
Commissioners. Mar. 8. DOE is scheduled to release a final report on
the August 14th blackout soon. The report will contain technical and
policy recommendations for necessary accountability mechanisms. Jimmy
Glotfelty, DOE Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution,
mentioned several challenges of this process, including: creating
comprehensive energy legislation that includes mandatory reliability
standards; developing accountability measures for NERC and its Board
while refining the auditing and monitoring process at NERC; clarifying
State and federal jurisdictions; improving reliability infrastructure;
and creating funding mechanisms which make certain that expenditures
and investments to improve reliability are recoverable. Mr. Glotfelty
cautioned, regarding reliability, that there must be "accountability in
these cases or consumers pay."
- Energy Organizations Urge Restored Funding to Prevent Blackouts.
IEEE USA News. (Feb. 19, 2004). Broad Coalition of Energy Organizations
Urges Restoration of Support for Research on Electric Transmission,
Distribution to Improve Reliability, Prevent Future Blackouts. The letter to Congress and the Administration is available. (18 February 2004)
- Joint U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force Utility Vegetation Management Initial Report.
(Dec. 2003). This initial report provides introductory information
related to findings after performing field investigations and outage
analysis at four suspect locations on transmission right-of-ways
maintained by either FirstEnergy (FE) or American Electric Power (AEP).
- Public Input on the Joint Task Force Interim Report and on Recommendations: Public Meetings and Electronic Submittals
- See What the Public Has to Say. See summary of comments and
recommendations received by DOE on the Blackout Report via email and
the Blackout Forum as of (1-12-04). Also, comments from Dec. 16 meeting
available. [Canada] [United States]
- Industry
Technical Conference Announcement and Agenda - (January 9, 2004). NERC.
The Electric System Investigation Team conducted a technical conference
on (December 16, 2003) in Philadelphia to receive inputs from the
electric industry on how to prevent and minimize the impacts of
possible future cascading blackouts. A second conference was convened
in Toronto on (January 9, 2004) to solicit further input and address a
number of issues in more depth. The conference consisted of four
simultaneous "Breakout Sessions" in the morning to be followed by
presentations to the assembly from each of the four groups in the
afternoon.[Announcement and Agenda][Presentations (zip file)]
- Industry
Technical Conference on August 14 Blackout: The electric systems
investigation team supporting the Task Force conducted a technical
conference on (December 16, 2003). The conference focused on receiving
technical inputs from electric industry participants on how to prevent
and minimize the impacts of possible future cascading blackouts. [Announcement] [Agenda] [Presentation Power Point Slides] [Archived Webcast] [Transcript]
- Transcripts from public meetings (US-Canada Power System Outage Task Force Public Consultation)
- Electric Industry Is Urged to Be More Tightly Linked.
New York Times. (Dec. 17, 2003). Engineers meeting here for the first
public technical session about the Aug. 14 blackout said on Tuesday
that to avoid a recurrence, the industry should be more tightly linked,
through mutual regulation and data sharing, though the path to that
point was unclear.
- Blackout hearing in N.Y. draws few.
Akron Beacon Journal. (Dec. 6, 2003). "The primary lesson from the Aug.
14th blackout is that it was caused by largely avoidable human and
operational failures and mistakes,'' said William Museler, president
and chief executive of the New York Independent System Operator.
``Simply put, if the rules had been followed and the companies involved
had supported and insisted upon compliance with the rules, the
blackouts would have either been avoided entirely, or certainly been
much less severe.'' FirstEnergy plans to submit its suggestions in
writing.
- N.Y. blackout hearing urges national grid rules. Forbes. (Dec. 5, 2003).
- Blackout panel hears little. Few people address committee. Congress members want new meeting scheduled. Akron Beacon Journal. Dec. 5.
- At Hearing on Blackout, Critics Focus on Report. New York Times. (Dec. 5, 2003)
- Few Indications Efforts to Cut Blackout Risks are Under Way.
New York Times. (Dec. 12, 2003). "I do not think that we have done
anything structurally that will give us any better degree of confidence
that everybody is doing the right thing,'' said Jose M. Delgado, the
president and chief executive of the American Transmission Company, a
three-year-old nonprofit concern that operates most of the transmission
lines in Michigan."
- Interim Report. (Nov. 19, 2003)
- Updated Presentation on the Interim Report. NERC. (Dec. 1, 2003). Initial presentation: Powerpoint presentation summary based on the U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force Interim Peport. NERC. Nov. 19.
- August 14, 2003 Blackout Investigation Phase II -- Next Steps. NERC. Nov. 19.
- ISO New England comments on Interim Report MAAC Outage Review Team Presentation (PJM).
Dec. 16. PJM initial observations on key interim report findings. What
operator actions were taken? Were system conditions similar to those
for which the system was planned? Adequacy of real time models? Why did
the system split where it did? Compliance with MAAC/NERC rules?
Enhancement of communications.
- Factors Related to the Series of Outages on August 14, 2003. EPRI. Nov. 20. Related media article: Utility praises another view. Report commissioned by FirstEnergy suggests outside factors could have caused blackout. Akron Beacon Journal. Nov. 22.
- Analysts blame deregulation in blackout.
Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nov. 18. On the eve of a federal task force
report that will likely implicate FirstEnergy Corp. in the August
blackout, consultants hired by the utility yesterday pointed fingers
everywhere but at FirstEnergy.
- Experts Identify Issues Contributing to the August 14 Outage.
Charles River Research today issued a series of papers by a team of
utility industry experts identifying and examining issues that may have
contributed to the August 14, 2003 outage. The papers have been
submitted to the U.S.-Canada Task Force conducting an investigation of
the outage. The effort was funded by a grant from FirstEnergy Corp.
Nov. 18.
- Ignoring a Forest for the Tree Trimming. New York Times. Nov. 25.
- Ohio seeking penalties against FirstEnergy-WSJ. Forbes. Nov. 21.
- FirstEnergy faces state order to upgrade. Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nov. 21.
- Utility plans few fast changes. Akron Beacon Journal. Nov. 21.
- FirstEnergy pins historic blackout on other causes, won't take blame. Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nov. 20
- Software failure cited in August blackout investigation. Computerworld. Nov. 20.
- Blackout Report Blames Ohio Utility. New York Times. Nov. 20.
- Investigators Pinpoint Cause of August Blackout. Washington Post. Nov. 19.
- Investigators pin origin of blackout on FirstEnergy failures. CNN. Nov. 19.
- FACTBOX-Report details causes of US-Canadian blackout. Forbes. Nov. 19.
- Blackout report lays blame. United Press International. Nov. 19.
- Ohio utility comes under fire in report on August blackout. Sun Herald. Nov. 19.
- FirstEnergy broke no FERC rules in blackout-agency. Forbes. Nov. 19.
- DOE chief sees no blackout penalty for FirstEnergy. Forbes. Nov. 19.
- Speech
by The Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, PC, MP Minister of Natural Resources
Canada on the Release of the Interim Report of the Canada-U.S. Power
System Outage Task Force. NRC. Nov. 19.
- Text of Secretary Abraham's Remarks at the Release of the Interim Report of the U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force. U.S. DOE. Nov. 19.
- NERC Affirms U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force Findings. Nov. 19
- Public Utilities Commission of Ohio Responds to Bi-National Task Force Blackout Report. Nov. 19.
- AEP comments on joint task force's interim blackout report. Nov. 19.
- FirstEnergy Believes Interim Report Fails to Adequately Address Root Cause. Nov. 19.
- PJM Statement Commends the U.S. - Canada Power System Outage Task Force.Nov. 19.
- Wall St sees little fallout from blackout report. Forbes. Nov. 18.
- Deregulated Power Grid Presents Own Challenges. Newsday. Nov. 17.
- Experts Agree: Nation's Electric System Aging, Byzantine. Newsday. Nov. 17.
- Inquiry stokes debate over how to fix power grid. Philadelphia Inquirer. Nov. 17.
- Averting blackout crisis. Akron Beacon Journal. Nov. 15.
- In a Blink, Power Problems Revealed. Newsday. Nov. 9.
- Report on Blackout Is Said to Describe Failure to React.
New York Times. Nov. 12. A report on the Aug. 14 blackout identifies
specific lapses by various parties, including FirstEnergy's failure to
react properly to the loss of a transmission line, people who have seen
drafts of it say. The report, drafted by an aide at the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, will probably leave for later the question of
why the blackout stopped where it did. It was not the loss of the
initial lines that caused the lights to go out from Detroit to New York
City. Instead, the report is said to indicate that it was the failure
of the operators to perform contingency analysis and then, if
necessary, reconfigure the system. Last month, the investigation moved
from a group of up to 90 engineers, meeting in Princeton, N.J., at the
headquarters of the North American Electric Reliability Council, to the
staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
- U.S./Canada Power Outage Task Force Update: Remarks by Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. Also, Dhaliwal and Abraham Attend Joint Canada-U.S. Task Force Meeting.
"We expect to issue the preliminary findings of the Task Force within a
few weeks, and we are now working to schedule public forums in both
countries as we move into Phase Two of our process." October 17.
- Report on Blackout Is Promised Within Weeks. New York Times. Oct. 18.
- Blackout report coming in weeks. The Akron Beacon Journal. Oct. 18.
- Canadian, U.S. public to get hearing on August blackout at forums. Winnepeg Sun. Oct. 18.
- Blackout experts struggle to shed light on darkness. USA Today. Oct. 13.
- Electricity Restructuring: 2003 Blackout Identifies Crisis and Opportunity for the Electricity Sector. Government Accounting Office. GAO-04-204. (Nov. 18, 2003)
- FirstEnergy makes appeal on blackout.
The Plain Dealer. Oct. 31. In a 15-page computer presentation handed
out to members of Congress and obtained by The Plain Dealer,
FirstEnergy said the blackout report "must consider more than the
'usual suspects' of planning, isolated equipment failure, and
operational errors." Any task force recommendations calling for
substantial reform of the nation's electric grid and its management
would require congressional action. Also, presentation by Presentation
by FirstEnergy's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer H. Peter Burg and
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Richard H. Marsh. EEI Financial Conference. (Oct 27, 2003)
- The Ohio Retail Electric Choice Programs, Report of Market Activity, 2001 - 2002.
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. (May 2003) The report reviews the
changes that have taken place in the state's electric industry. See
also U.S. DOE Status of State Electric Industry Restructuring Activity (Ohio) as of February 2003.
