Fla. Power Grid Snafu Causes Major Outages
Glitch Sends Blackouts Cascading Through State's Power Grid, Affects Up To 3 Million
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Massive Outage In Florida
An equipment malfunction at a power substation caused a chain reaction leading to a statewide power outage in Florida. Kelly Cobiella reports.
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Florida Outage Wreaks Havoc
Millions of people are without power across the state of Florida after the state's largest utility shut down two nuclear plant generators. Karen Brown reports.
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Photo
Turkey Point, one of three nuclear power plants in Florida is seen in this Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2001, file photo, in Miami. A Florida Power & Light spokesman says the widespread power outages affecting Florida started when the company shut down a nuclear reactor south of Miami for safety reasons. (AP (file))
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View of traffic snarls caused by power outages (CBS)
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Interactive
Nuclear: Harnessing The Atom
Nuclear power has become a prominent energy source in the U.S. Find out more about this controversial resource.
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Interactive
Outrageous Outage
A look at what happened Aug. 14, 2003, when the lights went out in much of the Northeast; photos, video, blackout history and more.
Up to 3 million people about a fifth of Florida's population lost power at various points during the afternoon, though there were no safety concerns at the nuclear plant. And while many areas were hit hard, the outages were short lived and only about 20,000 people lacked electricity during the evening commute home. Most of the evening outages were due to bad weather, not the grid problem, officials said.
An equipment malfunction in a substation near Miami disabled two power distribution lines between Miami and Daytona Beach, and in response, Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point nuclear plant south of Miami stopped operating around 1 p.m., Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Kenneth Clark said.
The outage triggered a chain reaction through seven power plants, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella. Lights flickered in the central part of the state, cascading north all the way to Tallahassee.
The utility was trying to determine what caused equipment failure and a fire at the substation, but the company said it was not the kind of problem that should have created the widespread blackouts.
Grid problems caused both Turkey Point reactors to shut down, said the utility's nuclear spokesman, Dick Winn.
"All the safety systems worked just like they were supposed to and both of those units are in stable condition right now," he said. Clark agreed the plant's safety was not in question.
The outages had no connection to terrorism, Homeland Security Department spokeswoman Laura Keehner said. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez said the outages were technical, not criminal.
"It's a matter of just a cascading effect," he said.
Miami-Dade County felt the brunt of it, as 400 schools held students long after the last bell fearing the roads weren't safe enough for busses, reports Cobiella.
Florida emergency management officials said the outages cut power to 2 to 3 million people during the heat of a day that saw temperatures reach the 80s.
The federal nuclear commission said based on reports from its resident inspectors at the plant, the initial drop in voltage came from outside Turkey Point, but the problem worsened when the two reactors shut down, the panel said.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has responsibility for electricity grid reliability, said it wants to know whether there were any violations of federal grid reliability rules.
The sporadic outages spanned 300 miles of the peninsula but appeared to be concentrated in the southeast portion of the state, including Miami. Communities along the southwest coast, in the Florida Keys and as far north as Daytona Beach reported interruptions.
Miami International Airport, the Port of Miami and the area's rail and bus transportation were working normally, although some places briefly relied on generator power, officials said.
Several Miami-area hospitals switched to backup generators when the power went out. Miami-Dade schools were scheduled to be dismissed on time, and officials said school buses were running.
By 2 p.m., most of northern downtown Miami appeared to be back to normal operation, including a campus of Miami Dade College and numerous stores and businesses. In the Florida Keys, spokesman Andy Newman said areas were without power for about 30 minutes.
At a Starbucks in Miami's western suburb of Doral, employees began handing out sandwiches they feared would go bad.
Nelson Suarez, 35, a manager for Asia sales at World Fuel Services, enjoyed the free lunch.
"I can't work anyway since all the power is out, so at least something good came out of this," he said.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



I wonder if things are hooked up right?"
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You owe it to the citizens of Florida to climb up and see. Normally I don''t encourage this type of activity, but if your electricity has been "privatized", you could be due some compensation for this service.
