John Funk Teresa Dixon Murray and Tom Breckenridge Plain Dealer Reporters
FirstEnergy Corp. could not see mounting transmission line problems in
the crucial hour before the Aug. 14 blackout because its key computers
were down, according to at least two municipal electric systems.
Whether the computer troubles were the result of hardware or software
problems was not known yesterday. Investigators from the Department of
Energy have visited the utility's Akron control center, said spokesman
Ralph DiNicola.
FirstEnergy is detailing how the control center computers operated that
day for the DOE, said DiNicola. He repeatedly declined to say whether
there were any computer problems.
"We are developing that information and providing it to the DOE right
now," he said. "The function of the equipment is one issue and their
[controllers'] understanding of the equipment could be another issue and
that's what we're trying to get to the bottom of."
Without the computers, operators in the utility's control center would
not be able to see whether a generator failed or an overloaded
transmission line tripped off. Nor would they be able to remotely control
switches in key substations.
FirstEnergy lost a generator, three major transmission lines and three
smaller lines in the two hours leading up to the blackout.
Steve Dupee, director of Oberlin Municipal Light and Power, said his
office called the Akron area center about 3:30 p.m. that Thursday, to ask
why Oberlin had extremely low voltage. The municipal system is connected
to FirstEnergy's grid and the city was buying most of its power that day
indirectly from FirstEnergy.
"The guy told us he didn't know what was wrong, because his computer
was down," Dupee said.
This was about 40 minutes before the blackout swept across Northeast
Ohio at 4:11 p.m. and in minutes spread to Michigan, Ontario and New York.
Wadsworth Service Director William Lyren said he was similarly
disappointed when FirstEnergy that afternoon couldn't explain the source
of obvious problems.
When the municipal system's electricity monitoring alarm went off about
3 p.m., Lyren said Gene Post, the city's electric superintendent, called
FirstEnergy. "They said they were in the dark [didn't know] and they
couldn't give us any information," Lyren said. "That's when we expect
someone to know what's going on."
Having computers malfunction would "be like landing an airplane at
night with no lights," said Don Stalla, superintendent of Hudson's
municipal electric system, and a 26-year veteran of the Cleveland Electric
Illuminating Co.
By either the volume of frantic phone calls or FirstEnergy's own
system, FirstEnergy apparently realized a major system crash was brewing
at least 25 minutes before it occurred, said Bob Bye, superintendent of
Cuyahoga Falls' electric system.
His department called FirstEnergy about 3:45 p.m. after low voltage
alarms went off. "When my foreman called them," Bye said, "basically he
was told, 'There's a problem. Now hang up the phone.' "
In Seville, workers for the community's electric system didn't notice
problems ahead of time. Like most of Northeast Ohio, Seville lost power
about 4:11 p.m. - but was out only 10 minutes, said Utilities
Superintendent Kevin Bittaker.
When he called FirstEnergy, "They said they weren't even aware we were
back on."
An alarm system to warn control-room personnel of problems was not
functioning that afternoon, FirstEnergy said two days after the blackout.
Controllers, though, could still see their monitors, the company said.
And the FirstEnergy control center was backed up by the Midwest
Independent Transmission System Operator. MISO is an Indianapolis-based
nonprofit company that monitors the grid in the Midwest.
"I know that our network was working that day," said MISO spokeswoman
Mary Lynn Webster last night. "I don't know the specifics about
FirstEnergy's. I don't know if FirstEnergy was having trouble."
DiNicola said FirstEnergy is still gathering information for the DOE.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said yesterday that it will take
"weeks, not days certainly, but hopefully not months" to figure out what
caused the blackout.
He said investigators must sift through a staggering amount of data,
going as far back as eight hours before the power went out. "We are
determined to finish this investigation in a timely manner, but we will
not compromise quality for speed," he said. "Getting it right is step
one."
Abraham spoke at a news conference in New Jersey with Michehl Gent,
president of the North American Electric Reliability Council, which is
compiling a chronology of the blackout.
It's too early to tell what triggered the failures that knocked out
power for some 50 million homes in eight U.S. states and Ontario, Abraham
said.
He said investigators are having trouble coming up with a precise
timeline of the blackout because the event unfolded so fast - within nine
seconds.
"During those nine seconds, thousands of events occurred on this vast
network," Abraham said. Abraham and Herb Dhaliwal, Canada's natural
resources minister, are leading the task force to find the cause of the
blackout, to explain why it spread and to recommend steps on keeping it
from happening again.
Plain Dealer Reporter Peter Krouse and New Jersey freelance writer
Jennifer Potash contributed to this story.
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