- Weak links in U.S. grid.
Akron Beacon Journal. October 25. Although the role the SCADA
malfunction played in the blackout remains unclear, any recommendations
by the U.S.-Canadian task force investigating the events of that day
must address the security issues, experts say. FirstEnergy, which said
two days after the blackout that its SCADA computer system
malfunctioned, has contracted with General Electric and KEMA to
investigate the problem. Results to be provided to U.S./Canada Task
Force.
- August 14, 2003 Outage Sequence of Events (also available: MS Word version ). Sep. 12.
Joint U.S. - Canada Task Force Releases Power Outage Sequence of Events. Sep. 12.
- Secretary Spencer Abraham's Remarks on the Blackout. Sep. 12.
- Overseers Missed Big Picture as Failures Led to Blackout. The New York Times (Sep. 13) compiled a timeline using a transcript of control center telephone communications along with chronologies provided by the bi-national task force and other organizations.
- Electricity supply drops in northern Ohio grid minutes before blackout. The Plain Dealer. Sep. 13.
- Blackout probe finds clues, no answers. The Plain Dealer. Sep. 13.
- Electricity Reduction Eyed in Blackout. Chicago Tribune. Sep. 13.
- Dearth of 'Reactive Power' Cited as Blackout Factor. Wall St. Journal On-Line (fee service). Sep. 12.
- Joint Communiqué on the U.S./Canada Power System Outage Task Force. August 20, 2003.
- Dhaliwal and Abraham Convene First Meeting of Joint Canada-U.S. Task Force. Natural Resources Canada. August 28. Lists members of the joint task force. (August 28, 2003)
- Members of the Task Force Working Groups. Natural Resources Canada. (Last Updated: 2003-08-27)
- Secretary Abraham Remarks from Visit to North American Electric Reliability Council in Princeton, NJ. U.S. Department of Energy. August 27.
- Statement from Patrick Wood. FERC. (August 20, 2003)
- Secretary Abraham Deploys Investigators; Reviewing Data Collection from Electric Industry. U.S. Department of Energy. August 17.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Workshop on Establishing Electricity Reliability Organization as an International Organization .
The Workshop is supported by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial ADM
Electricity Working Group, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Apr 19, 2005)
FERC Accepts Entergy Proposal to Establish Independent Coordinator of its Transmission System (Press Release) (Mar 22, 2005)
Green Light Given to Midwest ISO Energy Market by FERC. ( (Press Release | Order) (Mar 16, 2005)
Commission supplements reliability policy statement to affirm compliance with revised NERC standards The
Commission's order supplementing the reliability policy statement came
one day after the NERC Board of Trustees approved its "Version 0"
reliability standards, which are slated to take effect April 1, 2005.
The new standards are intended to state reliability goals in a manner
that is unambiguous and measurable. (Feb 4, 2005)
Technical conference on principles for efficient and reliable reactive power supply and consumption (Docket No. AD05-1-000)Technical Conference on (March 8, 2005)
Order requiring response to survey on operator training practices by control area operators and transmission providers FERC Docket No. EL05-24-000 (Issued Dec 27, 2004)
Workshop on the Transition to an ERO that can work as an Effective International Organization.
The workshop is supported by the Federal-Provincial-Territorial ADM
Electricity Working Group, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (Dec 8, 2004)
New FERC Reliability Division to Safeguard Reliability of Electric System. FERC (Oct 6, 2004)
Staff Report on Cost Ranges for the Development and Operation of a Day One Regional Transmission Organization. FERC (October 2004)
Report on Use of Grid Reliability Funds sent to Congress. FERC (Sep 30, 2004)
Technical conference to discuss Reliability Readiness Reviews that are being conducted by NERC. FERC (September 29, 2004)
Federal review faults electricity industry's reliability program. Detroit Free Press. Sep. 29, 2004.
See also FERC Staff Criticizes Enforcement Of Blackout Rules. Dow Jones Newswire (subscription). Sep. 30.
"The
utility-funded organization set up to ensure the reliability of North
America's power grid isn't being sufficiently vigilant in assessing
utilities' compliance with rules meant to prevent blackouts, the staff
of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said..." "Industry audits
play down shortcomings of the grid system, rely on ambiguous standards
that often are ignored and reflect ``vast differences between the best
and the worst'' performers, according to the staff..."
FERC sends final Vegetation Management Report to Congress. FERC (Sep 7, 2004)
Transcript, presentations and other materials available for FERC Planning Summer 2004 Reliability Workshop on July 15 in Cleveland, OH FERC Docket No. PL04-11-000. (Jul 15, 2004)
The discussion covers responses to the 2003 blackout, preparations for
Summer 2004, electricity infrastructure issues, and longer-term
reliability issues.
Presentations and materials now available for FERC Technical Conference on July 14. Information Technology for Reliability and Markets. FERC Docket No. PL04-12-000. (Jul 14, 2004)
The
goal of the technical conference is to discuss Reliability
Coordinators' and Control Areas' use of information technology for
electric bulk system reliability and markets. The Commission seeks to
reduce IT costs, enhance software quality and security, and promote
competition in reliability and market software development, with the
desired result of enhancing grid reliability, increasing software
compatibility to reduce reliability and market seams, and ultimately
lowering costs to customers. Topics to be discussed will include best
practices for IT management, system architecture, specific IT projects
underway within the Independent System Operation/Regional Transmission
Operator Council's Information Technology Committee, and progress since
FERC's last software conference.
