Power Blackout of 2003: Lessons Learned

Verizon Technical Support Services-Power Systems Charlie Romano-Director 212-695-9231 [email protected]

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Power Blackout of 2003

What were the “root causes” of the August 2003 power blackout event?

 According to most published reports, two primary items led to the blackout:  First Energy’s “Lack of situational awareness” and  First Energy’s “Ineffective vegetation management”.

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Power Blackout of 2003

According to the training.

North American Electric Reliability Council report of 2/10/04: The power utility (FE) started the day with insufficient power generating resources A single 345-kV transmission line was lost due to ineffective tree management in the utility’s ROW Proper actions were not taken by FE to notify others that an emergency situation was imminent Alarms were either not received, due to computer problems, or misinterpreted, due to lack of operator 3

Power Blackout of 2003

The “Bad News”    Verizon lost 5 switches in 2 “high-profile” Central Offices in Manhattan (West 50 th St. and East 56 th St.) due to standby generator failures The high ambient temperature and humidity conditions resulted in decreased output from the turbine-driven generators; there were fuel system issues with 2 of the diesel generators These events affected 276,000 customers.

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Power Blackout of 2003

The “Good News”  Most standby generators started, transferred, and assumed the critical office loads, as designed  The blackout event started in the afternoon, and Verizon technical support personnel were immediately available to provide on-site assistance.

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Blackout 2003-Verizon’s Perspective

Experienced and trained power personnel are your most valuable assets during a power emergency!

Building blackout testing MUST be performed every 2 years, during extreme summer and winter temperature conditions, regardless of the tenants Single-line electrical drawings must be kept up-to date Accurate alarm reporting, and effective communications (dedicated technical conference bridges and cell phones) are critical components of rapid restoration and recovery efforts.

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Power Blackout of 2003

The building blackout test is designed to ensure that:  All necessary building ac loads are on the generator’s standby bus      The generator is properly sized for the building The generator’s “life support” systems (fuel pumps, oil cooler pumps, water pumps, start battery charger, etc.) are powered from the generator they are serving These parameters are measured during periods of peak demand, and/or worst ambient environmental conditions Critical office facilities and communications systems are powered from the generator The office emergency lighting system is working properly.

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Thank you….can I answer any questions?

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