Speaking out: maybe the grid is the least of our problems.(Editorial)

The keynote speaker at Powersystems World correctly noted that the August [14.sup.th] blackout that paralyzed the northcast for days could have been much worse. In some ways, he said, we can be thankful that the system worked as well as it did.

How could it have been worse. you ask? Well, for starters, the blackout didn't spread across the entire eastern interconnect. Of course, that's cold comfort for the many travelers who were stranded and folks left without water or food. Still, data show that some regions that were spared outages experienced power quality events similar to those that brought darkness on 50 million Americans that day. In short, Memphis, TN, might have experienced a second blackout this year, along with the rest of the eastera interconnect.

The orderly restart of the blacked out region can also be attributed to the strength of the grid and to the ability of its managers. Remember that large parts of the northeast did not go dark during the blackout: Pennsylvania being a prime example. Central Hudson restored my power in Coxsackie, NY, after just 15 minutes, so quick ly in fact that I almost missed the energy story of the year while it erupted all around me.

Some experts expected that a cascading failure of the grid would take all the ...