Commentary
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Sep 18, 2003 |
September 8, 2003. As of August 14th, 2003, Americans with short memories or no memory at all about previous blackouts received a vivid illustration of the potential damage caused by electrical outages. -
Sep 17, 2003 |
Last month, the electricity grid serving 50 million people in the Northeast and Canada collapsed, creating havoc as subway commuters walked miles to their dark homes, travelers were disgorged from hotels and forced to sleep on the street, grocery stores and restaurants dumped millions of dollars of spoiled food, and families were forced to boil water for fear of getting ill. -
Sep 16, 2003 |
The electric power transmission system of the United States is seriously deficient. Experts generally agree that fixing this system to an adequate level would take many years and cost of tens of billions of dollars. But the root causes of the recent Blackout of 2003 can be solved in a relatively short time and at a much more reasonable cost. -
Sep 16, 2003 |
The usual suspects -- politicians, regulators, deregulators, utilities, and environmentalists -- were promptly rounded up when the Aug. 14 blackout lost 61 billion watts of capacity in nine seconds. -
Sep 11, 2003 |
The big story gripping the nation's interest involves the recent electricity blackout in the Northeast US and Canada. While much of this recent news coverage is interesting, and in some instances informative, none appears to get at the core energy problem facing the US - consumers still don't understand the costs and benefits of energy. -
Sep 11, 2003 |
According to the New York Times story of August 25th on "taming the grid" , "brainpower" is to be used to tame the aging grid by installing switches. If someone with brains and some knowledge of the technology focussed on the problem, he would throw out the solution of "taming the grid" or rebuilding at costs estimated at $100 billion, using instead a solution that would, over time, replace the bulk power supply system design with a 21st century solution that will ultimately end the need for a tangle of transmission lines, distribution lines and substations subject to cascading outages. -
Sep 10, 2003 |
While every indication is that the massive blackout across North America that left more than 50 million people without power was caused by a cascade of catastrophic events, it clearly showed the North American power grid is extremely vulnerable. -
Sep 10, 2003 |
On August 14, 2003 electric power in much of the northeast portion of North America went off. As we recover from this large-scale blackout, we can expect the typical series of reports, recommendations, and calls for action that have followed past blackouts. -
Sep 09, 2003 |
How did you react the last time someone called conducting a survey? Did you participate, politely decline or just hang up? The next time a company calls regarding a survey, take a moment to think about how and why this survey will affect you. Take the time to express your opinions and share your thoughts. It makes a difference! -
Sep 04, 2003 |
The recent massive power outage, affecting 50 million people in seven states and Canada, stems from the way in which the transmission system has been planned and developed over the past 20-30 years. Transmission has been a second-class citizen in the array of facilities required to bring power reliably to consumers, with scant attention paid to it until recently. Hopefully, this event will be a wake-up call.
