H E R T Z O G

The Limits of Centralised Power

Times-Colonist, Victoria, August 19, 2003

Last week’s massive failure of the eastern power grid suggests that we may have reached the limits of centralised electricity generation.

By now, experts may have isolated cause of last week’s catastrophic blackout of the Eastern Connect power grid. But although one company may have caused the precipitating failure, any accusatory fingers pointed at it miss the mark entirely.

The huge eastern electricity grid did not fail — it performed exactly as it was designed to do. It protected the generators by cutting off the consumer. The failure to build enough generating capacity in part can be attributed to recent botched attempts at deregulation. But both state-owned and private utilities use the same underlying technology.

“ Centralised generation and transmission means large, fossil-fuelled, nuclear or hydro power stations delivering energy through a fragile and expensive transmission grid, an ancient technology that dates back to the turn of the previous century. A history of blackouts has proved that it is fundamentally unreliable.”

Centralised generation and transmission means large, fossil-fuelled, nuclear or hydro power stations delivering energy through a fragile and expensive transmission grid. It’s an ancient and crude technology that dates back to the turn of the previous century. A history of blackouts has proved that it is fundamentally unreliable.

Two extensive eastern blackouts occurred in 1965 and 1977. 1965 was a peaceful event, but in 1977 rioting broke out in New York. In March 1989, the Hydro Quebec power grid was taken down by a massive storm of charged particles from the Sun.

Enormous beasts of burden, huge central power plants need to push against the resistance of the entire electricity grid. Each time a toaster is turned on, the resistance of the grid increases by a tiny amount. Multiply this by many million and you get some idea of the power of these mighty machines.

If the grid voltage drops suddenly, in seconds a generator can burst its electrical harness, overspeed, and rip itself apart. Transmission lines can overload and melt. To stop this, automatic safety systems sense a voltage drop and instantly shut off the generator, passing along the problem and causing a ripple effect that quickly can bring down the whole grid.

“ By design, centralized power systems are bound to fail sooner or later. Adding more generating capacity does not solve but only compounds the problem. Clearly, there is a fundamental flaw in our current model of centralized electricity generation and transmission. ”

By design, centralized power systems are bound to fail sooner or later. Clearly, there is a fundamental flaw in our current model of centralized electricity generation and transmission. Adding more generating capacity does not solve but only compounds the problem. A voltage fluctuation still would have the potential to cause another system-wide blackout.

For years now, energy experts and environmentalists have been pointing to alternative energy sources as a way out of our dependence on dirty fossil fuelled or dangerous nuclear power plants. Solar, wind and small hydropower are clean. Modern gas-fired co-generation units generate electricity from the otherwise wasted heat of boilers and heating plants, improving their energy efficiency.

Besides weaning us off fossil fuels that cause global warming, alternative energy offers another major advantage. It is decentralized; the electricity is generated where it is used. Many small units work locally, rather than one central generator powering an inefficient grid. Alternative energy is fail-safe. If one small unit goes down, its neighbours are not affected.

“ Alternative energy literally returns power to the consumer — perhaps that’s why the utilities and governments don’t seem to like it. Alternative energy removes the ability of monopolistic utilities, greedy energy corporations or dishonest energy traders to manipulate the market and control prices.”

Alternative energy literally returns power to the consumer — perhaps that’s why the utilities and governments don’t seem to like it. Alternative energy removes the ability of monopolistic utilities, greedy energy corporations or dishonest energy traders to manipulate the market and control prices.

The lesson of this latest blackout is that we must start to move away from centralised generation and transmission. Governments must begin to offer real incentives for decentralized, alternative energy. BC Hydro must be forced to offer net metering, so that consumers can receive credit for any power they generate.

The unreliable electricity grid should be turned on its head and used only for backup, not the only source of the electricity we all need in this Information Age. I believe that the lesson of the recent blackouts for electric power is:

Decentralisation is Security.