Power Outage

4 hours ago

snip

M. Granger Morgan, chair of Engineering and Public Policy and co-director of the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center, will be online Friday, Aug. 15 at Noon ET to discuss the blackout.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Washington, D.C.: I have a question in two parts, Mr. Morgan: to what extent is deregulation to blame for this power catastrophe (i.e. funds weren't properly allocated to make the necessary infrastructural improvements that would have prevented this mess--didn't deregulation create a scenario whereby this could happen)?

and do you now foresee the power companies jacking up the rates in the affected geographical regions--thus extorting the populace--similar to what they (companies such as Bechtel, Enron, Reliant, and now this Niagara Mohawk) have done in other parts of the country (California) and of the world (India, Bolivia, Rio de Janeiro, et. al.)?

thanks, I'm a big fan of your work.

M. Granger Morgan: The grid has been running pretty close to the edge for quite a few years.

Deregulation certainly plays a role. Because it has not been clear who will end up owning the gird in the long run, investors have been reluctant to make the large investments needed to expand the capacity of the grid and upgrade communication and control systems as the load on the system has grown.

Also, as a result of restructring we are now trying to use the grid as a power market between generators and customers, something it was not really designed to do. So we are using the gird differently, and stressing it in new ways.

Will fixing it cost money? Yes, but in terms of the US economy as a whole, or even the delivered cost of power, the costs should be modest.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59860-2003Aug14.html

It will cost money. As the post mentions, the sums are modest when distributed over a wide private sector-AND-governmental cost basis.

Of course, the deregulators don't want to spend one red cent.

Here's the question: Do we want to live in a Third world nation, or do we want to live in a First world nation.

If you want to live in the third world, do nothing...or else (preferably for the sake of those U.S. citizens who would prefer to live at first world standards) go away and take a $5/night youth hostel tour to India....(hey, I've done $10/night in Central America and loved it).

If we want to live in a developed country, we have to spend some money on infrastructure, and put some unemployed electrical engineers to work. By hearsay, I know that there are currently available quite a large number of unemployed EE's with very good college GPA's (try straight-A averages including differential equations for a starter). These people need to be working and creating a more secure power grid. Now, however, they're actively looking for employers who are willing to hire them for a fair wage to do what they're best at...applying science to technological problems. Hire them!

If some want to live at the standards of India, I would suggest an open-end ticket to New Delhi, so that you can stay 6 months, a year, whatever. On an open end ticket you can specify when you have had enough of the Third World lifestyle, whether after 3 months, a year, or two years, whatever. There are many youth hostels and local motels available for $10/night or less. I cannot guarantee whether the lights will be running, and I certainly recommend that you bring your 'International-Traveler' activated charcoal water purifier with you. I cannot guarantee the availability of water out of the tap. You may have to get water out of a stream and run it through the purifier to get rid of the bacteria. It is the third world. There may be water in the morning but not in the evening, etc. Also, eat only well-cooked food and avoid fresh salads that have been dipped in the 'fresh' water of the Ganghes. Luv that well-cooked and well-spiced curry, though!!!

If you want to live in the First World, along with Japan and the countries of Europe, be prepared for some expenditures for re-development of infrastructure. Some of these expenditures should be through programmes like the TVA while others will be Federal inducements to private investment.

And if you want to do it right, make improvements that will not become obsolete in 10 years!

That is how privatization develops. They find they need bigger profits NOT better service. So DEREGULATE, reduce services. Invest nothing except in control expansion and PR. If you want to be maliicious you could say they never intended to run the service adequately and that expanding CONTROL is everything.

After watching the numbskulls fail and go broke however, it might just be total skew of priorities, bottomline snake eating its own tail, the pyramid scam that is modern capitalism collapsing.

Never expect Corporate Pravda to get anywhere close to a real critique of this. They are part of the problem.

Recall Pataki. Impeach Bush. Jail Lay and Schilling. Without them we would have had no power failure. They ARE the power failure.

The GOP has outsourced its' Call Center for Telephone Fundraising there, so it can't be all bad.

Saw it on the IBEW website.

the topic starter got anything against India?
India is only mentioned as one of the countries that have been screwed over by energy companies.