Re: OUTAGE TRACED TO DIM BULB

[maury <maury@webtexas.com>]

Hi John;



I believe that you are mistaken about transmission regulation. Ownership is not related to

regulation. In general, there is strong movement toward deregulation of production and

distribution, but transmission remains totally regulated by a variety of state and federal

bodies. Recall that during the "gas lines era", the fuel was completely privately owned, but

the quantities and destinations of all gasoline was directed by a federal agency. That was

the essence of the so-called shortage -- there was no shortage; it was simply misdirected.

And again, ownership was totally independent of quantities and destinations. Simply note the

ownership vs regulation of NPPs as an example of the same independence or these entities.



Likewise, you are aware of the fact that nearly all conceivable catastrophes are predicted

and publicized by someone. Forty years ago, the coming ice age was predicted; today, a whole

range of global warming disasters are widely forecasted (and have been mistakenly predicted

now for some years).  Thus ownership and predictions are unrelated to outcomes.



The Post article is interesting and I suspect it contains many truths. But I suspect it

contains an equal number of fairy tales. As is so often the case, we are treated to comments

by an "Administration spokesman" who speaks on the condition of anonymity. This condition

really inspires confidence in the veracity of such reports, doesn't it???? And folks

complain about the unknown veracity of internet reports -- what an ironic joke! Almost

similar to the serious references to electricity deregulation in California -- a total

oxymoron that says nothing about deregulation.



[Digression: I wish the press would wake up and refuse to publish anything that is provided

on condition that the provider remain unknown --  granted, a real problem for investigative

reporting. But partial political crap like this Post article might be stopped until somebody

is willing to accept some accountability for at least a truthful intent. The way it stands,

is IMHO, just pure crap.]



Even the headline is probably misleading -- sure, in the context of a political tradeoff

between conflicting congressional interests, he apparently is going along with "delay" until



the legislation gets into the joint committee where he may or may not be able to bargain

differently -- we do not know and the Post is not about to tell us because they don't know

either. As in so many other instances, they are reporting their predictions; they are not

reporting news.



To the best of my understanding, no one KNOWS yet exactly what caused the blackout -- except

perhaps the unfortunate individual who actually knows NOW (he didn't realize it

at the time) that he should taken his facility off line. Obviously this suggestion on my

part implies my own opinion that it will finally center upon a human error. But again,

neither I

nor anyone else publicly available knows what went wrong -- not to say the Wash Post!



Finally, with all the public blather about how outdated the grid is, is it not a little

amazing that this maze functions rather well except for a significant failure once every 25

years???? Heck, my hot water heater doesn't do that well! And please do not mistake my

comments to mean that everything is hunky dory as it stands; it is not, but the system is

not nearly as pitiful as some would wish.



Cheers,

Maury          maury@webtexas.com

________

For a list of all the ways technology has failed to improve the quality of

life, please press three.                                         Alice Kahn





=========================



John Jacobus wrote:



> Maury,

> I do not think that the transmission lines were

> regulated.  I believe that they are owned by the

> utilities, and are under the same corporated control

> as the power generation facilites.

>

> Apparently, this failure of the transmission system

> was predicted years ago, but actions were blocked by

> the utility companies.  However, for the latest

> outrage, see the following article that appeared in

> today's Washington Post:

>

> Bush to Back Delay Of Power Grid Plan

>

>  By Peter Behr and James V. Grimaldi

>

>  The Bush administration  intends to side with a

> Senate Republican attempt  to freeze a  disputed

> regulatory proposal meant to strengthen the nation's

> aging power transmission system, which was blamed in

> last week's massive blackout, a senior administration

> official said yesterday.

>

>  To view the entire article, go to

> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4455-2003Aug16.html?referrer=emailarticle

>

> --- maury <maury@webtexas.com> wrote:

> > Yes, it is interesting to note that the failure

> > apparently was in the > transmission line system



> which is the principal remaining totally



> > regulated aspect of electricity production and

> > distribution in the US.

> > Cheers,

> > Maury Siskel   maury@webtexas.com

> > _______

> > PP=PPP

> > . . .

>

> =====

> -- John

> John Jacobus, MS

> Certified Health Physicist

> e-mail:  crispy_bird@yahoo.com

>



************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To unsubscribe,

send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the text "unsubscribe

radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail, with no subject line.

You can view the Radsafe archives at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/