[22246] in North American Network Operators' Group
SF POWER: Dec 16 briefing and indepedent analysis
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sean Donelan)
Thu Dec 17 19:09:38 1998
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 17:46:15 -0600
From: Sean Donelan <SEAN@SDG.DRA.COM>
To: nanog@merit.edu
For those wondering how a single human error could take down a chunk
of the power grid, it now appears there were at least two failures
involved in the San Francisco blackout. The original root cause: the
failure to remove safety grounds; and a second failure in the protective
systems. The second failure in the protective systems is now under
investigation.
http://www.pge.com/whats_new/news/outage.html
PG&E has added a 2nd backup system to the San Mateo plant. Exactly
what the second backup system is supposed to do, wasn't clear from
the PG&E statement.
In addition to PG&E's internal investigation, there are now two other
independent investigations by the California Public Utility Commission
and the California Independent System Operator. This power outage seems
to have struck a nerve. I don't remember there being this type of
hostility after the double Western States blackouts in 1996.
--
Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO
Affiliation given for identification not representation