Technical workshop to discuss improvement of North America electric reliability standards and April 2004 report recommendations, co-hosted FERC and the U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force. (May 14, 2004).
- Staff Paper.
(May 14, 2004) "Transitioning From Existing NERC Operating Policies and
Planning Standards to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
Version 0 Reliability Standards." FERC Reliability Team Analysis. NERC
has developed a plan for accelerating the development and adoption of
NERC Reliability Standards. FERC Staff concludes that NERC's plan for
Reliability Standards development needs further development,
improvement and clarification.
- Plan for Accelerating the Adoption of NERC Reliability Standards. NERC. (Apr 19, 2004).
FERC's Power Reliability Policy: Policy Statement (Docket No. PL04-5) | Order (Docket no. EL04-52) (Issued Apr 19, 2004).
FERC Takes Prompt Action In Response To Blackout Task Force Recommendations; Outlines Power Reliability Policy. (Press Release: Apr 14, 2004) Docket Numbers: PL04-5-000, EL04-52-000
The
Commission's policy statement on power system reliability addresses the
need to expeditiously modify the North American Electric Reliability
Council's (NERC) reliability standards in order to make these standards
clear and enforceable. The Commission emphasizes public utility
compliance with reliability standards, stating that Good Utility
Practice includes compliance these standards. The policy states that
the Commission, consistent with its authority, will consider taking
utility-specific action on a case-by-case basis to address significant
reliability problems or compliance with Good Utility Practice. The
policy statement also addresses recovery of prudent reliability costs,
and the need for communication and cooperation between the Commission
and the states, as well as with Canada and Mexico. In response to
recommendations made in the Final Report, the Commission's policy
statement immediately takes the following steps:
- No new ISO or RTO will be allowed to begin operations until its reliability capabilities are functional.
- The Commission will consider the reliability implications of its decisions, as appropriate.
- The
Commission is appointing a staff task force to report on potential
funding mechanisms for NERC and the regional reliability councils to
ensure their independence from the utilities they monitor. The staff
task force will work closely with FERC's Canadian counterparts, state
regulatory authorities, NERC, regional reliability councils and the
industry.
- FERC staff is directed to draft a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) defining NERC's working relationship with the
Commission. The MOU will clarify the Commission's appropriate role in
NERC oversight and the respective reliability responsibilities of both
NERC and the Commission.
- FERC Pushes U.S. Power Reliability Ahead of Summer.
Reuters. Apr. 14. U.S. transmission grid owners must report by June 17
on their efforts to trim trees growing near power lines, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said on Wednesday. FERC
commissioners also voted to allow U.S. utilities to recover "prudently
incurred" costs for boosting the reliability of their power grids. At
the meeting, FERC staffers described the agency's new reliability unit,
which was created in January. It has 15 employees who will help the
North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) conduct reliability
audits.
FERC Commission Meeting (Apr 14, 2004)
Electric Reliability Docket No. RM04-2-000. (Updated: Mar 31, 2006)
Utility Vegetation Management Final Report. FERC. (March 2004).
Federal regulator says changes at grid monitor reduce outage threat.
Newsday. Feb. 18. Pat Wood, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, toured the space center-like control hub of the Midwest
Independent Transmission System Operator before meeting with reporters
to praise the changes implemented since the nation's worst blackout.
FERC May Back Off on Auditing Rules.
Houston Chronicle. Feb. 11, 2004. The Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission indicated today it was satisfied that new utility
self-policing efforts can detect the lapses that caused last August's
massive power blackout, and backed away from imposing its own auditing
rules. In a statement, FERC said it will "continue to explore its
existing authority to oversee power grid reliability, while evaluating
NERC's stepped-up reliability efforts."
Feds Want Utilities to Meet Standards.
Associated Press. Jan. 7. The top federal energy regulator said
Wednesday that even without congressional backing he plans to force
electric utilities to meet delivery standards in hopes of preventing a
repeat of last summer's devastating blackout.
US utilities want FERC to take secondary audit role. Forbes. (Jan 29, 2004)
FERC Orders FirstEnergy to Study Grid Reliability.
Reuters. Dec. 29. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has
ordered Ohio utility FirstEnergy Corp. to pay for an independent study
of the state's power grid, where the massive August blackout started.
FirstEnergy must hire an independent consultant by Jan. 30, 2004, with
a report due to FERC in April. FirstEnergy must share the results of
the study with the Ohio Public Utilities Commission, North American
Electric Reliability Council (NERC), and the Midwest power grid
operator, FERC said.
- Read the letter from FERC to FirstEnergy 105 FERC ¶ 61,372 Docket No. PA04-14-000 (Dec 24, 2003)
Note: NGI's Power Markets Today reported on Jan. 6 that FERC has granted FE an extension to Jan. 12 for the issuance of the RFP.
Feds to hire grid monitors. Detroit News. Dec. 24. Thirty engineers will watch power reliability in response to massive blackout Aug. 14.
