Related Research Articles
A power outage, also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, a blackout or a power drought — is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user.
A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and consumer, electric power may flow through several substations at different voltage levels. A substation may include transformers to change voltage levels between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the interconnection of two different transmission voltages. They are a common component of the infrastructure. There are 55,000 substations in the United States.
The National Grid is the high-voltage electric power transmission network supporting the UK's electricity market, connecting power stations and major substations, and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere on the grid can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere. The network serves the majority of Great Britain and some of the surrounding islands. It does not cover Northern Ireland, which is part of the Irish single electricity market.
In electric power distribution, automatic circuit reclosers (ACRs) are a class of switchgear designed for use on overhead electricity distribution networks to detect and interrupt transient faults. Also known as reclosers or autoreclosers, ACRs are essentially rated circuit breakers with integrated current and voltage sensors and a protection relay, optimized for use as a protection asset. Commercial ACRs are governed by the IEC 62271-111/IEEE Std C37.60 and IEC 62271-200 standards. The three major classes of operating maximum voltage are 15.5 kV, 27 kV and 38 kV.
The 1998 Auckland power crisis was a five-week-long power outage affecting the central city of Auckland, New Zealand from 19 February to 27 March 1998. A 1998 ministerial inquiry criticised both the Auckland Electric Power Board and its privatised successor, which had halved its staff after taking over in October 1993. The report blamed risk and asset management and contingency planning, but said reviews of the electricity network were in accordance with industry practice. However, Mercury Energy's Board had known for 5 years of a potential failure of the power cables, but, instead of also replacing them, they took the cost-saving risk of only building a replacement tunnel, which wasn't ready in time. The inquiry report also said, "Internal expertise in 110 kV assets was not maintained at a sufficient level".
The 2006 Auckland Blackout was a major electrical blackout in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, on 12 June 2006. It started at 08:30 local time, with most areas of Auckland regaining power by 14:45 local time. It affected some 230,000 customers and at least 700,000 people in and around the city.
The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a widespread power outage throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, and most parts of the Canadian province of Ontario on Thursday, August 14, 2003, beginning just after 4:10 p.m. EDT.
Load management, also known as demand-side management (DSM), is the process of balancing the supply of electricity on the network with the electrical load by adjusting or controlling the load rather than the power station output. This can be achieved by direct intervention of the utility in real time, by the use of frequency sensitive relays triggering the circuit breakers, by time clocks, or by using special tariffs to influence consumer behavior. Load management allows utilities to reduce demand for electricity during peak usage times, which can, in turn, reduce costs by eliminating the need for peaking power plants. In addition, some peaking power plants can take more than an hour to bring on-line which makes load management even more critical should a plant go off-line unexpectedly for example. Load management can also help reduce harmful emissions, since peaking plants or backup generators are often dirtier and less efficient than base load power plants. New load-management technologies are constantly under development — both by private industry and public entities.
A dispatcher training simulator (DTS), also known as an operator training simulator (OTS), is a computer-based training system for operators of electrical power grids. It performs this role by simulating the behaviour of the electrical network forming the power system under various operating conditions, and its response to actions by the dispatchers. Student dispatchers may therefore develop their skills from exposure not only to routine operations but also to adverse operational situations without compromising the security of supply on a real transmission system.
An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids consist of power stations, electrical substations to step voltage up or down, electric power transmission to carry power over long distances, and finally electric power distribution to customers. In that last step, voltage is stepped down again to the required service voltage. Power stations are typically built close to energy sources and far from densely populated areas. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. From small to large there are microgrids, wide area synchronous grids, and super grids. The combined transmission and distribution network is part of electricity delivery, known as the power grid.
The 1996 Western North America blackouts were two widespread power outages that occurred across Western Canada, the Western United States, and Northwest Mexico on July 2 and August 10, 1996. They were spread 6 weeks apart and were thought to be similarly caused by excess demand during a hot summer.
The 2010 Chile blackout was an electric power outage that affected most of Chile on March 14, 2010. It began at 8:44 pm on Sunday and continued into the next day. The power was restored in a few hours in some areas, and by midnight in most areas, except in the Biobío Region.
The Whakamaru to Brownhill Road transmission line is a double-circuit 400 kV-capable transmission line constructed by Transpower to increase the capacity of the National Grid between the southern Waikato and the city of Auckland. The line runs from the Whakamaru sub-station near the Whakamaru Power Station, over a distance of 186 kilometres (116 mi) to the new Brownhill Road substation near Whitford in southeastern Auckland. The line will initially be operated at 220 kV. From Brownhill Road, 220 kV underground cables connect the line to the Pakuranga sub-station in eastern Auckland. The project was the subject of considerable controversy and protest during the planning and approval stages. Construction of the line started in February 2010, and the line was commissioned on 30 October 2012. The transmission line forms the major part of a wider North Island Grid Upgrade project with a forecast cost to completion of $894 million.
The 2011 Southwest blackout, also known as the Great Blackout of 2011, was a widespread power outage that affected the San Diego–Tijuana area, southern Orange County, Imperial Valley, Mexicali Valley, Coachella Valley, and parts of Arizona. It occurred on Thursday, September 8, 2011, beginning at about 3:38pm PDT, and was the largest power failure in California history.
The 2011 Chile blackout was a major power outage that occurred on 24 September 2011, approximately between 20:30 and 21:45 local time, although the time of reinstatement varied geographically. It mainly affected the regions from Coquimbo to Maule, where the blackout was total, but it also reportedly partially affected the Atacama and Bío Bío regions. The blackout affected approximately nine million Chileans.
Several major power outages have occurred in the country of Malaysia.
A low-voltage network or secondary network is a part of electric power distribution which carries electric energy from distribution transformers to electricity meters of end customers. Secondary networks are operated at a low voltage level, which is typically equal to the mains voltage of electric appliances.
The 2019 Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay blackout was a massive power outage that struck most of Argentina, all of Uruguay, and parts of Paraguay on 16 June 2019, leaving an estimated 48 million people without electrical supply.
The West Side of Manhattan in New York City experienced a power failure on July 13, 2019, at approximately 7 p.m. EDT. Con Edison is the energy utility serving the area, and they reported that approximately 73,000 customers were without power. Power was fully restored by midnight. The power failure occurred on the 42nd anniversary of the New York City blackout of 1977, which left nine million customers without power.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Investigation Report into the Loss of Supply Incident affecting parts of South London at 18:20 on Thursday, 28. August 2003" (PDF). National Grid plc . 10 September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2004.
- 1 2 "Power cut causes chaos". BBC News . 28 August 2003.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Report on support investigations into recent blackouts in London and West Midlands Volume 1 - Main report" (PDF). Ofgem . 25 June 2004.
- ↑ Clark, Andrew (12 December 2003). "Tube control centre was 'ill-equipped' for blackout". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- 1 2 "Power cut hits London". The Guardian . 28 August 2003. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- ↑ Clark, Andrew (29 August 2003). "Blackout blamed on tube sell-off". The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ↑ "Blackout report will take weeks". Evening Standard . 8 September 2003. Archived from the original on 10 January 2004. Retrieved 10 September 2003.
- ↑ "Just admit it, Mr Urwin. National Grid needs to invest more" . The Independent . 30 August 2003. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
- ↑ "Oil leak 'caused London blackout'". BBC News . 17 October 2003.