Please be aware, I am NOT saying this was y2k related. I am asking why these embeddeds apparantly failed. F-finder? Anybody? If this can happen under "normal" circumstances it's hardly a reach to assume it could happen on a mass scale Jan 1. Happy new year to all!

Blackout hits reservation

10,000 NTUA customers lose their electricity

Nathan J. Tohtsoni-Staff writer

FRUITLAND - Elizabeth White Horse, 10, of Upper Fruitland had been praying it would snow Christmas. Saturday evening, she got her wish. The only problem was that she had to enjoy the snow in the dark.

White Horse and her 8-year-old brother, Joey, were going house-to-house in search of three mantles to light kerosene lanterns for their home because of a blackout Saturday.

"For now, we're using candles and a flashlight and the (wood) stove to keep us warm," she said.

The reason the White Horse children were out in the snow was because electricity was out for the northeast portion of the Navajo Nation. Across the San Juan River on the north side, Farmington, Kirtland and Waterflow were all lit up. But across the reservation line, people spent most of the night in the dark.

The Arizona Public Service Four Corners Power Plant in Fruitland, which supplies electricity to some customers of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, lost power just before the snow began at 5:30 p.m. and shut off power to 10,000 of its customers.

"Apparently, we had two pieces of equipment fail simultaneously that caused the entire plant to shut down," said Craig Nesbit, APS spokesman in Phoenix.

At the time of the shut down, the power plant was working with a skeleton Christmas crew, but within hours, there was a team of employees working on the problem, he said. After assessing the situation, they determined that two circuit breaker buses had opened at the same time.

"Why they opened up, nobody knows," Nesbit said. "We know what to do and how to get it down, it's only a matter of getting it done. I can't explain why all of the 10,000 customers are without power."

Most power plants are equipped with a switch that automatically redirects power from another power plant when power goes out, but for some reason, that didn't happen in this situation, he said.

Also, he added that for whatever reason, a 69,000-volt line that feeds power to the reservation did not switch over the power, which may be the reason only Navajo Nation customers were affected.

"There might be some connection, but it'll be days before we know that," Nesbit said. "Our first priority is to get power up and going then we'll worry about the reason later."

While there was no power, some APS customers in San Juan County took advantage of the snow and played. Others, like Gary Scruggs of Phoenix, an electrician who was visiting family in Shiprock, connected a power switch from his relatives' home to a storage shed.

"We haven't tested it to see if it works. We have no power to test it," said Scruggs, who was in a convenience store when the power shut off. "When the lights went out, someone yelled out, 'It's Y2K already starting!'" he said.

Another APS customer, Paul Jones of Upper Fruitland stayed in doors during the blackout because he was babysitting his 2-year-old granddaughter. He also thought the blackout was Y2K-related.

"If the computer went down, I can see why the power went off," Jones said. "It's not even that time and the power is out."

Nesbit said Saturday's incident was not related to Y2K or computer problems, as the buses are not computerized.

"But if this had happened a week from now, there's no way we could convince anyone the other way," he said.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Daily Times, dtimes@cyberport.com, NorthWest New Mexico Publishing Co.

-- Anonymous, December 26, 1999

Answers

Jim, you wrote "Please be aware, I am NOT saying this was y2k related. I am asking why these embeddeds apparantly failed."

I have read, and re-read this article, and I cannot find any mention of any embedded systems that failed. As I read it two circuit breakers opened at the same time. There are many reasons why this can happen, and I'm sure that it will take some analysis from the protection engineers to determine the exact cause. However breakers are not embedded systems, they are simply big on/off switches with the ability to break large ac currents. They are not digital devices,and cannot be considered embedded systems.

-- Anonymous, December 27, 1999