"Car-jacking? no officer, I ''privatized'' this vehicle".
Posted by ibsteve2u at 03:32 PM : Feb 26, 2008"
LOL!!! You left out Halliburton.
Posted by ibsteve2u at 03:32 PM : Feb 26, 2008
Ooooo, oooooo....it''s all Ba-ba-ba--Bush and Cha-cha-cha-Chaney''s fault. Gawd, what a bedwetting crybaby lib. Does you mom know school''s out and you playing at the computer unsupervised? LOSER!
Al Qaeda operatives sometimes disguise themselves as birds or animals.
Just "everything worked like it was supposed to." yeah, right, if it did, the power would be on you moron!!! "move along, nothing to see here people..."
- Posted by FloydZepp at 04:44 PM : Feb 26, 2008
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That could be part of the plot.
The FBI should go down there with a big bag of rocks (it"s too dangerous to be shooting guns that next to a nuclear reactor) and leave no tern unstoned.
anything to get a view, a pair of eyes.
How do you possibly use the word "triggers" in your title when there was never any reason to believe the nuclear power plants caused the problem? I realize that the loss of the abundant, clean, safe, power generated by the two nuclear plants might have expanded the grid cascade, but the grid caused the problem, not the nuclear plants.
CNN announced almost two hours ago. Fox and AP have it correct now.
Just another media deception which, as expected and shown by some of the comments here, fosters a belief among the uneducated, as to nuclear power, that nuclear energy production is not safe.
I don''t know which is worse, you or the imbecilic comments by people who wouldn''t know nuclear power principles from the taste of dog feces.
So, I guess we should just shut those bad boys down and keep on killing people and destroying the environment with coal fired power plant exhausts.
Rob
If millions watch "Survivor" --not just once, but a great deal-- and basiclly wait for George to know what to do...
I would hope we wake up really smart after we are done dreaming...
Apocalypse Now.
And here comes another pandering presidential candidate.
Please:
IF IT AIN''''T BARAK, DON''''T FIX IT!
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Posted by mollydtt at 06:22 PM : Feb 26, 2008
An equipment malfunction in a substation near Miami disabled two power distribution lines between Miami and Daytona Beach, and in response, the Turkey Point nuclear plant south of Miami stopped operating around 1 p.m.
As you cansee, that IS the way it happened
Posted by Infidel_US at 04:32 PM : Feb 26, 2008
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The GOP is Always ROVING for new ways to recruit new Morons !Poopusbutts,..Infidel_ussr,..Donnie900,..They look for other Perverts to help spread their slime.
Shrubbies,Take Note ! Your time draws nigh!
You`re Going to be TOTALLY ERADICATED in November! Friends Never let friends vote republiCon!
Two questions:
Can we get by with no nuclear power at all?
Do we have any subs that aren''t powered by nuclear power?
Thank you.
As you cansee, that IS the way it happened
Posted by mikebeat1 at 06:58 PM : Feb 26, 2008
I always believe everything I read on the internet, in the news and definitely what my government tells me.
Why do we continually accept this *** that is spoonfed us through press releases and paid PR people who''s job it is to hide the truth and protect the company? Doesn''t anyone ask tough questions anymore?
I was a Navy nuclear trained machinist on a sub several years ago. Nuclear is the way to go - sorry Floydzepp. Chernobyl could not happen in the USA as it was a graphite reactor which can burn. That is the exact reason why US nuclear plants are not a graphite moderated core. We use pressurized water or boiling water reactors.
The anti-nuclear argument in the USA is strictly one of fear. Go ahead, raise your hand if you have never give it a second thought about getting an xray at the dr or dentist? Fly on a plane? Lived in a house with a radon problem? All of these things that we dont give a second thought to absolutely expose us to increased radiation levels. Commercial nuclear programs in the USA are extremely safe - it is time to stop the fear mongering.