FERC to Require Reporting of Power-Grid Reliability Violations; Pending
Step First in Exploration of Options Under Existing Law. . (Press Release: Dec 17, 2003) Docket Numbers: AD02-7, RM04-2
FERC Electric Reliability Docket.
The Commission has inaugurated Docket No. RM04-2-000 in the wake of the
August 14, 2003, regional blackout and Congressional consideration of
power-grid reliability legislation.
PUCO: Ohio's high-voltage lines need single manager
(Oct 17, 2003). Columbus Business First. The Public Utility Commission
of Ohio (PUCO) sent a report on Oct. 10 to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission that suggests control of high-voltage
transmission lines in the state be handed over to Cleveland-based
GridAmerica LLC, an independent operator of electricity transmission
lines. PUCO Chairman Alan Schriber said in his report that
consolidating control of transmission lines with GridAmerica would make
electricity-flow management in Ohio more manageable and efficient and
help avoid future blackouts. It would also be a first step in bringing
all of the state's transmission lines under the control of one agency.
Regional Transmission Organization Activities (Updated: Mar 23, 2006 )
Midwest ISO-PJM RTO Issues Inquiry
( Docket No. ER03-262-001, et al). The purpose of this process is to
gather sufficient information for moving forward in resolving the
voluntary commitment made by several entities to increase regional
coordination by joining RTOs and establish a joint and common market in
the Midwest and PJM region. Hearings Sep. 29 and 30.
Massachusetts
- Status of the Electric Grid in Massachusetts: Report of the Massachusetts Governor's Task Force on Electric Reliability and Outage Preparedness.
(Mar 12, 2004). The mission of the Massachusetts Task Force on Electric
Reliability and Outage Preparedness was assessing the potential for an
event or series of events, inside or outside of New England, to
escalate into a large-scale outage within Massachusetts. This report
makes recommendations for reducing the Commonwealth's vulnerability to
such cascading events, for containing such events, and for restoration
of electric power after a large-scale outage, should one occur.
Michigan Public Service Commission
- Michigan Public Service Commission Report on August 14th Blackout.
(Nov 5, 2003). The Public Service Commission did not attempt to
determine the root cause of the blackout. However, our investigation
did not reveal any evidence that Michigan utilities or transmission
operators were responsible for the blackout. Our investigation leads to
the conclusion that electric reliability has been seriously compromised
by the fragmented and ineffective regulation of the electric
transmission system.
New York Public Service Commission
- NYISO Releases Final Report on the Blackout of 2003 (Feb 28, 2005). The Final Report reaffirmed the primary conclusions that were published in the NYISO's Interim Report (Jan 8, 2004) that New York did not initiate or contribute to the system disturbance.
North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC)
August 14, 2003 Blackout Investigation
- A Review of System Operations Leading up to the Blackout of August 14, 2003 (Final). NERC. (Mar 18, 2005).
- NERC Adopts New Reliability Standards (Press Release (Feb 8, 2005) | Current Reliability Standards).
- NERC Compliance Workshop on Cyber Security Urgent Action Standard 1200 NERC. (Mar 1, 2005)
- NERC NEI/INPO/EPRI/NERC Grid Reliability Workshop NERC. (Feb 16, 2005)
- Industry Votes to Approve Version 0 Reliability Standards [ Ballot Results ]. NERC. (Jan. 10,2005)
- Eleven Reliability Standards posted for comment through February 17. NERC. (Jan 4, 2005)
- Industry Votes to Approve Version 0 Reliability Standards. NERC. (Dec. 15, 2004) [Ballot Results] [ Press Release]
- NERC Posts Version 0 Reliability Standards for Review and Ballot.
NERC. (Press release: Nov 12, 2004) NERC has successfully translated
its existing operating policies, planning standards, and compliance
requirements into an integrated and comprehensive set of measurable
Version 0 Reliability Standards that clarify and strengthen existing
NERC reliability standards. The final draft of the proposed standards
is posted on the NERC website for a 30-day review period prior to
ballot in December.
- Technical conference to discuss Reliability Readiness Reviews that are being conducted by NERC. FERC. (Sep. 29, 2004) Presentations are available.
- NERC Compliance Reports. NERC.
In response to Recommendation 2a, from the report August 14, 2003 Blackout: NERC Actions to Prevent and Mitigate the Impacts of Future Cascading Blackouts,
approved by the Board of Trustees on February 10, 2004, each
reliability council shall report quarterly to NERC all violations of
NERC and regional reliability council standards.
- NERC Standards Development Bulletin - August 2004. NERC.
- Status Report on NERC Implementation of August 14 Blackout Recommendations. NERC News. (July 2004 / No. 19)
- Long-Term Reliability Assessment Preliminary Data 2004-2013. NERC.
- Technical Analysis of the August 14, 2003, Blackout: What Happened, Why, and What Did We Learn? Report to the NERC Board of Trustees by the NERC Steering Group. . NERC. (Jul 13, 2004)
This report looks at the conditions on the bulk electric system
that existed prior to and during the blackout, and explains how the
blackout occurred. The report concludes with a series of
recommendations for actions that can and should be taken by the
electric industry to prevent or minimize the chance of such an outage
occurring in the future. The report begins by telling a detailed story
of the blackout, outlining what happened, and why. This portion of the
report is organized into three sections: Section II describes system
conditions on August 14 prior to the blackout, Section III describes
events in northeastern Ohio that triggered the start of an uncontrolled
cascade of the power system, and Section IV describes the ensuing
cascade. The report concludes in Section V with a summary of the causes
of the blackout, contributing factors, and other deficiencies. This
section also provides a set of NERC recommendations. The majority of
these recommendations were approved on February 10, 2004; however,
several new recommendations have been added. Supplemental reports
developed by investigation teams are under development and will be
available in phase II of this report.
