northeast power outage

[Tom Marinis]

Jack Berger wrote:
> Well, could be, but...
> 
> Ted Kopel interviewed FORMER fed cyber security czar Richard Clark.
> What a self serving piece of work this guy is, insinuating that this
> is the work of terrorist hackers, since the electrical system was
> designed to contain this type of outage to a small area. (Yeah under
> the load conditions of 20-30 years ago!) Sensationalism at its best.
> 
> The truth is that everyone wants/loves/needs electricity, but no one
> wants to pay for it in terms of building the necessary infrastructure
> to support it (NIMBY). Large portions of the existing electrical grid
> are operating at or near the operating limits and stability margins
> they were designed for. The dynamics of the inter-connected power
> grids is very complex. In some areas it doesn't take much to cause an
> outage or disturbance, which depending on the magnitude, and where it
> occurs, can cascade to neighboring locations. Most of the grid can
> handle a voltage sag. The problem is when some segments of the grid
> trip off-line they cause phase shifts on the system, which are harder
> to deal with.
> 
> Maybe this is the wake up call that we need to upgrade the existing
> system to (at least) current demand.
> 
> -jhb-


[ Greets list, I apologize for the length ]


I don't agree with you.

However, the case for modernization for something is made
everyday in government circles.  Government has always
been slow to change.  Only real political will has
ever moved government along.


I'm pretty sure that the governments from both countries will 
adopt a new policy for power interconnection to be agreed upon, 
but those developments will never address the current issue I 
believe is occuring out there.


Bill Campbell's reply to your thread is actually closer
to the truth than you may think.




The problem, I believe,  could be that the existing system
between Ontario and the US simply ran out of power, and
the failure was due to the power drain because of the
excessively hot weather.

( that, and around 4 million stoves turning on to
   cook dinner, because it was 4:00pm after all )


You people not from Canada may not be aware of what happened in 
Ontario, May to Sept 19th 2002 last year, so I will try to
give as many facts, with as little space as possible;


Following de-regulation of the PUBLIC works known as HYDRO 1 to
private contractors last MAY 2002, 8 power plants faculities
including 2 nuclear plants that were promised to be maintained
after sale were closed and dismantled within 1 month after the
sale.


The given reason: after another re-assessment these private
contractors conducted 2 weeks after the deal, these contractors
concluded that these keeping these plants online
was excessively expensive non-money makers, and at a spare
capacity that the provincial population could not possibly
use or pay for.



What these private companies did:


Prices for residential electrical then rose 300% by JULY
2002, and the in certain locations of ONTARIO people's
homes were being isolated and the power turned
off if the customer was unable to make payment.


The elderly on fixed incomes, and the very young on low wages,
were the people having trouble paying new rate hikes, and
their power was shut off.  300% in under 4 months was too much
for anyone to take.  A cry for independant audit was demanded
by about 100 lawyers and 5 judges.


The Public outcry in AUG came to a head, and by SEPT 12th, when 
the AUDITOR GENERAL reviewed the situation, and tabled the 
results publicly.

Premier Ernie Els then stepped in, reduced the rates to
pre-MAY prices, refunded all customers the over charges.
[ Premier is equivalent to a   US STATE Governor ]

ELS then locked in all those reduced power rates for 4 years
at the pre-MAY 2002 levels, pleasing the public, despite the
complaints of the new independant private power contractors.

ONTARIO has been since then for the last year saving money
trying to re-purchase the parts to try and reactivate the
6 gas burners and re-condition the 2 nuclear plants, but
it will not happen before the next provincial election.
[ 2004 late ]


So, I wouldn't be surprised if the result of the combined
US-Canadian investigation turns up that there wasn't enough
power to supply the Canadian-US Eastern Seaboard.