Originally Posted By: Arney
The bottom line is that the problem for the Texas grid was that it couldn't compensate for the loss of generating capacity by getting more power from outside. And in relation to Tres Amigas, I said in an earlier post, "Access to power from other grids when the Texas grid is short of power will prevent blackouts and increase the reliability of the (Texas) grid (to deliver power to its customers)".

Ultimately, whether the power customer is sitting in the dark or not is what really defines a reliable grid for people, not whether all the transmission equipment is intact.

Of course, isolation can also be a strength in other circumstances.

I know of two instances within my life time where grid-related issues caused an entire system in other parts of the country to shut down for a number of days. I would rather have rolling blackouts (because not all of the coal-burning plants are online) than that.

If a grid our grid is hooked up to goes down, our grid goes down with it.

Jeanette Isabelle
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I'm not sure whose twisted idea it was to put hundreds of adolescents in underfunded schools run by people whose dreams were crushed years ago, but I admire the sadism. -- Wednesday Adams, Wednesday