Con Edison power failure of July 13 and 14, 1977. Final staff report

Technical Report · Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1978

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6673953· OSTI ID:6673953

On July 13, 1977 the entire electric load of the Con Edison system was lost, plunging New York City and Westchester County into darkness. The collapse resulted from a combination of natural events, equipment malfunctions, questionable system-design features, and operating errors. An attempt is made in this report to answer the following: what were the specific causes of the failure; if equipment malfunctions and operator errors contributed, could they have been prevented; to what extent was Con Edison prepared to handle such an emergency; and did Con Edison plan prudently reserve generation, for reserve transmission capability, for automatic equipment to protect its system, and for proper operator response to a critical situation. Following the introductory and summary section, additional sections include: the Consolidated Edison system; prevention of bulk power-supply interruptions; the sequence of failure and restoration; analysis of the July 1977 power failure; restoration sequence and equipment damage assessment; and other investigations of the blackout. (MCW)

• Research Organization: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 6673953
• Report Number(s): DOE/FERC-0012
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
BLACKOUTS
EVALUATION
NEW YORK CITY
POWER SYSTEMS
FAILURES
DAMAGE
DESIGN
ELECTRIC POWER
EQUIPMENT
LIGHTNING
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE
PERSONNEL
POWER GENERATION
POWER TRANSMISSION
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
MID-ATLANTIC REGION
NEW YORK
NORTH AMERICA
POWER
USA
296000* - Energy Planning & Policy- Electric Power
200000 - Fossil-Fueled Power Plants