A joint U.S.-Canadian task force report issued in April 2004 blamed bushy trees, sagging power lines and human error for knocking out 345-kilovolt lines in Ohio, and for starting a cascade of events that toppled the region's electrical grid. The report specifically cited a problem (common to past blackouts) of inadequate operator training and a shirking of industry guidelines for safe operation. The task force also uncovered new culprits, such as failures in the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems that manage the area's electrical grid and an inability of operators at regional power facilities to spot problems developing in the complex, deregulated power system.

CSO

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2004