- Remedial Actions Taken to Respond to Blackout Recommendations
- Control Area Reliability Readiness Audit and Improvement Program.
- NERC Blackout Presentations by Gerry Cauley (Director-Standards, Reliability Performance, NERC)
- Letter from Michehl R. Gent, President and CEO, NERC to the Honorable John D. Dingell, U.S. House of Representatives concerning the "organizational independence" of the regional reliability councils that make up NERC. NERC. (May 27, 2004)
- NERC Issues 2004 Summer Reliability Assessment. [Press Release] [Report] NERC. (May 12, 2004).
- Reliability standards NERC. From this page you can keep track of and link to all proposed reliability standards under development.
- NERC Applauds FERC Actions on Reliability. (Apr 16, 2004)
- NERC Welcomes US-Canada Power System Outage Task Force Final Report. (Apr 6, 2004)
- NERC Approves PJM and MISO Reliability Plans (Apr 5, 2004)
- ECAR Investigation of August 14, 2003 Blackout By Major System Disturbance Analysis Task Force
- NERC Board Approves actions: NERC Actions to Prevent and Mitigate the Impacts of Future Cascading Blackouts NERC. (Feb 10, 2004) Press Release. (Feb 11, 2004)
NERC Media Briefing Talking Points (Feb 19, 2004)
- NERC Acts to Strengthen Reliability Letter to Congress from MICHEHL R. GENT, President and CEO. NERC. (Feb 13, 2004)
- Industry group promises to monitor utility companies.
Newsday. Feb. 11. The industry group that oversees the nation's power
grid promised it will step up measures to make sure utility companies
obey rules designed to prevent blackouts like the one that cut power to
50 million people last year.
- Power Violators to Be Listed in Blackout Response. New York Times. (Feb 12, 2004)
- Tree limbs get ax in blackout's wake. Akron Beacon Journal. Feb. 12.
- Watchdog group nearly finished with blackout investigation. Newsday Feb. 6.
Experts at NERC began investigating the power outage seconds after
the East Coast lost electricity, and they have aided a joint
U.S.-Canadian task force called to determine the cause. The task force
is expected to detail its findings on March 11.
- Summary of Responses to Michehl Gent's October 15, 2003, Letter on Near-Term Actions to Ensure Reliability. (February 05, 2004)
- Blackout Investigation Nears Completion (NERC News. January 2004 / No. 13)
NERC Acts to Strengthen Compliance Enforcement Program, Reliability
Coordinator Responsibilities to be Clarified, Reliability Coordinators
and Control Areas to Conduct Self-Assessments.
- NERC Recommendations on the August 14, 2003 Blackout (Jan 20, 2004) Pre-decisional draft for discussion.
- Power watchdog issues blackout-prevention suggestions. Akron Beacon Journal. Jan. 24.
- Trees, not saboteurs, seen threat to US power grid. (Reuters. Oct. 27, 2003)
In a speech at the Edison Electric Institute's annual financial
conference, Michel Gent, president of the North American Electric
Reliability Council, said that "vegetation management appears to be in
the critical path for root cause analysis" of the Aug. 14 blackout in
the eastern United States. Gent acknowledged, however, that in the Aug.
14 blackout in the eastern United States and Canada, either NERC's
rules were inadequate or they were not followed.
- Near-Term Actions to Assure Reliable Operations. Letter from Michehl R. Gent, President and CEO of NERC. (Oct 15, 2003)
[ Control Area responses to letter ]
See also: Blackout's causes appear to be many: Ohio's power line problems may be just one factor. The Akron Beacon Journal. October 15.
The letter dated Wednesday provides the first solid insight into a
U.S.-Canadian investigation of the blackout that affected millions of
people in eight states and parts of Canada. "This letter was prepared
with input from the investigative team," said Ellen Vancko, spokeswoman
for New Jersey-based reliability council or NERC. "While the letter
does not draw any conclusions or point fingers, it does indicate where
investigators have found problem areas", she said.
- Overview of NERC's Investigation Analysis Tasks and Issues. Michehl R. Gent, President and CEO, NERC. (Sep 8, 2003 / No. 8)
- August 14, 2003 Blackout Investigation, NERC Steering Group. NERC. (Aug 27, 2003) Scope and members.
- Statement from Michehl Gent. President and CEO, National Electric Reliability Council. (Aug 16, 2003).
Note: There is a repository of NERC files at ftp://www.nerc.com/pub/sys/all_updl/docs/
Ohio Public Utilities Commission
- PUCO Orders FirstEnergy to File Plan Addressing Problems that Contributed to Blackout. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Nov. 25. FirstEnergy's plan must be filed no later than March 1, 2004.
U.S. Department of Energy
- Presentations and Draft Proceedings of Workshop on Designation of
National Interest Electric Transmission Bottlenecks. DOE. Jul. 14,
2004.
