From: shamrock@netcom.com (Lucky Green)
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 1996 19:13:17 +0800
To: "Z.B." <zachb@netcom.com>
Subject: [off-topic] Re: US Power Outages
Message-ID: <v02120d13ae347585efdc@[192.0.2.1]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 22:24 8/11/96, Z.B. wrote:
>>From what I read, this wasn't a "small localized disturbance".
>Apparently, a fire underneath one of the main towers on the CA-OR border
>was the cause of the problem.  Now that may not sound like too much, but
>the lines were carrying at least 3000Mw of electricity, enough "to power
>3-1/2 Seattles for a day" (quote from local newspaper).  My guess is that
>when there is a problem involving that much power with no place to go,
>the safety systems shut everything down to prevent damage.

It was a disturbance at a single power line. By any standard, this should
not lead to a blackout from Canada to Mexico. Does anybody here have some
first hand knowledge about power transfer at the scale of the US grid?



-- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred.
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