Re: Western Power Outage

[robert moore <babyhuey@cyberg8t.com>]

LIPTONW@detroitedison.com wrote:
> 
> --Boundary-2784441-0-0
> 
> You stated that "It's the road not the car that caused the crash."  This is
> true, but the longer the road, the more likely a crash.  The problem seems  to
> be that the power demand far exceeds the capacity of power plants near the
> load centers, so that power has to be transmitted long distances.  The system
> is then vulnerable to grid failures at key points, since there is little, if
> any, reserve in both generation and transmission capacity.  If the additional
> generation capacity of the nuclear plants that are now closed were available,
> the probability of a blackout would be lower.
> Bill Lipton
> 
> --Boundary-2784441-0-0
> Content-Type: message/rfc822
> 
> Date: 13 Aug 96 12:15:21
> From:"radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu" <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
> To: Multiple,recipients,of,list,radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
> Subject: RE: Western Power Outage
> Reply-to: radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu
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> In Message Sat, 10 Aug 96 20:33:39 -0500,
>   Brent Rogers <brogers@MPS.OHIO-STATE.EDU> writes:
> 
> <snip>
> >
> >I can't help but wonder if these outages would have happened if Rancho
> >Seco, Trojan and Fort St. Vrain (all in the effected states) were still on
> >the grid.
> >
> I live 25 miles from San Onofre and my power didn't fail!  However, nobody
> has placed the blame for the outage on any GENERATOR, but on the
> transmission lines and associated areas [current "theory" is that untrimmed
> trees shorted out lines sagging in the heat, if you can believe that one].
> Therefore, I don't think that nuclear power plants would have made any
> difference at all.  It was the road, not the car that caused the crash.
> >Brent Rogers
> >brogers@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu
> **********************************************************************
> William G. Nabor
> University of California, Irvine
> EH&S Office
> Irvine, CA,  92697-2725
> WGNABOR@UCI.EDU
> **********************************************************************
> 
> --Boundary-2784441-0-0--

Very interesting summation.
Bob