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POWER ENGINEERS SUPPORTING TRUTH
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STATEMENT FOR PUBLICATION
COMMENTS ON FINAL
GOVERNMENT REPORT ON
AUGUST 14TH BLACKOUT
BY
J.A. CASAZZA F. DELEA G.C. LOEHR POWER ENGINEERS SUPPORTING TRUTH 703-569-3579 April 6th, 2004
The final government report contains a wealth of valuable information and recommendations on a variety of issues to reduce the probability of such massive interruptions in the future. However, there are some areas that it has not adequately addressed.
There are a number of recommendations that will require further study. The Report is silent as to when, how and by whom these studies will be done. Of paramount concern, is the question of how the restructuring of the electric power industry sponsored by our government set the stage for the blackout. It does recommend “Commission of an independent study of the relationship among industry restructuring, competition and reliability”. We strongly support this recommendation. We need to start immediately on the assignment of a special task force to study the relationship of restructuring, competition and reliability. This task force should be appointed by Congress and should include analyses of FERC, DOE and industry actions.
While implementation of the specific recommendations will address the particular lessons learned about August 2003, the Country needs to be certain that the government’s regulatory program for the electric utility industry is sound and will not reduce the reliability of supply. Our electric system, contrary to many statements made by government officials, is not that of a third world country, but it could become so, if its market structure continues to evolve without adequate oversight. The Report writers continue to worship, however, at the altar of market forces stating (pg. 139) “Market mechanisms should be used where possible…” Unfortunately, it mistakenly assumes that the people in government and the industry know how to set up and run an open and transparent market for electricity. One only need look as far as the situation that developed in the California to have doubts about that assumption. The report writers recognize that changes in the industry structure have resulted in the increased transmission of electric power. To this is added the increase in the number of participants, the complexity of the transactions involved, the lack of technical knowledge of those setting policy in government and in industry, and in the growing concern with profits rather reliability.
The report identifies the failure to transfer lessons learned from past blackouts as an important contributor but fails to explore the possible reasons, including the role of restructuring of the power industry. Yet there is no discussion of the huge reductions in personnel as a result of restructuring and its impact on the ability to do training, maintenance etc.
The need to take the control and funding of NERC away from those in the industry with whom it deals is stressed in the report, with increased government regulatory control over technical operations. While NERC and the reliability councils certainly need improvement, the pros and cons of such a step need careful evaluation. In its activities both DOE and FERC rely on “stakeholder views” as a key input to their decisions. These “stakeholders” represent those with commercial and political interests, --- no different than the NERC procedures they want to change. The fact is that our government messed up, and now wants to take control. We strongly urge that only competent and experienced power system engineers be involved in any oversight of utility planning and operations.
While the report stresses the urgency of prompt adoption of its recommendations it fails to stress that the standards and procedures are not as important as the qualifications of the individuals appointed to enforce them. For many years the appointments to top policy positions in FERC, DOE and other key government agencies, and in the electric power industry, have lacked the necessary technical backgrounds. The recommendations made in the 1977 Study of Government Operations by the Ribicoff Committee should be revisited. Technical qualifications should be established as soon as possible for all top government and regulatory positions that involve supervision and policy direction of the electric utility industry.
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