Fla. Power Grid Snafu Causes Major Outages

Glitch Sends Blackouts Cascading Through State's Power Grid, Affects Up To 3 Million

(CBS/AP)  A relatively minor glitch in Florida's electrical grid somehow triggered a chain reaction Tuesday that caused a nuclear plant to shut down and briefly cut power in patches from Daytona Beach through the Florida Keys.

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.

[jonsid2]

Will, this is hilarious! A tree fell across a power line near my house just north of Chiefland Florida and my power went out. A crew came out, and when the power came back, I learned that a huge part of Florida went out at the same time. I wonder if things are hooked up right?

[gwagener]

Obviously, this is the first phase of an invasion by cuba since it comes just days after the change in power in Cuba. ;o)

[newsjunky5]

"A tree fell across a power line near my house...
I wonder if things are hooked up right?"
-----------------------
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".

[denn034]

All the best to the Floridians.

[missingamerica]

Some cog in the Republican machine probably outsourced whoever is supposed to rig Florida''s electronic voting machines and the fellow mistakenly connected the wrong wires to the RNC.

[easeup-2009]

"Some cog in the Republican machine probably outsourced whoever is supposed to rig Florida''''s electronic voting machines and the fellow mistakenly connected the wrong wires to the RNC.

Posted by ibsteve2u at 03:32 PM : Feb 26, 2008"

LOL!!! You left out Halliburton.

[gangesdak]

Ten months frm now, population increase in Florida.

[yongamerica]

Once upon a time it was common for towns to own their own power plants. Today this practice is extinct. As power companies wrestle larger profits from their expanding grip on society, it is essential that everyone do as much as possible to remove themselves from the power grid. This power grid is not just about electricity, but economical and political influence as well.

[yongamerica]

The oil companies have a vice grip on the economy as seen by their recent gross profits. It is imperative that the nation shed this industries grip as well as the electrical industries grip on controlling economic and social aspects within the US.

[jonsid2]

The tree that fell across my power line here near Chiefland, fl must have shorted out the line and that triggered a chain reaction down the line, but I''ll bet the power company will never admit it.

[infidel_us]

Some cog in the Republican machine probably outsourced whoever is supposed to rig Florida''''s electronic voting machines and the fellow mistakenly connected the wrong wires to the RNC.
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!

[hungry1968]

It''s a good thing that we''re using OUR tax money to help the Iraqi''s get THEIR electric back on, while our national electric grid is strained to the breaking point, huh?

[iceman_1960]

That seagull is the photo looks suspicious.

Al Qaeda operatives sometimes disguise themselves as birds or animals.

[redstripe11]

The sad thing is that if there really was a safety concern at the nuke plant or if harmful materials were released, do you think they would admit it? Lying is the norm with these talking PR monkies that you can''t believe a single word that is said.

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..."

[iceman_1960]

"Ha! What do you know? That''''s not a seagull so it can''''t be Al Qaeda you ocean fowl fear monger..... :^)
- Posted by FloydZepp at 04:44 PM : Feb 26, 2008
--------------

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.

[bogusbones]

cnn headline HUGE BLACKOUTS HIT SOUTH FLORIDA these news organizations slay me. ANT KILLED BY PEDESTRIAN

anything to get a view, a pair of eyes.

[mikelundeen]

It''s a stork.

[squidly8]

The operators at all of these plants are running around like chickens with their heads cut off right now. We had an outage like this when I was working in a large power plant in central MI. We had to do what is called a Black Start - no electrical power on the premises. We used a small diesel generator (5 megawatts)started with compressed air, to get just enough power to start a larger gas turbine. The gas turbine power starts the others and then finally when we had enough steam pressure, the steam turbine can come back on line. It took us a good 24-36 hours to recover the plant back to normal - these plants will be in the same boat. No rest for the weary today!

[hungry1968]

Too bad it didn''t happen in Ohio - then they could cancel tonight''s debate.

[robaldrich]

CBS:

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

[goldesprit]

Albert Einstein was worried about E=MCsq. because it might provide way more energy and potential for disaster than we will have the social equipment to keep up with, or to control.

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!

[mollydtt]

I thought that the nuclear power plant was shut down as a precaution when the power failure started elsewhere. I had no idea that the nuclear power plant "triggered" the black out.

[mikebeat1]

I thought that the nuclear power plant was shut down as a precaution when the power failure started elsewhere. I had no idea that the nuclear power plant "triggered" the black out.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

[hipop2]

The article stated that the power plant had a safety issue but that the problem was a substation outside of Miami causing two of three of the major lines to trip off-line. Sounds like the plant responded to an outside event similar to "loss of offsite power" where it is designed to trip off line to prevent equipment damage.

[neobrian-2009]

LoserInc.com,..Moron.com Cool new sites for IDIOTS
Posted by Infidel_US at 04:32 PM : Feb 26, 2008
---=====-----====---====----====---==--===-=====--===----
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!

[keithle1]

Doesn''t take much to shut us down. Just turn off the electricity.

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.

[redstripe11]

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 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?

[squidly8]

Keith, I believe I saw on navytimes.com a couple of days ago that they are getting ready to decommission that last diesel sub next year. It has probably just been sitting next to a pier for several years anyway

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.

[perrycbs1]

The headline is very misleading:

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).

[newsjunky5]

"Doesn''''t anyone ask tough questions anymore?"
---------------------------------

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.

[perrycbs1]

The headline is very misleading:

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.

[newsjunky5]

Power companies are more efficiently run now than ever through privatization. For those who are unhappy about blackouts, you need to know that redundancy and maintenance in a power system is inefficient. All you get for all that is reliability. Where is the money in that? You''ll still consume as much, as you''ll do the laundry when the power comes back on, and the fridge and AC will work just as hard to remove all that heat that''s built up. So it''s more efficient, and the bottom line of the utility is lower than it''s ever been

[perrycbs1]

CBS has now changed the headline to a more appropriate one.

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.

[enlightenu]

SNAFU - Situation Normal, All ******* Up

[lpoole5]

Uh, the "resident ispectors" at Turkey Point Nuke Plant assure us nothing wrong there, all is just Peachy Keen, folks. They "inspect" all the time.

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!

[squidly8]

Great, the conspiracy theorists are alive and well today. GWB did it.

[squidly8]

Perrycbs is describing selective tripping. You want the breaker closest to the fault tripped off to isolate it. You want your hairdryer to trip the GFI in the bathroom instead of the main breaker to your house or your street or neighborhood or town. Somehow the switch fault tripped the "town". BTW, this switch is not like a light switch, it is much larger and far more complicated.

[perrycbs1]

To lpoole5 & others:

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.

[perrycbs1]

Part 2

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.

[demslie]

Great, the conspiracy theorists are alive and well today. GWB did it.

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.

[thomderr]

This wasn''t a cold shut down of Turkey Point. The electricity generated was simply ''not sent out over the power grid'' to avoid a possible feedback.

[robaldrich]

Someone said: robaldrich4, I''''m an electrical engineer and I do understand. And frankly, the word Chernobyl comes to mind.
------

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

[robaldrich]

continued . . .

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

[robaldrich]

This is too much fun.

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.
--------

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

[shucks207]

oops