I am told all electric utilities in Texas are in a network--with no eu"s from outside Texas. I read of whole US networks (northwest, northeast) going down because of short or disconnect in one utility in the network. Will the Texas network go down if one of the utilities in its network is noncompliant and corrupts the compliant) network?

More specifically, can a non-compliant eu be cut off, leaving a compliant network? Can a compliant utility (e.g. Texas Utilities) cut itself off from the network to remain functioning?

(I read that the Montreal(?) eu cut itself off from a down netwrk in the latest net breakdown.) t

-- Anonymous, May 11, 1998

Answers

I also would like to know the answer to your question. I got an interesting picture of the power grid from yardeni's site but I do not full understand it. It does show Texas sort of out by itself. I have the copy in front of me and it says Texas is in the ERCOT interconnection. What does that mean? I would like to see a detailed explanation of the power grid and its inter-connectivity. Where did you read that Montreal cut itself off from the network? Joe (jfs@lcc.net)

-- Anonymous, May 11, 1998

It's true that Texas has one tie line to the rest of the US grid. It's a DC tie to the Southwest Power Pool.

Most (all?) of the nation's utilities belong to regional coordinating councils -- Texas happens to belong to ERCOT. The councils are supposed to prevent massive blackouts from happening again. They were established after the big East Coast blackout (1968), which did start with one utility. The councils all belong to NERC, which is the North American Electric Reliability Council. Check out www.nerc.com for more information.

Mitch Patterson Product Manager GE Harris Energy Control Systems, LLC

-- Anonymous, May 11, 1998

If Texas is a stand aline entity, only has one connection or has a dozen probably will not matter in this instance. Look at the Texas Utilities home page and listen to them pat themselves on the back because they have finished 35% of their assessment and started looking at embedded systems in December of 1997. They say they are confident that they will be finished in time. GET A LIFE TEXAS UTILITIES! Assessment is less than 5% of the total Y2k effort. and they are only 35% finished with that! Embbedded chips are far more difficult and they just started looking at them last December. It only mattesr how they are hooked up to the grid (for Texans) if they will be compliant. It looks like they will not, so they probably are going down anyway. The only concern we should have concerning the grid is "What will they take down with them?" This is not my opinion look at their site for yourself. I just understand (manging Year 2000 projects myself) what these numbers REALLY mean.

-- Anonymous, May 12, 1998

Utility net disconnect - TEXAS

I noted your message about Texas Utilities Home Page. Granted, this is 90 days later, but it seems that they have changed their page. Is this true? This could also be the standard corporate "don't worry, be happy" line that nearly everyone is using. Please let me know what you and others think.

From TU HOME PAGE: In fact, there appears to be no simple solution. Correcting the problem involves going through every single line of code for each computer system. For Texas Utilities (TU), that means more than 100 million lines of computer code must be examined

TU has been addressing the problem since mid-1996. A Program Management Office is coordinating all aspects of the Corporate Year 2000 Project and representatives from communications, procurement, legal and internal audit are helping coordinate the overall effort.

TU's Information Technology (I/T) department is responsible for corporate computer applications-or legacy systems-and the I/T infrastructure. A team of I/T personnel is identifying potential problem areas in computer programs and developing and implementing ways to solve them. The required changes and replacement work on the majority of I/T application systems and infrastructure are expected to be completed by the end of 1998.

In late 1997, a corporate-wide project to address Year 2000 issues related to microprocessor systems such as process controls for energy production and delivery and client-developed applications was initiated. The project includes system inventory, assessment, corrective action and testing. Projects to address issues common throughout the company, such as telephone systems, are being managed centrally to avoid duplication of effort. Projects specific to individual business units or sites are being managed within those groups to achieve the best results.

I/T is also examining the more familiar desktop applications like Windows 95, WordPerfect and Microsoft Word to make sure they are Year 2000 compliant. This portion of the project includes working with the various software manufacturers and doing independent testing.

Could Y2K problems affect service? TU is reviewing power plant controls and energy delivery system controls along with other company operations. While it is possible for microprocessor-based systems to have problems with the Y2K situation if not addressed before Year 2000, we are confident that this project will be completed well in advance of January 2000.

-- Anonymous, August 02, 1998

Now I have learned that Texas is not as connected as some states. Can we assume that all utilities in Texas are Connected? If we knew the max output of those utilities I guess we could calculate what parts would have to go down before "lights out". Can each utility non-performing plants off the line to keep others up. I am really concerned about the "power grid" issue and do not know where to turn to get straight answers.

Joe Smith

-- Anonymous, May 12, 1998

Joe Smith's concern about Power grid failure hinges on one major equipment called RTU. Each one of the 8000 utilities in US are ultimately responsible for the operation of its own transmission network. The tools used for the grid operation are SCADA/ EMS and RTUs. The RTUs have embedded firmware written in assembly language. Majority of the RTUs have Event time stamping feature (read my question on leagcy RTUs in the same forum). By conducting sample testing on these RTUs, a utility can address most of the embedded Y2k issues. The SCADA/ EMS software also needs a complete testing. If these two major tasks are completed, a utility's transmission network can safely move into the next millenium. The regional security coordinators like WSCC are responsible for the grid security of each region. The same SCADA/ EMS is used as a tool for determing security. So the base line is - Testing and Remediation of SCADA/ EMS and RTUs, irrespective of whether the grid is connected or not. Moreover none of the utilities in the world can operate as a standalone island for a long duration - could be possible in Antartica and North Pole.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 1998

I am getting alot from these answers. I am impressed with your knowledge and obvious experience about the power grid. Now that we have been told about the controllers and how to locate the embedded chips, do you have any idea about how far along the corrections are? It appears from the latest posting some feel we may be able to continue to have electricity. Do you agree?

-- Anonymous, May 13, 1998

Joe Smith, you are now very close to reality. Transmission and Distribution, apart from Generation, are the bread and butter of electric utilities. The survival of utilities hinges on a firm committment, that uninterrupted power supply will always be assured. The grid disturbances in US on July 2 and Aug 10, 1996 had triggered many interesting studies about regional grid security. Majority of tie-lines now have Under Frequency and Under Voltage relays and thus a lapse on one utility may not bring a regional grid to a grinding halt. Apart from these, many regional grids have direct load tripping schemes and controlled islanding schemes to facilitate quick restoration of transmission tie lines when system separation does occur. All these precautionary schemes are implemented with latest digital relays and RTUs, which are Y2k compliant.

-- Anonymous, May 15, 1998

Recommend you read the Texas Public Utilities Commission report on Electric and telecom Y2K readiness. Another horror story. It reveals, I think, that distribution co-ops will go down first. URL http://www.puc.state.tx.us/projects/18491rpt.htm

-- Anonymous, May 28, 1998