[lbo-talk] Power blackout in US

Jordan Hayes jmhayes at j-o-r-d-a-n.com
Fri Aug 15 09:31:22 PDT 2003



> Something didn't work correctly in the system that allows
> the power companies for these areas to share load.

I think it's going to be a while before we know everything that happened, but we at least know that it's actually the opposite of the above: the blackout occured _because_ of the system in place; what we don't know yet was what was the triggering event that made the grid shut down. But once the grid is broken, it's a safety mechanism that takes the other participants down gracefully: you can't get blood from a stone (or electrons from an empty pipe).

Electrical power is very difficult to bring online, which is why it takes a while to get everyone back up. It's more art than science.

/jordan



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