Guarding the Grid from thalia near Watch Video

⏲ Duration: 5 min 28 sec
✓ Published: 16-Aug-2011

Description:
In 2003, a power line near Cleveland, Ohio sagged into a tree and shorted out. It started a cascade of failures across the Midwest, Northeast and parts of Canada, causing the worst blackout in U.S. history. Since then, utilities and grid operators have implemented new technology and procedures to guard against another major blackout. But the number of smaller power outages has doubled in recent years, costing the economy about $180 billion a year, according to University of Minnesota engineering