August 2003

I’ll have more analysis and commentary on electricity policy tomorrow, after I’ve rested and digested the weekend’s news. Please come back then (or set your aggregator to my RSS feed)!

We have updated Reason’s electricity pages to include a Reason blackout resource center. Transmission-related information will be provided here, updated regularly. One very valuable resource available on our site is Ken Silverstein’s column on the blackout. Ken is a very incisive observer of electricity policy, and he correctly points out that The wires business must …

Reason Blackout Resource Center Read More »

A quick break … this commentary on electricity grid vulnerability from November 2001 is still, or even more, relevant today, even though my focus in this commentary was terrorism. A teaser: While the Sept. 11 attacks disrupted communications and business operations on a massive scale, many businesses recovered their data quickly, and telecommunications companies restored …

Grid Reliability And Robustness Read More »

I am completely snowed under with interviews and have not yet been able to compose my thoughts beyond the soundbites. In the interim, please visit Reason’s website for links to our electricity work, including this commentary on network reliability in California.

A good overall story from Reuters, and one from the New York Times. A Bloomberg Energy article pointing to the fact that the power outage meant that five refineries in Ohio, Michigan and Ontario have gone offline, so gasoline prices may be affected. But lots of gas stations are closed because their pumps run on …

Power Outage News Roundup Read More »

The grid has been the subject of underinvestment for the past decade, and lots of industry folks, industry analysts, and government officials have put their heads together to think about how to make the grid more robust for the 21st century. This Washington Post article puts it nicely: The country’s halting moves toward electricity deregulation …

This Power Outage Did Not Come Out Of The Blue Read More »

I got bumped from Greta; between Governor Pataki and the fact that the New York phone lines were fading in and out. Today it’s lots of radio interviews, and I’ll post some about what could cause such a thing, While I’m doing radio and trying to get a little sleep, Glenn has some further links, …

Power Outage Media Frenzy Read More »

Glenn Reynolds has a post that gathers a lot of info about the northeast power outage. I’ve not been blogging it because I’ve been doing radio interviews. If you stay up late to watch Greta van Susteren on Fox News, and then a special report, you’ll probably see me.