The Hamilton Spectator
August 14, 2006

Three years to the day after 50 million people in Ontario and parts of the north-eastern United States were plunged into darkness, energy watchdogs say improved reliability measures make a repeat of the blackout unlikely, but warn conservation measures are still needed.

"All of the major transmission utilities have invested significant dollars in upgrading their system," said energy critic Tom Adams, executive director of Energy Probe. "We still have a ways to go but there is meaningful progress."

When the lights went out on a Thursday afternoon on Aug. 14, 2003, it was the first notice some Ontario residents got of how reliant the province is on the U.S. for its power.

A failure on transmission lines in Ohio set off a chain reaction that knocked that state, Ontario, parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts off the power grid.

A 2004 audit by the North American Electric Reliability Council found Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator to be a model for other system operators.

Despite that Hydro One, Ontario’s largest utility, has thrown additional money at grid maintenance, putting about $277 million into capital expenses in its 2007 budget, which is $100 million more than in 2003.