I currently work in the Nuclear Power industry (not in Florida), and prior to that worked in coal fired power plants. When I left work this afternoon it was with the understanding that Turkey Point (both reactors) had tripped as a result of the loss of the transmission lines needed to transmit the power to the state of Florida.
The Turkey Point Power Station also has 3 coal fired power plants; and they also shut down for the same reason.
This outage had nothing to do with the nuclear plants; other than they were affected. Nuclear and fossil plants are well designed to safely handle this type of loss of transmission and safely trip offline.
Transmission line failures, for various reasons, are not that uncommon; nor that they caused isolated power plants to trip.
What is uncommon is that their were not sufficient redundant back-up lines in service to maintain power to most of the area and maintain most power plants to stay online (to have all the Turkey Point plants - fossil and nuclear trip due to lack of transmission lines is quite the accomplishment - and not in a good way).
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Not if they want to keep their jobs. Did you know that the seating in the White House pressroom is arranged so conservative news organizations are in front, PBS in the back? They won''t get called on/an interview if they don''t play ball. And if they don''t get called on/an interview they can''t be a journalist.
I currently work in the Nuclear Power industry (not in Florida), and prior to that worked in coal fired power plants. When I left work this afternoon it was with the understanding that Turkey Point (both reactors) had tripped as a result of the loss of the transmission lines needed to transmit the power to the state of Florida.
The Turkey Point Power Station also has 3 coal fired power plants; and they also shut down for the same reason.
This outage had nothing to do with the nuclear plants; other than they were affected. Nuclear and fossil plants are well designed to safely handle this type of loss of transmission and safely trip offline.
Transmission line failures, for various reasons, are not that uncommon; nor that they cause isolated power plants to trip.
What is uncommon is that their were not sufficient redundant back-up lines in service to maintain power to most of the area and maintain most power plants to stay online (to have all the Turkey Point plants - fossil and nuclear trip due to lack of transmission lines is quite the accomplishment - and not in a good way).
What is wrong with our transmission line infrastructure? That is the real question.
Concerning reliability & Utility efficiency. There are federal standards that have not changed much in decades about how many spinning reserves and how much back-up high voltage transmission you need. Something did not work - or something is not right in this case.
Yeah: You mean, like the "resident inspector" at that MEAT PACKING PLANT in Calif., which supplies cow meat to MILLIONS of American School Kids, & to Senior Citizens feeding programs?
Gee! Isn''t it terrific that Homeland Security tells us it wasn''t TERRORISTS? I mean, BUSH says "We haven''tbeen attacked domestically since 9/11"!
And even if we HAVE been attacked since 9/11, the BUSH Regime would COVER IT UP, keep it SECRET, like they have everything else! (3 Oil Refinery EXPLOSIONS & FIRES, so far, since 9/11, & we are supposed to believe that all 3 Explosions & Fires at such vital targets as OIL REFINERIES, were "ACCIDENTS"? ALL 3??
Even if we ARE attacked in the near Future (i.e., BEFORE the Presidential Election), theBush Regime sure ss HELL won''t tell the MEDIA, or the American PEOPLE!! (Well, maybe they''ll tell their buddies over at FOX NEWS, Karl Rove or Rupert Murdock or Tony Snow)
If the Gov''t. repeats a "BIG LIE" often enough, & get the NEWS MEDIA to also repeat it, WE WIN!
Remember: They told the people living near THREE MILE ISLAND, that it was perfectly "SAFE" too!
Part 1
I am not going to claim that a significant event cannot happen at a nuclear power plant; but, I believe that it would be very rare and the possibility of it having a significant effect on people is minuscule. 3 Mile Island both demonstrated the key problem that existed in the US (which I believe has been fixed in the US). Chernobyl demonstrated the same problem elsewhere; and I believe most countries have adopted the US solution.
The key problem: The operators should not try to save a plant (keep it online) when things are going wrong. Just let the automatic safety systems take over and ensure that they work and the plant is safely shutdown before doing anything. In both 3 Mile Island and Chernobyl the plant operators intentionally turned of (or disabled) safety features that were designed to protect the core as they were focused on keeping the power plant operating. The plants were safe, were designed correctly, and neither event would have occurred if the operators had just let the automatics take over.
