| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front |
| Blackout illustrates vulnerability |
| 2003-08-26 |
| Some possible lessons to be gained from blackout, from NY Times ‘At home when the blackout struck, Canada’s defense minister, John McCallum, was forced to help manage the crisis with no lights, his cellular phone silenced and his Internet connections interrupted. He quickly found out from the military that the loss of power was not due to a terrorist attack.’ He was probably contacted by electronic means, not by a runner ‘ "Had it been part of a coordinated terrorist effort, the fact that the electricity was off would have provided opportunities for real mischief in other areas," [Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister John Manley] said in an interview. "I don’t want to contemplate the possibilities."’ The possibility of "real mischief" by sleepers has not been discussed in the media or on blogs. I hope someone on our side is considering the possibilities |
| Posted by:Tresho |
| #7 Ship, my wife worked in the bookkeeping department of the Intermountain Rural Electric Association. They cut "dividend" checks to all their customers, dividing up the yearly profit among them, based on usage. The IREA had drawers of unclaimed dividend checks, dating back as much as 40 years. REA groups usually don't have any generating capacity, buying their electricity on the open market from other electric companies. While they get a better deal than most customers, it's still cheaper to get electricity from the major providers. Local distribution networks, whether commercial, municipal, or REA-type arrangements, aren't the problem. The problem is an aging and inefficient distribution network linking all the power groups together into a "national" grid. That national grid is what needs to be updated. That grid is also about the most expensive and inefficient program to link electrical generating capacity. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-8-26 2:28:08 PM |
| #6 Tom: Actually it's not the individual co-ops I worry about. It's the Generation & Transmission cooperatives were are way the heck in debt and the debt of course is guaranteed by the Feds. I didn't know that many distribution co-ops had paid back their loans. Altho I do recall a sweetheart deal in the early '90s that temping for some. Old Patriot: Yeah - they always show a profit. It's easier when there's no corporate income tax to pay. :) |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-8-26 1:53:30 PM |
| #5 The REA (Rural Electrification Administration) provided the capital so electric lines could be run to rural areas when the electric companies were not so inclined. The capital was in the form of long-term loans. Many of the cooperatives that were formed at the time and took advantage of the loans not only paid them back but also weaned themselves of the REA. I believe many people mistakenly think that the cooperatives are part of the REA because the electric ploes often had "REA" nameplates on them next to the pole numbers. |
| Posted by: Tom 2003-8-26 1:42:22 PM |
| #4 Are you talkin 'bout the sacred REA? Ship - here in Colorado, we have five Rural Electric Associations. All but one of them has shown a net profit for the last 23 years. It's not the REA you need to worry about - it's idiocy like California's 'deregulation', and the regulatory burden on upgrading current infrastructure, that's the major cause of the power blackout. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-8-26 1:11:30 PM |
| #3 Before we start talking a hundred billion dollars to "fix" the system, I'd like to remind everyone that the system does get maintenance and did work relatively well between 1977 and 2003. I see 26 years between blackouts as pretty damned good considering how complicated the system is. I know everybody wants to "help" (politicians, control system manufacturers, etc.), but I'd prefer the utility companies take care of business and bill us for actual costs rather than sticking us with some quagmire $100 billion government program. For goodness sakes, the government can't even keep IRS and Social Security computer systems up to date! |
| Posted by: Tom 2003-8-26 12:47:12 PM |
| #2 Does anyone else get the feeling the US taxpayers are about to get mugged for billions because Dingleberry, Ohio's power is provided by "Randy's Bait & Tackle & 'Lectricalties" ? Hi, Congress, we shouldn't be allowed to run a lemonade stand, but could you send us a couple mil' so we can try this new 'lectricity thing ? Thanks. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-8-26 11:15:03 AM |
| #1 "I don’t want to contemplate the possibilities." Well of course you don't, you're a Canadian Govt Official and that's only your fucking job. What a flaming dickhead. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-26 9:49:46 AM |