View
213
Download
0
Category
Preview:
Citation preview
E N E R G Y
INDUSTRY RECOVERS FROM BLACKOUT Widespread power outage shuttered chemical operations
THE FINANCIAL IMPACT IS unlikely to be very large, but the electrical blackout of
Aug. 14 threw a monkey wrench into chemicals operations in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest and eastern Canada. Just about all have recovered or nearly recovered by now with no reported environmental incidents.
According to an early assessment by Merrill Lynch analyst Donald D. Carson: "Chemical companies serving auto producers and other manufacturers in the Northeast likely lost a day or two
of sales. But third-quarter results will largely be determined by the strength of September demand."
The blackout, for example, shut down a large BASF polymers unit in Wyandotte, Mich. Outages also clobbered eight DuPont facilities, five of which were in the Canadian province of Ontario. Merck's Rahway, N.J., operations were also interrupted when the lights went out.
Dow said its industrial biotechnology facility in Stony Brook, N.Y., suffered a power outage and its 147-acre chemicals
and plastics operations in Sarnia, Ontario, suffered steam outages. Bayer's Sarnia rubber operations closed down. Nova Chemicals had to shut down five plants in the U.S. and Canada.
Insight into how one operator handled the power outage came from Olin in Niagara Falls, Ν. Υ. The firm's chlor-alkali membrane unit experienced a "power blip" at 4:10 PM on Aug. 14, says Plant Manager Thomas Tirabassi. Most operations at the site immediately began an orderly shutdown with battery backup power standing by
"We were ready to ramp up production again at 6 PM." But nitrogen supplier Praxair warned that its operations were unsteady, and power authorities asked Olin to stay off-line until the power grid was more stable. Olin voluntarily closed down the unit by 7:30 PM but was able to restart it two days later. —MARC REISCH
W H O ' S T O B L A M E ?
AGENCIES PROBE BLACKOUT CAUSE D O E seeks answers; congressional leaders seek grid reliability standards
THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY is leading U.S. federal agencies in an investigation of
the causes of last week's electricity blackout, President George W. Bush and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced last week. Codirecting the investigation is Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Herb Dhali-wal, with whom Abraham met last Wednesday
DOE takes over the investigation from the North American Electric Reliability Council, which administers U.S. voluntary standards for electricity transmission reliability, Abraham said at a briefing. He stressed that the DOE investigation is already under way and fully supported by the council, energy industry leaders, and state and federal energy
regulators. He offered no timetable for completion, however. Others predicted a report by late September or sooner.
Also last week, the House Energy & Commerce Committee scheduled two days of hearings on the outage for Sept. 3 and 4. Testifying will be top energy officials from utilities and federal, state, and local agencies.
And President Bush said Republican leaders in the House and Senate had told him that within 20 days a House-Senate conference committee would take up pending energy legislation that will include grid reliability standards as well as financial incentives to encourage infrastructure investments.
Officials representing power associations and the Federal En
ergy Regulatory Commission voiced support at a press briefing last week for mandatory grid reliability standards as well as provisions to speed transmission line siting and investments. However, unity waned among these officials as details were discussed.
Indeed, writing energy legislation language that improves operation of the nation's electricity grid and is acceptable to all regions of the country may prove difficult through a broad energy bill, even when support is driven by a blackout of an area populated by 50 million Americans.— JEFF JOHNSON
LIGHTS OUT New York City on Aug. U , the first day of the blackout.
SUNSET The FirstEnergy Corp. power grid near its Eastlake, Ohio, plant was the first of several sites where transmission failures occurred just before the blackout.
H T T P : / / W W W . C E N - O N L I N E . O R G C & E N / A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 0 3 7
Recommended