... The lights over most of the Northeastern United States and parts of Canada began to flicker at 4:11 pm on Thursday, August 14, 2003. It was the start of the most extensive electrical blackout in history, covering the entire Northeast and parts of Canada, yet no one understood how it happened. Five electric power companies that shared a common grid pointed fingers at one another.
The purpose of the grid is clear: electric power cannot be stored.
Power companies must generate the exact amount of power that is being used, adjusting to every electrical switch that is thrown. Linking power companies in a grid should mean a statistically smoother demand, thus reducing local blackouts. But the grid has grown so complex no one understood it.
The Recovery and Reinvestment Act called for a smarter electric grid that could accurately anticipate demand. This would start with the use of smart power meters. Read more from Bob Parks
