...unaware of it. FirstEnergy and regional grid operators figured it out in the control room at 3:41 p.m. the day of the blackout when control room lights flickered. By then it was too late to stabilize the grid and prevent the blackout that struck the Northeast a half-hour later.
Three of the reports recommendations focus on the need for constant, real-time data on the state of the grid and development of better modeling procedures and tools. Pilot projects now in progress will test Wide Area Monitoring Systems in a few key locations, with the ultimate goal of something far more widespread. WAMS monitor the stability of the power in the grid and would provide a flow of data that could be used to analyze, monitor and modulate operations in real time.