Engineers give perspective on 2003 blackout that paralyzed U.S. Northeast

Industry and government representatives met late last month in Washington, D.C., to examine why much of the Northeast and portions of the Midwest were blacked out for a day in August, and to discuss what needs to be done to avoid a recurrence. The meeting was held after this newspaper went to press.

"An Engineering Perspective on the Blackout of 2003" was sponsored by ASME, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the United States Energy Association.

The panelists who discussed ways to stabilize the U.S. electrical grid included Massoud Amin, a professor at the University of Minnesota who represented the Electric Power Research Institute; William Ball, vice president of transmission planning for the Southern Co.; Michehl Gent, president of the North-American Electric Reliability Council; Robert O. Hinkel, general manager of RTO Coordination and Integration, PJM Interconnection, which operates a wholesale electricity market in the Northeast; and Richard Verret, senior vice president of transmission for American Electric Power.

For complete coverage of the meeting, see the Late-Breaking News section of ASME NEWS.ORG, www.asmenews.org/latebrk/latebrk.html.

 

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