posted on Nov, 5 2006 @ 01:20 AM
A rolling series of power failures struck Western Europe today, leaving millions of people, in at least five countries, without electricity.
Authorities claim the problem started due a spike in demand somewhere in Germany caused, ostensibly, by a drop in the temperature. A pair of
transmission lines failed, and as a result, substations across Western Europe shut down to prevent fires and other serious damage that might have
resulted. The lights are now back on for most of the affected areas - and thankfully no major incidents transpired as a result of the systemic
failures. The countries affected were France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy.
news.bbc.co.uk
"We weren't very far from a European blackout," a senior director with French power company RTE said.
Pierre Bornard told the French news agency AFP that two German high-voltage transmission lines failed, causing problems across western Europe.
This triggered a "house of cards" style system breakdown, he said.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
This is eerily similar to the major blackout in America a while back that was ostensibly caused by a lightning strike near the Canadian border, if I
remember correctly.
I'm shocked that their electrical grid is as vulnerable to this sort of disruption as ours. I was under the impression that Europe spent a lot more
for infrastructure upgrades. I guess not, or if so, it wasn't enough.
Needless to say, it seems very odd to me that a chilly day could blackout Western Europe, so I'm going to keep my eyes on this story to see what else
develops. I'd be surprised if the mainstream media digs very deep into the circumstances surrounding the blackout - maybe ATSers will show more
interest in pursuing the story.
[edit on 5-11-2006 by WyrdeOne]