The Cascading Blackout: Why Wasn't the Power Outage Contained?
"If no contingencies occur, the transmission system usually operates smoothly; we maintain reliability, wholesale power prices are stable, and third-party generators gain access to markets," says Philip Mihlmester, Senior Vice President of ICF Consulting's Energy Practice. "However, if a contingency occurs under high-risk circum-stances, there is very little room for maneuverability," continues Mihlmester. "It's like driving a car at 30 mph and having a tire blow versus the same scenario while driving 100 mph. There is very little reaction time in the latter case."
So why was the blackout allowed to cascade throughout the Northeastern United States and portions of Canada, and not contained locally?
When a transmission line fails, the power flow must be redirected onto neighboring lines. Without sufficient reserve margin on those lines, they become overloaded -- causing a cascading effect -- shutting the system or a large portion of it down. A possible reason the cascade was not stopped is because neighboring transmission lines did not have sufficient reserve margin available due to heavy volumes of power flow. North America's power usage and the number of wholesale power transactions over the transmission lines have simply outgrown the existing transmission structure and the traditional reliability-based operational protocols. The transmission grid also suffers from declining investment over the past 25 years.
"Setting and enforcing consistent transmission reliability standards, as well as incentivizing additional capital investment in transmission, will help to prevent similar massive outages in the future," emphasizes Mihlmester.
To learn more about the competing pressures of grid operations, why containment failed, and recommendations on preventing future cascade occurrences, visit www.icfconsulting.com/cascade-containment.
Related News
Alberta creates fund to help communities hit by coal phase-out
EDMONTON - The Coal Community Transition Fund is open to municipalities and First Nations affected as Alberta phases out coal-fired electricity by 2030 to focus on renewables and natural gas.
Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous says the government wants to ensure these communities thrive through the transition
“Residents in our communities have concerns about the transition away from coal,” Rod Shaigec, mayor of Parkland County, said.
“They also have ideas on how we can mitigate the impacts on workers and diversify our economy to create new employment opportunities for affected workers. We are working to address those concerns and support their ideas. This…
