Major Power Outages Research Articles

Impact of 2003 Power Outages on Public Health and Emergency Response

In 2003, a major power outage occurred in the midwest and northeast United States affecting some 50 million people. The power outages affected multiple systems in state and local municipalities and, in turn, affected public health. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using open-ended questionnaires, with a convenience sample of state- and locally selected subject matter experts from Ohio, Michigan, and New York. Respondents were interviewed in groups representing one of five areas of interest, including: (1) emergency preparedness; (2) hospital and emergency medical services; (3) municipal environmental systems; (4) public health surveillance and epidemiology; and (5) psychosocial and behavioral issues. The reported positive and negative impacts of the power outage on public health, medical services, and emergency preparedness and response were documented. Responses were categorized into common themes and recommendations were formulated. The amount of time that the respondents' locations were without power ranged from <1 hour to 52 hours. Many common themes emerged from the different locations, including communications failures, alternate power source problems, manpower and training issues, and psychosocial concerns. There was minimal morbidity and mortality reported that could be attributed to the event. Power outages negatively impacted multiple municipal infra-structures, and affected medical services, emergency response, and public health efforts. Previous federal funding positively impacted public health and emergency response capabilities. Recommendations were made based upon the common themes identified by the respondents. Recommendations may assist state and local health departments, medical service providers, and emergency responders in planning for future power outage problems.

Model validation for the August 10, 1996 WSCC system outage

A major power outage occurred in Western North America on August 10, 1996. In this paper, the authors describe the simulation of this disturbance using a transient stability program. Initially, the sequence of events was simulated using the standard WSCC dynamic database, and the simulations did not agree with the disturbance recordings. Several model additions and data modifications were made before the simulations approximated the disturbance recordings. These model changes are discussed in the paper.

Power and energy

Major power outages in various parts of the world have cast doubt on the electric power industry's claimed readiness for deregulation. Here, the author argues that, in the next few years, as service areas expand and bulk transfers of power grow ever greater, the electric utility industry's main technological challenge will be to maintain the reliability that customers now take almost for granted.

Delimiting “Thunderstorm Watch” Periods by Real-Time Lightning Location for a Power Utility Company

Abstract During times of thunderstorm activity, the power utility serving metropolitan New York enters a potentially costly “thunderstorm watch” mode of operation which is designed to prevent a major power outage caused by lightning. To evaluate the usefulness of real-time lightning-location data in better defining required watch periods, the recorded log of actual watches is compared to a derived log of watch periods based solely on archived cloud-to-ground lightning data from the SUNY–Albany Lightning Detection Network. The analysis period spans February–July of 1984. Simple objective criteria define the initiation and termination times of network-derived watches. A lightning derived watch begins when two lightning flashes occur within 5 min of each other anywhere within a 20-km extension of the borders of the utility's operating region; a derived watch ends when no lightning is observed within the same region for a period of at least 15 min. Of 36 watches common to both databases, the lightning derived...

Prevention of Power Failures in Major Networks

An outline of the philosophy underlying the Federal Power Commission's study of the reliability of electric power systems and their distribution networks is presented. A broad review of bulk power system reliability is given. The steps required for the prevention of major power outages of wide extent and substantial duration are set forth.