TRANSMISSION 2000®
Project Profiles

Electric Grid Cascading Outage Analysis

By expanding on traditional transmission planning and reliability analysis methods, CAI has developed a study method and associated software tools that produce reasonable and verifiable assessments of electric grid vulnerability to widespread blackout. Studies to date suggest that over 80 percent of contingencies that cause applicable rating (A/R) violations will not cause outages outside a predetermined area.

CAI’s Electrical Systems staff recently used this process to evaluate the State of Kentucky’s transmission grid vulnerability to cascading outages of the kind that led to the August 14, 2003, blackout in the Northeast and upper Midwest. The study, paid for by utilities in Kentucky, used computer models to test what could occur under a variety of both likely and unusual operating conditions. A number of potential vulnerabilities were identified. The Kentucky Public Service Commission is working with the utilities to correct those vulnerabilities.

The complete text of the report can be found at:
http://psc.ky.gov/agencies/psc/hot_list/200500090report.pdf

CAI can provide an independent evaluation of your system suitable for use as NERC compliance documentation that can be included in due diligence reporting. Contact David Shafer or Stephen Miller for more information.