3 Mile Island was also a huge success in that the US had insisted on expensive containment buildings in the event that something really bad did go wrong. The containment building worked. People get more radiation from flying on a routine business trip or on a vacation than people got that lived adjacent to 3 Mile Island. Chernobyl was a true disaster because there was no containment building.
I am not sure how many people understand the degree of redundant systems in a nuclear plant that are designed to prevent a serious problem; and to protect the health and safety of the public.
What happens when something goes wrong?
Recently my plant had a power cable fail that provided power from the grid to the plant for all the key %u201Csafety related%u201D AC electrical equipment. This is formally called a Loss of Offsite Power.
Here is what happened:
1) 4 emergency diesel generators auto started. 2 of them auto loaded and all of the key %u201Csafety related%u201D AC electrical equipment was auto sequenced back on. A few minutes interruption in power (and in use of that equipment) does not provide a significant upset to the plant, nor has any real safety significance (things cannot go bad that fast; even in the worst case).
Only 1 diesel would be needed to power all the key %u201Csafety related%u201D equipment; and the operators could have manually started the diesel and manually turned on all of the equipment and still have protected the plant.
2) Over a day later, when it was determined that the problem was not something that could be fixed in a short period of time; a scheduled and routine shutdown of the plant occurred.
I can point to multiple independent systems that are designed to automatically contain all kinds of possible problems. Also, it%u2019s not easy to criticize the NRC inspection process after you have gone through several of them.
Posted by squidly8
You are absolutely right. When the tiger got loose from his cage at the San Franciso Zoo and killed one person, there were Democrat conspiracy theorists right here at CBS (Communist Broadcast System) who found a way to blame it on Bush. And this is the New Change for America that Saddam Hussein OBAMA, Hitlery and the Democrats have promised us.
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Sir, electrical engineering is not nuclear engineering. The Chernobyl reactor design was a "positive void coefficient" design. That design is illegal in the United States. Thus, Chernobyl has NOTHING to do with U.S. reactor safety.
Further, the Chernobyl incident occurred because the military shut down the reactor''s safety systems to run a military experiment. The United States doesn''t do that either.
Rob
3. Whats the Space Shuttle have to do with this? I don''''t know of any exploding rocket fuel at nuclear plants. Even if there were, the explosion of rocket fuel would not breach the containment vessel.
4. What about all that radiation in natural gas
Extra. Coal fired power plants put out more radiation than allowed from nuclear power plants. Coal is radioactive, but unregulated from a radiation perspective. Burning it releases radiation.
Maybe what should "come to mind" is the vast amounts of safe (hasn''''t killed anyone yet - as opposed to the thousands a month dying from coal fired plant exhaust), clean power being generated by the 103 nuclear plants in the U.S., or nuclear subs, or nuclear aircraft carriers.
Rob
I didn''''t comment on the following, so here I go.
Someone said: robaldrich4, I''''''''m an electrical engineer and I do understand. And frankly, the word Chernobyl comes to mind. Or maybe three mile island. Or possibly the Space Shuttle Challenger....don''''''''t pretend that technology can''''''''t go wrong doof. It can, and if I had to choose between a gas-fired plant and a nuclear propelled one I''''''''ll go gas everyime.
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1. Already commented on Chernobyl.
2. Gee, Three Mile island proved U.S. nuclear reactors are safe . . . thanks in part to the "NEGATIVE void coefficient" design. Despite multiple human errors, the plant safely shutdown. Despite imbecilic hearsay to the contrary, the nuclear release was so small that taking a coast to coast flight will expose you to a higher radiation dose than the most extreme possible exposure from TMI (40,000 feet closer to the sun and less atmospheric protection).
To be continued . . .
Rob
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by shucks207
February 27, 2008 5:33 PM PST
- oops
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