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Cost of Power Interruptions to Electricity Consumers in the United States

Publication Date: February 2006
Publishing Organization: U.S. Department of Energy, Ernesto Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Format: PDF
Authors: Kristina Hamachi LaCommare, Joseph H. Eto
Keywords:

blackout, canada, cost, fluctuations, investments, lbnl, modernization, power interruptions, power quality, smart grid, technical paper, u.s.

Summary:

The massive electric power blackout in the northeastern U.S. and Canada on August 14-15, 2003 catalyzed discussions about modernizing the U.S. electricity grid. Industry sources suggested that investments of $50 to $100 billion would be needed. This work seeks to better understand an important piece of information that has been missing from these discussions: what do power interruptions and fluctuations in power quality (power-quality events) cost electricity consumers?