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Update on the U.S. - Canada Joint Task Force Investigation of the Power Outage

Update on the U.S. - Canada Joint Task Force Investigation of the Power Outage. David L. O’Connor Commissioner Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources Massachusetts Electricity Roundtable September 19, 2003. Task Force Scope and Members.

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Update on the U.S. - Canada Joint Task Force Investigation of the Power Outage

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  1. Update on the U.S. - Canada Joint Task ForceInvestigation of the Power Outage David L. O’Connor Commissioner Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources Massachusetts Electricity Roundtable September 19, 2003

  2. Task Force Scope and Members • Identify the causes of the power outage and seek solutions to prevent future outages. • Task Force is jointly chaired by: • U.S. Secretary of Energy, Spencer Abraham • Canadian Minister of Natural Resources, Herb Dhaliwal. • Other Task Force members include: • U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge • U.S. FERC Chairman, Pat Wood • U.S. NRC Chairman, Nils Diaz • Canadian Deputy Prime Minister, John Manley • Canadian National Energy Board Chairman, Ken Vollman • Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission President, Linda Keen

  3. Three Work Groups • Electric System Working Group • Will develop a complete reconstruction of events surrounding the power outages and identify reasons why the system failed. • Nuclear Working Group • Will identify all relevant actions by nuclear generating facilities in connection with the outage. • Security Working Group • Will develop a complete account of all security events that may have contributed to the power outage.

  4. An Initial Chronology of Events • On Friday, September 12th, the Task Force released a timeline.(Found on U.S. DOE website: www.energy.gov) • Provides the sequence of some significant events that led to the blackout. • Focuses on events on major transmission facilities (230 kV and greater) and at large power plants. • No evidence so far points to a cyber event.

  5. Nuclear Work Group Findings • Of the 104 licensed units in the U.S. • 4 units were shut down at the time of the outage • 9 units experienced grid disturbance and automatically shut down • (NY, NJ, Ohio, Michigan) • 70 units observed some level of grid disturbance, but accommodated the disturbance and stayed on-line • 21 units did not experience any disturbance • All the U.S. nuclear plants that tripped have restarted. • No information suggests that any of the U.S. nuclear power plants triggered the outage.

  6. Next Steps • Once the Task Force determines the causes of the blackout, it will formulate recommendations to address specific problems they uncover. • These will likely focus on technical standards for operation and maintenance of the grid, and on the management performance of grid operators.

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