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rockogre · 08-19-2003, 08:44 AM

Sorry, but I told you so.

consumers will eventually pay up to $50 billion in higher electric bills

Monday, August 18, 2003

Search is on for blackout trigger

Experts say focus will be on area around Cleveland, why fail-safe steps didn't work

By Ceci Connolly / Washington Post

WASHINGTON -- As the Bush administration dispatched crews to investigate the largest blackout in North American history, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham warned Sunday that consumers will eventually pay up to $50 billion in higher electric bills to modernize the nation's ailing power transmission system.

"Rate-payers, obviously, will pay the bill because they're the ones who benefit," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

Abraham declined to speculate on what triggered last week's cascading outages that left 50 million people without power, but other energy experts said it was increasingly apparent the failure began with power lines near Cleveland.

Less clear, said Michehl Gent, head of the North American Electric Reliability Council, is why the system's warning alarms did not catch and confine the problem to Northeastern Ohio.

"There were fail-safe steps in place, and they didn't work," he said on CNN's "Late Edition." In just three minutes Thursday afternoon, 21 power plants in six states stretching from New York to Michigan and into Canada crashed.

Gent, during several media interviews, suggested human error might have been responsible for the missed signals in Ohio. Energy executives there replied it was too early to tell.

"There has to be much more going on in the system than four downed lines," said Ralph DiNicola, spokesman for Akron's FirstEnergy Corp., which owns the northeastern Ohio lines that have been blamed for starting the chain reaction that led to the blackout.

The utility said Sunday there were problems, including strange voltage fluctuations, in the Midwest power grid hours before its transmission lines failed.

Alan Schriber of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission said investigators should not rule out the possibility multiple events triggered the blackout, creating "a perfect storm of electricity."

In Washington, several lawmakers renewed calls for the regional approach developed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). But Abraham suggested the White House would rather wait three years before considering creation of regional energy organizations to oversee delivery of power.

Instead, President Bush will press for enforceable reliability requirements and incentives to expand transmission capacity, Abraham said.

08-19-2003, 08:44 AM	#14 (permalink)
rockogre I aim to misbehave! Location: SW Oklahoma	Sorry, but I told you so. consumers will eventually pay up to $50 billion in higher electric bills Monday, August 18, 2003 Search is on for blackout trigger Experts say focus will be on area around Cleveland, why fail-safe steps didn't work By Ceci Connolly / Washington Post WASHINGTON -- As the Bush administration dispatched crews to investigate the largest blackout in North American history, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham warned Sunday that consumers will eventually pay up to $50 billion in higher electric bills to modernize the nation's ailing power transmission system. "Rate-payers, obviously, will pay the bill because they're the ones who benefit," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation." Abraham declined to speculate on what triggered last week's cascading outages that left 50 million people without power, but other energy experts said it was increasingly apparent the failure began with power lines near Cleveland. Less clear, said Michehl Gent, head of the North American Electric Reliability Council, is why the system's warning alarms did not catch and confine the problem to Northeastern Ohio. "There were fail-safe steps in place, and they didn't work," he said on CNN's "Late Edition." In just three minutes Thursday afternoon, 21 power plants in six states stretching from New York to Michigan and into Canada crashed. Gent, during several media interviews, suggested human error might have been responsible for the missed signals in Ohio. Energy executives there replied it was too early to tell. "There has to be much more going on in the system than four downed lines," said Ralph DiNicola, spokesman for Akron's FirstEnergy Corp., which owns the northeastern Ohio lines that have been blamed for starting the chain reaction that led to the blackout. The utility said Sunday there were problems, including strange voltage fluctuations, in the Midwest power grid hours before its transmission lines failed. Alan Schriber of the Ohio Public Utilities Commission said investigators should not rule out the possibility multiple events triggered the blackout, creating "a perfect storm of electricity." In Washington, several lawmakers renewed calls for the regional approach developed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). But Abraham suggested the White House would rather wait three years before considering creation of regional energy organizations to oversee delivery of power. Instead, President Bush will press for enforceable reliability requirements and incentives to expand transmission capacity, Abraham said. __________________ Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American G. I. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom