Worrysome article by Glenn Harlan Reynolds (of Instapundit fame) at Popular Mechanics:
U.S. Woefully Unprepared for a Blackout Like India's: Analysis
Last week, India suffered two huge blackouts. Tuesday's cut power to 370 million people; another one on Wednesday blacked out 670 million people, making it the worst blackout in the history of humanity.
Talking about this with a colleague, I said, "Don't worry. That can't happen here." "Why not?" she asked. "Because we don't have 670 million people," I replied.
This wasn't the comfort she was looking for.
The specific causes of India's blackouts aren't likely to be a problem in the United States. India's electrical grid was brought down in part by state governments drawing more power from the grid than they were supposed to; American power grids are better managed. And while India's grid has been strained by rapid economic growth, America currently faces no such problem.
But don't get too comfortable. America's grid has its own problems, and not enough is being done to address them. And, ironically, because American electric supplies have generally been pretty reliable, we're in some ways worse-equipped to handle a major power outage than India is. That's also something we should probably be doing something about, both at the national level and as individuals.
A complex issue - Glenn outlines the concerns very well. We have a fairly robust infrastructure but there are some major weak points: substation transformers, backup electrical power, water and sewer (both rely on electrical pumps to function) communications, etc... Well worth a read and be sure to stock up on three weeks of emergency food and water plus flashlights, a radio and a couple books or a deck of cards. Prescription medicines and pet food too.
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