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Power Failure

Quasi

Critical Thinker
Q
Joined
Oct 7, 2002
Messages
424
Everyone by now knows about the massive power failure. What does everyone think about the real causes? I heard a lightning bolt hit the hydro pland at US side of Niagra Falls. But why did it spread so far? I tend to blame the voters and politicians who deregulated the US energy system which used to be run by government engineers- they could shift more power to areas in need and shut down sectors quickly in a crisis. It was run for good service and predictable power. Now energy is a commodity and run for profit- so in my mind this was inevitable and will happen again. One jerk on CNN actually brought up the California blackouts- but those were caused by the greedy Enron/Global Crossing crooks! There was no shortage of energy at all. I guess I should not expect much from CNN...
 
The reports we've had here suggest that the computer system which should have stopped the initial failure cascading to other power grids failed.

We're already expecting problems with our power supply this coming summer (Australians seem to be developing an affection for air-conditioning) - let's hope our energy providers test the back-up capabilities of our grids before summer.
 
Noone I know has an air conditioner in their house. (I don't know very many people :) ) I'm jealous, stuck in my hot home, so uh...nyah nyah nyah! You all got hot today...:D


Just kidding :wink:
 
I didn't even hear about it until I logged on the internet. How "massive" was it? Didn't effect us in NJ, at least where I live (central). I'm sure the heat/humidity the last week didn't help..
 
Have the temperatures been unusually high for that region? The temperatures which have been reported don't sound high enough for large numbers of people to be using their air-conditioning, but I noticed that the authorities are warning people to turn off their air-conditioning so that the system doesn't melt-down when power is restored.
 
Looks like it's catching.

My son just phoned me to say that he doesn't know when he'll be home because there's "some kind of electrical problem" on Sydney's Cityrail network and they don't know when the trains will resume running...
 
Hmm. I heard some theories on a computer worm. I keep getting virus infested emails that are called some kind of blueworm or something...blasterworm..

Dear Shaw Customer,

Recent media reports have indicated that a virus (W32.Blaster.worm/Lovsan.worm) has occured which may have affected some of our customers. The W32.Blaster.worm takes advantage of a vulnerability on computers running Windows and can be triggered without opening an email attachment or any other file.

If your computer has been infected with this worm your computer may reboot itself without your intervention.

Should you believe that your computer may have been infected with this worm we recommend that you use the tool provided here to remove it. (http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.removal.tool.html).

If you prefer to manually remove the virus instructions are provided here (http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.html#removalinstructions).

To prevent this virus from infecting your computer Microsoft has provided the following updates.

For Windows XP users: http://microsoft.com/downloads/deta...6C-C5B6-44AC-9532-3DE40F69C074&displaylang=en

For Windows 2000 users: http://microsoft.com/downloads/deta...46-F541-4C15-8C9F-220354449117&displaylang=en

Shaw has taken steps to minimize the spread of this particular worm to Shaw customers. In addition we encourage you to update your virus software with the latest virus definitions on a regular basis.

More information about this worm or other viruses can be located on our Start Page at http://start.shaw.ca by clicking on "Computer Virus Info".

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at (http://support.shaw.ca/contacts.htm).

Sincerely,

Shaw Internet
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reprise said:
Have the temperatures been unusually high for that region? The temperatures which have been reported don't sound high enough for large numbers of people to be using their air-conditioning, but I noticed that the authorities are warning people to turn off their air-conditioning so that the system doesn't melt-down when power is restored.
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Both the temperatures and the humidity have been very high here in the NE. I'm not sure that was the problem, though. The investigation into the root cause is ongoing, but one thing seems clear: the cascade was caused by a lack of "skaters" (I think that's what they're called). These are power grid firewalls that isolate subsections from one another whenever a problem occurs. This grid is highly interconnected and apparently has insufficient skaters.
 
I think they also found the problem that started the domino effect was in Niagra?

But in trying to make up for the loss of electricity, the grid became unstable, causing other systems to shut down or isolate themselves in order to prevent the rest of the network from failing.

"Moving so much power to compensate caused oscillations in lot of areas and it cascaded [down the line]," noted Harris. "This was so big and massive, it caused tons of problems."
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http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/US/powergrid030814.html
 
Eos of the Eons said:
Blame Canada! Where's Robin Williams...:D
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News reports this morning are blaming Ohio. I'd say pick a funny looking defenseless person and blame them. BRING ME THE HEAD OF WILLY THE MAILMAN!.
 
daver said:
News reports this morning are blaming Ohio. I'd say pick a funny looking defenseless person and blame them. BRING ME THE HEAD OF WILLY THE MAILMAN!.
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It sounds as if the energy guys haven't yet figured out the FAA playbook: don't make statements to the media until the investigation is concluded. Look at the various wild speculations we've already heard: lightening strike, the fire in NYC, the latest computer worm, terrorists.

To me, the only terror is that the country might become as irrational as Egypt. Remember the Egyptian pilot who committed suicide with his airliner? Well, that was the FAA's conclusion. The Egyptians were outraged. Why? Because it is against Islam to commit suicide. Therefore, no muslim could do so. Hence, this muslim pilot couldn't possibly have done so. The Egyptian government seized control of the investigation and buried it, so that they could satisfy an irrational populace.

What century is this?

Cheers,
 
You fools! This is obviously the result of Planet X finally wreaking havoc. It was predicted years ago, thankfully I'm in a safe spot.
 
WildCat said:
You fools! This is obviously the result of Planet X finally wreaking havoc. It was predicted years ago, thankfully I'm in a safe spot.
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Hidden in a cat?
 
There's a quantum electron tunnel underneath Niagara Falls.
It is operated by Lemurians. They use a black hole to suck power out of the grid to charge the flying saucer batteries. In winter, they let the power out again, to melt the ice caps. This is global warming.

I would tell you more, but they run Microsoft and are tapping my e-mail.

You poor, deluded fools!
:D

By the way; how many psychics phoned the utility companies last week , predicting the blackouts?

That many, huh?
 
It was Ohio :D

A failure to contain problems with three transmission lines in northern Ohio just south of Cleveland was the likely trigger of the nation's biggest power blackout, a leading investigator said Saturday.

Alarm systems that might have alerted engineers to the failed lines were broken, according to FirstEnergy Corp., the Akron, Ohio-based utility that officials said owned at least two of the three lines.


It was not immediately clear whether that impeded efforts to isolate the local line disruptions, some of which occurred an hour before power system shutdowns cascaded Thursday from Michigan to New York City and into Canada.
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http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20030816_1278.html
 
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