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The Department of Energy released its interim report on the causes of the August 14, 2003 blackout and it turns out that it all started in Ohio. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said, "One major conclusion of the Interim Report is that this blackout was largely preventable. However, the report also tells us that once the problem grew to a certain magnitude, nothing could have been done to prevent it from cascading out of control."
Read the report here. Some Blackout images on Gothamist.
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Well, if they're going to work to prevent blackouts, can NYC at least voluntarily turn the power off once a year? I had a blast biking around deserted streets and paying cash at candle-lit bars. It was a nice change of pace.
Yeah, this one. The problem is that electricity is a UTILITY. They then start screwing around with these "free market" innovations, and the next thing you know, not enough money is getting invested in plant and equipment, or someone is cutting corners here or there. Or creating false shortages to price gouge, etc.
The traditional way it worked, was the utility was pretty much guaranteed its profit, and you were pretty much guaranteed the product.
Oh, yes, there were blackouts (1965, 1977--that one I remember from when I was a kid.) But these had less to do with the grid and more to do with an act of nature or act of "God". (Was '77 the lightning bolt and '65 somebody/something named "Big Alice", or the other way around?)
Now the people in power (no pun) say that everyone is gonna have to pay more, so the electricity companies can make the needed improvements. Well, we are back to UTILITY. So why not charge the normal, slightly higher price that is necessary to guarantee the stream, with the regulated profit margin, and call it a day?