Cascading failures in power grids PAUL

IEEE POTENTIALS 0278-6648/09/$26.00 © 2009 IEEE Few people consider the complexity of power grid operation when they flip a switch to light a room. Power grids provide electricity to billions of individuals around the globe, often with higher than 99.9% reliability. Because the social structures in most developed countries rely on high-reliability electricity, massive social disruption can result when the power grid fails to deliver energy to customers—urban transportation systems grind to a halt, heating and cooling systems stop, computer systems shut down, and vital services like water, sewer, and communications quickly degrade. In some cases, blackouts can uncover major social unrest, as occurred in the 1977 New York City blackout, which led to widespread rioting and the arrest of more than 3,000 individuals. In order to better understand how others perceive electrical blackouts, we asked students at the University of Vermont to share their blackout stories. The following are two particularly insightful responses: I think many people are in the dark about blackouts, specifically regarding what to do when one happens and perhaps more importantly what not to do. I know as soon as the lights go out and the summer heat rises, the first thing that goes through my mind once the power comes back is to turn on my air conditioning Cascading failures in power grids