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Massive Power Outages In Brazil Caused By Hackers
Hugh Pickens writes "CBS reports on 60 minutes that a massive two-day power outage in Brazil's Espirito Santo State affecting more than three million people in 2007, and another, smaller event in three cities north of Rio de Janeiro in January 2005, were perpetrated by hackers manipulating control systems. Former Chief of US National Intelligence Retired Adm. Mike McConnell says that the 'United States is not prepared for such an attack' and believes it could happen in America. 'If I were an attacker and wanted to do strategic damage to the United States, I would either take the cold of winter or the heat of summer,' says McConnell, 'I would probably sack electric power on the US East Coast, maybe the West Coast and attempt to cause a cascading effect.' Congressman Jim Langevin says that US power companies need to be forced to deal with the issue after they told Congress they would take steps to defend their operations but did not follow up. 'They admit that they misled Congress. The private sector has different priorities than we do in providing security. Their bottom line is about profits,' says Langevin. 'We need to change their motivation so that when see vulnerability like this, we can require them to fix it.' McConnell adds that a similar attack to the one in Brazil is poised to take place on US soil and that it may take some horrific event to get the country focused on shoring up cyber security. 'If the power grid was taken off line in the middle of winter and it caused people to suffer and die, that would galvanize the nation. I hope we don't get there.'"
The great blackout of 2003, which took out the north east united states and a good chunk of ontario, was caused by deregulation (removing the requirement to clear the branches around the power lines).
Quebec, which has state-owned power (Hydro-Quebec) was not hit hard by that blackout, because it keeps its grid out of phase with those dangerously unregulated parts around it.
Learn the lesson: You can't trust the greedy to run critical infrastructure.
Misleading and incorrect.
1. The article your cited does not state that the blackout was due to deregulation "removing the requirement to clear branches around the power lines." It states, quite clearly, that the main cause was due to a generating plant going offline, then several power transmission lines going offline (or "tripping") due to tree contact. Nowhere does it say that deregulation had anything to do with that sequence of events.
If you assert deregulation lifted a requirement that power transmission line RoW be clear of vegetation, please cite.
2. Wikipedia's summary of the findings is somewhat watered-down. Many other factors went into play, from the lack of situational awareness at FirstEnergy's control center, to reactive power deficiencies, and finally to the violent swings as 10s of gigawatts of electric power sloshed about the northeast trying to find an equilibrium, tripping generating plants and power lines along the way. A full report is available at https://reports.energy.gov/BlackoutFinal-Web.pdf
3. You seem to imply that Quebec's "state-owned" power concern decided to sever its AC links to adjacent areas because it did not want to be taken down with its "dangerously unregulated" neighbors. Are you sure it is because of that? I'm pretty sure that Hydro-Quebec has been its own AC interconnection since well before deregulation occurred.
And that is the correct answer!
A loop, by its nature, continues. If that didn't make sense, start reading this sentence again.
In my response, I posted three points. So far, you have only written an incomplete response to one of my points, along with an ad-hominem.
Your citation is valuable. I am unaware of the "Utility Vegetation Management Final Report," nor am I familiar with Rule 218. I will look into it, but I can't say I will reach the same conclusion once I read the whole thing.
In any case, vegetation management was not the sole cause of the blackout. A point that I raised and you dismissed without comment.
And Iraq... ?
a handful of selfish greedy people are no match for millions of selfish, greedy people -u4ya