History of Power outage in Timeline

A power outage, also known as a blackout, power failure, or power loss, signifies the complete cessation of electrical power supply to an end user. It represents a disruption in the electrical power network, leading to a total loss of electricity for the affected individual or entity. Power outages can range from brief inconveniences to prolonged disruptions with significant consequences, depending on their duration and the affected area.

2000: California electricity crisis

In 2000, the California electricity crisis occurred, which involved government deregulation destabilizing the wholesale electricity market and leading to rolling blackouts.

2001: California electricity crisis

In 2001, the California electricity crisis continued from the previous year, involving government deregulation destabilizing the wholesale electricity market and leading to rolling blackouts.

2002: OPA model proposal

In 2002, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Power System Engineering Research Center of the University of Wisconsin (PSerc), and the University of Alaska Fairbanks proposed a mathematical model for the behavior of electrical distribution systems, known as the OPA model.

2003: Carreras publication on outages

In 2003, Carreras and co-authors published research claiming that reducing the likelihood of small outages only increases the likelihood of larger ones, because the short-term economic benefit of keeping individual customers happy increases the likelihood of large-scale blackouts.

2003: Northeast Blackout of 2003

In 2003, the Northeast Blackout occurred when overgrown trees touched high-voltage power lines, causing around 55 million people in the U.S. and Canada to lose power and costing around $6 billion to restore.

2015: Solution proposed by M. S. Saleh

In 2015, M. S. Saleh introduced a solution aimed at reducing the impact of power outages.

October 2018: Senate hearing on black start

In October 2018, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing to examine "black start", the process of restoring electricity after a system-wide power loss.