megabear Posted September 29, 2003 Report Share Posted September 29, 2003 There have been five, rather weakly explained, major blackouts in the past several years. They seem to be excelerating. Power grid problems? How could that be, the entire world's grid was gone over with a fine tooth comb in preparation for Y2K, and was given the AOK. First Taiwan, then Argentine, UK, US/Canada, now Italy; did I miss one? September 29, 2003 Italian blackout continues in south BY AGENCIES IN ROME Several parts of Italy are still without power this morning after the worst blackout in the country's history. Power was restored last night to the north of Italy, but parts of the south, including Sicily and the province of Puglia, in the heel of Italy were still without power today. The blackout occurred at 3am on Sunday morning and continued for most of yesterday affecting 50 million of Italy's 57 million people. The recriminations arising out of the blackout continued this morning with the left-wing press in Italy blaming Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister. Corriere della Sera, the best-selling newspaper, blamed the cut on policies "that did not know how to govern an (electricity market liberalisation) that was so complicated and delicate." La Stampa issued a plea to the Government: "Don't tell us now that it's the fault of the Swiss and the French and at the end of the day it could have been worse, and thank God it was a Saturday evening. "No, say it clearly. The breakdown reminded us of a reality for which we are absolutely not prepared," it said. It is believed that the power cut occurred because of a fallen tree in Switzerland that caused a local loss of transmission. A simultaneous loss of transmission in France, which supplies 15 per cent of Italy's power, caused a near total blackout across Italy which affected everywhere except the island of Sardinia. The authorities have promised that there should be no further power cuts for the bulk of the country today, even though "programmed" electricity interruptions could take place later in the day. The sweltering heat during the summer caused a huge upsurge in demand for electricity during the summer that led to local blackouts across Italy. "Our system is vulnerable because we depend on foreign supply," said Andrea Bollino, president of GRTN, the company in charge of Italy's power supply. Signor Bollino said it would take until Tuesday for the situation to return to completely normal, and that the utility would remain on a heightened state of alert. At least three people were killed by yesterday's power cuts. Two elderly victims were killed after falling down their stairwells in the dark, while a third died after her clothes caught fire on a candle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbubble Posted September 29, 2003 Report Share Posted September 29, 2003 First Taiwan, then Argentine, UK, US/Canada, now Italy; did I miss one? denmark, i think. At least three people were killed by yesterday's power cuts. Two elderly victims were killed after falling down their stairwells in the dark, while a third died after her clothes caught fire on a candle. i don't mean to make light of tragedy, but....what in hell was she wearing? a newspaper suit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.