- Four main topics were covered:
- Criteria for identifying potential NIETBs and the design of
an NIETB process that would add value to existing transmission planning
and approval processes;
- Types and availability of information needed to support such a process;
- Approaches for ensuring that the process serves regional and state needs; and
- Suggestions for next steps and appropriate roles for DOE.
- Sources:
- U.S. DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Conservation Update Feature Story,
"Is Our Power Grid More Reliable One Year After the Blackout?" (September-October 2004)
U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the
District of Columbia
- Keeping the Lights On: The Federal Role in Managing the Nation's Electricity, Part Two.
(Nov 20, 2003) U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.
Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal
Workforce, and the District of Columbia. This hearing is a continuation
of the Subcommittee examination of the August 2003 Northeast blackouts,
and what the federal government can do to ensure that blackouts of this
magnitude do not occur again. Testimony (pre-filed and archived audio)
by Pat Wood, FERC; James Glotfelty, U.S. DOE; and Michel Gent, NERC.
- Electricity Restructuring: 2003 Blackout Identifies Crisis and Opportunity for the Electricity Sector. (Nov 18, 2003) Government Accounting Office report to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. GAO-04-204.
- Keeping the Lights On: The Federal Role in Managing the Nation's Electricity.
(Sep 10, 2003) The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
examines the cause of the August 2003 Northeast blackouts, and what the
federal government can do to ensure that blackouts of this magnitude do
not occur again. Witness testimony provided. Streaming of the audio
from the hearing is also available.
- Media articles related to the hearing:
- Grid monitors were seeking fix. The Plain Dealer. Sep. 10.
- Blackout Theory Blames a Tree By John J. Fialka, Wall St. Journal On-Line, 260 words (Sep 11, 2003)
Operators spent a half hour exploring the problem, while more company
lines began shutting down, but they still didn't believe they were
dealing with an unusual event. James P. Torgerson, president and chief
executive of Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator Inc. said
that since neither of two FirstEnergy lines that had shut down appeared
to be overloaded, he didn't order the company to cut back its
electricity load.
U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Hearings on the Blackout
- House Committee on Energy and Commerce
- Full Committee on Energy and Commerce, Pre-filed Hearing Testimony and Archived Webcasts
- 650 page transcript of Midwest ISO control center from 1:00 to 5:00 pm Eastern Time, 8/14/2003.
- Media articles related to the hearings
Investigation Perspectives
- Blackouts: How often do we want them? Anjan Bose. (Aug 26, 2003)
- On the Need for Investigation of Overload Relief Rules. Fernando Alvarado and Rajesh Rajaraman. (Aug 26, 2003).
- Press briefing Statement from James Torgerson,
President and CEO, Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator. (Aug 21, 2003).
He clarifies MISO's dual roles as a regional transmission operator and
a reliability coordinator, noting that important functions handled by
MISO differ significantly from other RTOs. A chart accompanied his press statement.
Other North America Blackout Links
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- (NERC) North American Electric Reliability Council
- (ECAR) East Central Area Reliability Council
- (SERC) Southeastern Electric Reliability Council
- (NPCC) Northeast Power Coordinating Council
- (ERCOT) Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc.
- (FRCC) Florida Reliability Coordinating Council
- (MRO) Midwest Reliability Organization
- (RFC) ReliabilityFirst Corporation
- (MAAC) Mid-Atlantic Area Council
- (ECAR) East Central Area Coordination Agreement
- (MAIN) Mid-American Interconnected Network
- (SPP) Southwest Power Pool, Inc.
- (WECC) Western Electricity Coordinating Council
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European Blackout
- UCTE releases detailed Final Report on the disturbances of 4 November 2006 with recommendations on standards, procedures, tools and rules. UCTE. Jan. 1, 2007.
- E.On partly to blame for November power cut. International Hearald Tribune. January 30, 2007
- Report on the status of the investigations of the sequence of events and causes of the failure in the continental European electricity grid on Saturday, November 4, 2006, after 22:10 hours (Investigation status as at Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 10:00 hours). E.On Netz. Nov. 15, 2006. Human error at control center chiefly responsible for blackout. (Press release | Report).
- EU blames government inaction for November electricity blackout. International Hearld Tribune. Dec. 12, 2006.
- RTE Details Power Cuts. RTE.
- On-going UCTE investigations on the 4/11 disturbance to complete E.ON Netz findings so far. UCTE. Nov. 16, 2006.
- Further Facts. UCTE. Nov. 6, 2006.
- First Facts about the System Disturbance on Nov. 4. Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity. Nov. 5, 2006.
- Analysis: European power grid ailing? United Press International. Nov. 10, 2006. "...after the liberalization of Europe's energy market -- a move that enables Portugal to buy electricity from Ukraine -- are at times overburdened by the ever-increasing flow of electricity across the entire continent."
- Germany's E.ON Takes Blackout Blame as EU Investigates. DW-World.DE. Nov. 6, 2006.
- New Cruise Ship Norwegian Pearl Indirectly Causes European Blackout. Cruise Ship Report. Nov. 6, 2006.
- Total blackout narrowly avoided after outage. EurActive.com. Nov. 6, 2006.
