News Staff
CTV News
August 15, 2003

The massive power outage that blacked out most of Ontario and several states in the northeastern United States on Thursday showed the deep interdependence of the North American power system.

The electricity grids in Canada and the U.S. link at 37 major points so that the neighbouring countries can trade significant quantities of electricity between them. The system works well when one utility has a shortage – it can then buy electricity from a neighbouring utility.

Exports represent approximately seven per cent to 10 per cent of total Canadian generation and 1.2 per cent of total U.S. consumption. U.S. imports into Canada have increased significantly over the last few years.

But it can mean disaster as well, as Thursday’s outage proved. In this case, most of the Eastern Interconnected System, which extends throughout the U.S. Northeast and into the Midwest and Canada, was shut down.

The major failure of one main power generating station – possibly in New York City, possibly elsewhere – set off the chain events. The loss of generation caused a "massive outflow of power" from the rest of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan and Ohio within seconds.

Though the sequence of events that followed is unclear, a problem at one major power grid could have spread quickly around the eastern regional power grid if other utilities in the system were running near capacity.

"In the blink of an eye, all of the region’s power plants responded by trying to put more power on the grid than the transmission lines could support, causing them to overload," Phillip Harris, president and chief executive of PJM Interconnection, the Mid-Atlantic power grid operator, said.

Hydro One spokesman Al Manchee says there was nothing wrong with Ontario system before Thursday’s outage, suggesting the problem came from south of the border. Warm, muggy weather and high air conditioning demand were also likely contributors to the outage, overloading the transmission lines.

Air conditioning alone accounts for up to one-third of all electricity demand on hot days.

Norm Rubin, a policy analyst with Energy Probe, says that even if the problem didn’t start in Ontario, there are still a number of changes that need to be made in Ontario’s electricity distribution system.

"The urgent priority is to generate power at a reasonable price," Rubin told CTV Newsnet. "We have an environment that has scared all prospective suppliers away. They know that they have to be in bed with Ontario Power Generation."

Rubin also finds fault with the Ontario government’s decision to freeze hydro rates.

"One of the problems is the rate freeze on hydro prices that’s in place no matter how strained the system is. It’s a free-for-all for consumers. So it’s not surprising that demand outstrips supply."

One of the worst power outages to hit North America was on Nov. 9, 1965, when the power went out just as ruch hour began. The lights stayed off in many areas, including Manhattan, for up to 13 hours, affecting some 30 million people on both sides of the border.

The blackout was blamed on the failure of a power relay at a power station in Niagara Falls.

Closer to home, few will forget the Ice Storm of 1998. Freezing rain in western Quebec and eastern Ontario knocked out hydro lines. Some areas were without power for more than a month.

Former U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson says outages like the one on Thursday are caused because the U.S.’s power grid is antiquated.

"We’re the world’s greatest superpower, but we have a Third World electricity grid,” said Richardson, governor of New Mexico.