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CNN Live At Daybreak
Is Power Service Back to Normal?
Aired August 18, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, America heads back to work this morning, but the question on the minds of many, is power service back to normal?
In the Big Apple, Times Square is lit again and New York officials say they expect no problems in other parts of the city. However, in Toronto, some caution. Residents and businesses are being urged to reduce energy consumption. Apparently, there aren't enough generators back online. And for a while Cleveland residents were having to boil their water. Well, energy officials believe the problem may have begun in some power lines near Cleveland.
Let's get some details on the investigation into what went wrong.
Our John Zarrella is in Ohio with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These power transmission lines outside Cleveland, Ohio may hold clues and perhaps answers to why the power went out. Last Thursday afternoon, three lines owned by Ohio's First Energy Corporation and a fourth co-owned line tripped out of service. The problem occurred before the blackout.
The North American Electric Reliability Council says the blackout began when the Ohio lines failed. But on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," the nation's energy secretary said it is way too early in the investigation to draw conclusions.
SPENCER ABRAHAM, ENERGY SECRETARY: I mean there's hundreds of thousands of miles of transmission grid. There's countless substations where the electricity gets rerouted. It's impossible at this point to definitively say.
ZARRELLA: And the Midwest independent transmission system operator which monitors the region says there may be more to it than four Ohio lines. "What is unknown is the relationship among the events in the Midwest and what was occurring elsewhere in the eastern interconnection at that time."
First Energy added that other events were happening simultaneously outside its operating system.
But for now, the focus remains on Ohio and the transmission lines in the Erie Loop.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: I think the cause of this blackout, the Ohio companies, was because of overload.
ZARRELLA: In a statement, First Energy, a holding company for electric utilities in Cleveland, Toledo and Akron, reported that early Thursday afternoon, a generating unit at this East Lake power plant tripped off. The plant is 20 miles outside Cleveland. In its release, the company said, "First Energy determined that its computerized system for monitoring and controlling its transmission and generation system was operating. But the alarm screen function was not." First Energy added, "Customers experienced no service interruptions resulting from these conditions. Therefore, no isolation of First Energy's system was called for."
No matter where the cascading loss of electricity began, there is a larger question.
MICHEHL GENT, ELECTRIC RELIABILITY COUNCIL: Well, we know the sequence of events, so what we've started focusing on is why didn't the area in trouble separate from the rest of the system and keep the entire grid whole.
ZARRELLA: That may prove more difficult to answer than where the blackout began.
John Zarrella, CNN, East Lake, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And when you get up and running this morning, be sure to log onto our Web site for an explanation of how power grids work. You know the address, but just in case you've forgotten, it's cnn.com. The AOL keyword is CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 18, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, America heads back to work this morning, but the question on the minds of many, is power service back to normal?
In the Big Apple, Times Square is lit again and New York officials say they expect no problems in other parts of the city. However, in Toronto, some caution. Residents and businesses are being urged to reduce energy consumption. Apparently, there aren't enough generators back online. And for a while Cleveland residents were having to boil their water. Well, energy officials believe the problem may have begun in some power lines near Cleveland.
Let's get some details on the investigation into what went wrong.
Our John Zarrella is in Ohio with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These power transmission lines outside Cleveland, Ohio may hold clues and perhaps answers to why the power went out. Last Thursday afternoon, three lines owned by Ohio's First Energy Corporation and a fourth co-owned line tripped out of service. The problem occurred before the blackout.
The North American Electric Reliability Council says the blackout began when the Ohio lines failed. But on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," the nation's energy secretary said it is way too early in the investigation to draw conclusions.
SPENCER ABRAHAM, ENERGY SECRETARY: I mean there's hundreds of thousands of miles of transmission grid. There's countless substations where the electricity gets rerouted. It's impossible at this point to definitively say.
ZARRELLA: And the Midwest independent transmission system operator which monitors the region says there may be more to it than four Ohio lines. "What is unknown is the relationship among the events in the Midwest and what was occurring elsewhere in the eastern interconnection at that time."
First Energy added that other events were happening simultaneously outside its operating system.
But for now, the focus remains on Ohio and the transmission lines in the Erie Loop.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: I think the cause of this blackout, the Ohio companies, was because of overload.
ZARRELLA: In a statement, First Energy, a holding company for electric utilities in Cleveland, Toledo and Akron, reported that early Thursday afternoon, a generating unit at this East Lake power plant tripped off. The plant is 20 miles outside Cleveland. In its release, the company said, "First Energy determined that its computerized system for monitoring and controlling its transmission and generation system was operating. But the alarm screen function was not." First Energy added, "Customers experienced no service interruptions resulting from these conditions. Therefore, no isolation of First Energy's system was called for."
No matter where the cascading loss of electricity began, there is a larger question.
MICHEHL GENT, ELECTRIC RELIABILITY COUNCIL: Well, we know the sequence of events, so what we've started focusing on is why didn't the area in trouble separate from the rest of the system and keep the entire grid whole.
ZARRELLA: That may prove more difficult to answer than where the blackout began.
John Zarrella, CNN, East Lake, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And when you get up and running this morning, be sure to log onto our Web site for an explanation of how power grids work. You know the address, but just in case you've forgotten, it's cnn.com. The AOL keyword is CNN.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