- Energy Commissioner reacts to Saturday's blackouts. EU Press Release. Nov. 6, 2006.
- Blackout highlights 'policy lapse'. CNN.com. Nov. 6, 2006.
- Blackout Exposes Weak European Network. Houston Chronicle. Nov. 5, 2006.
- Swiss escape power cuts in western Europe. swissinfo. Nov. 5, 2006.
London (28-Aug-03)
National Grid Transco
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
- Statement by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
following an investigation into compliance by National Grid Company plc
with its obligations under section 9(2)(a) of the Electricity Act 1989
and Special Licence Condition AA4.1 of its Electricity Transmission
Licence in relation to a transmission failure in London and in relation
to a transmission failure in Birmingham. (Jun 25, 2004)
- Report on support investigations into recent blackouts in London and West Midlands (Feb 2004)
Volume 1 - Main report
Volume 2 - Supplementary report
- Report into the August 28 2003 South London Power Failure , National Grid Transco. (Sep 10, 2003)
- Preliminary report into the recent electricity transmission faults affecting South London and East Birmingham.
Office of Gas and Electric Markets. (Sep 30, 2003)
- Resilience of the National Electricity Network
House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee. (Mar 2, 2004)
Responses to the Committee’s Third Report of the Session 2003–04. (May 25,2004)
House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee. Mar. 2. Following a
series of power cuts in the UK and elsewhere in August to September
last year, commentators expressed concerns about the resilience of the
electricity network in the UK and suggested that there was an imminent
and growing danger of blackouts. Our inquiry into the condition of the
national electricity network has led us to the conclusion that,
although major power failures like those experienced in North America
and Italy are unlikely to happen here, there is a danger that there is
currently insufficient investment in the network to replace in a
planned and orderly way equipment which is reaching the end of its
life....[A]ging assets are likely to require more, and more skilled,
maintenance. In relation to this, we also raise concerns about a likely
shortage of highly skilled staff both to maintain and to reconstruct
the network.
- South London, East Birmingham, Cheltenham and Gloucester Transmission Failures 2003 - An Ofgem investigation update. (Jan 22, 2004)
Denmark/Sweden (23-Sep-03)
Ekraft (Elkraft System is the system operator in Eastern Denmark)
Svenska Kraftnat (owns and operates the Swedish grid)
- Power failure in Eastern Denmark and Southern Sweden on 23 September 2003.
Final report on the course of events. (Nov 4, 2003)
This report describes and evaluates the course of events with
a view to determining what can be done to reduce the risk of similar
situations in the future. The report has been prepared by Elkraft
System after a dialogue with Svenska Kraftnät, Energi E2, Østkraft and
the East Danish grid companies.
- Svenska Kraftnät has prepared a similar report on the course of events in Southern Sweden entitled, "The black-out in southern Sweden and eastern Denmark". (Oct 2, 2003)
Greece (12-Jul-04)
- Technical Summary of the Athens and Southern Greece Blackout of July 12, 2004. Full Report (Aug 2004)
- Athens Olympics: No power problem for Olympics, gov't stresses after report on July 12 blackout released. Athens News Agency. (July 28, 2004)
- Greeks fear mass outage at Games. Wire Reports. (Jul 14, 2004)
A detailed study of the blackout is not yet available. But Evangelos Lekatsas, chairman of the Hellenic Transmission System Operators,
which regulates the nation's flow of electricity, and others offered a
general picture: a major system malfunction occurred as it tried to
compensate for a crippled generating station near Athens. On Monday, a
generator near Athens stopped working and forced other generators from
northern Greece to bring more power to Athens. The grid, however, could
not pump in juice quickly enough to cover the voltage drop, Lekatsas
said. Most of the power generating facilities are in northern Greece,
but half the country's 11 million people live in the Athens area or
nearby. Regulating the long-distance electricity flow during peak
demand times — like the current heat wave — raises risks of future mass
blackouts, Lekstsas warned.
- Greece's Public Power Corp. said that four major plants were knocked off-line. For an overvierw of the Greece power system see National Energy Interconnected System.
Australia (14-Mar-05)
- Power System Incident Report: 14 March 2005: Final Report.(Aug 29, 2005)
National Electricity Market Management Company Limited (NEMMCO).
- NRG Flinders takes blame for blackout. ABC Online - Australia. (Mar 16, 2003)
NRG Flinders web site.
- Call for urgent report on blackout. The Weekend Australian. August 14.
- Power site blast causes blackouts. Queensland Sunday Mail. August 14.
An explosion in electrical transmission equipment caused major blackouts across four states.
Other International
Links for Information on Selected International Blackouts
Bahrain (23-Aug-04)
- Power blackout hits Bahrain. Middle East Online. (Aug 23, 2004)
Cause of power outage which left Bahrain without electricity, air conditioning is not known yet.
- Alba power surge sparked blackout. Gulf Daily News. August 24.
An
accidental, massive surge of power from Alba to the government network
caused the total nationwide blackout in Bahrain yesterday.
Chile (7-Nov-03)
Croatia (12-Jan-03)
Jordan (11/8/04)
PSERC Contact Information
Power Systems Engineering Research Center
Arizona State University
Box 878606
Tempe, AZ 85287-8606
Phone: 480-965-1643
FAX: 480-965-0745
Send Us an Email
