[lbo-talk] a third-world grid

[Doug Henwood]

[This is from the anonymous Lex column in today's Financial Times. A 
few months ago, Lex pronounced the U.S. mobile phone system to be of 
"third-world" quality as well.]

It is not clear what happened on Thursday - which part of the system 
failed or (crucial for insurance purposes) whether any negligence was 
involved. What has again been demonstrated is that the US has a 
third-world power system. Analysts at Credit Suisse First Boston 
point out that capital investment in the US transmission network has 
been broadly the same as capital investment in the UK, despite the 
fact that US demand is 10 times greater.