RE: the 2003 blackout. I recently had a very long lunch with two people from the utility company that got blamed for the blackout - the then company spokesman and an electrical engineer. What really happened was this ... there was a minor problem in another part of the grid; that part shut down automatically and power was then automatically diverted from a distant part of the grid to help out. That diverted power went through Ohio lines. Then, there was minor problem in the part of the grid that was helping supply power to the first problem; resulting in an automatic shutdown. As a result, power was diverted in the other direction; again, through Ohio. As it happens, it was hotter than the proverbial hinges that day and the already sagging lines simply overheated and touched trees in Ohio resulting in the massive blackout. The solution to all of this was to cut down a bunch of trees. The real problem was/is the automated (computer generated) responses to problems. If that's what happens on a, I would think, daily basis around the grid - large scale blackouts are going to happen again. And, if hackers mess with the already over-automated (IMHO) system ... as they said in Ghostbusters, "that would be bad."

On a related note, my brother is a senior engineer for a very large engineering firm on the east coast. According to him, the grid is close to failing simply because the lines are not capable of carrying the power load our society demands. The only solution to that is to put in more robust lines but no one wants them in their back yard. I would think this issue would make the whole system even more at risk for massive problems due to its inability to handle large scale diversions of power to damaged/sabotaged portions of the grid. I asked my brother what it will take for our society to be ok with installing more/higher electrical lines - he said that when people can't make coffee in the morning, it will finally dawn on them that something really does need to be done.