OUC History Book

Page 57

1990–2010 National/Regional Events Affect Power Industry Northeast Blackout of 2003 On August 14, 2003, shortly after 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, a highvoltage power line in northern Ohio brushed against some overgrown trees and knocked out power in eight states and part of Canada. By 4:13 p.m.,

contributed to at least 11 deaths and

million dollars a day for an infraction,

cost an estimated $6 billion. In the wake

depending on its flagrancy and the

of the blackout, Congress passed the

risk incurred.

Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Energy Policy Act of 2005 The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was

South Florida Blackout of 2008 On February 26, 2008, an equipment

508 generating units at 256 power plants

designed to combat growing energy

failure and fire at a transmission

across these eight states were off-line.

problems and changed U.S. energy

substation forced the automatic

More than 61,800 MWs of electrical

policy by providing tax incentives and

shutdown of four generating units —

load was lost in parts of Ohio, Michigan,

loan guarantees for energy production

two of them nuclear-powered —

New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,

of various types. It also expanded the

at Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point.

Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont

role of the Federal Energy Regulatory

Within minutes, the failure set off a

and the province of Ontario.

Commission (FERC) by requiring it to

cascade of power outages from Key

solicit, approve and enforce new electric

West to Daytona Beach and further

restored to most customers within hours,

reliability standards from the North

north, affecting up to 2.5 million

some areas of the United States did not

American Electricity Reliability

customers statewide. OUC’s generating

have power for two days and parts of

Corporation (NERC).

system automatically began to shut

Although power was successfully

Ontario experienced rolling blackouts

Prior to the blackout, NERC set

down 13 circuits at 11 substations

for up to two weeks due to a generation

voluntary standards. As a result of the

across the metro area. That left

capacity shortage. In total, about

regulation, FERC approved 96 new

11,438 customers, mostly residential,

50 million people lost power for up

reliability standards covering trees,

without power for two to 20 minutes.

to two days in the biggest blackout

training and tools. It also gave FERC the

in North American history. The event

authority to impose fines of up to a

OUC Secures 20-year Renewal of Water Consumptive Use Permit In 2004, OUC reached agreement on an historic 20-year renewal of its Consumptive Use Permit (CUP) with the St. Johns River and South Florida Water Management Districts. The permit, which represented a regional water solution among OUC, the water management districts and Orange County, authorized OUC to withdraw groundwater for treatment and distribution to customers. As part of the CUP and settlement agreement, OUC pledged to maintain its groundwater withdrawal allocation at the same level for the next 20 years, increase the use of reclaimed water, develop alternative water supply with utility partners and enhance conservation efforts.

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Page 53

In 2003, the Florida section of the American Water Works Association named H2OUC (OUC’s Orlando drinking water) the best in the state.


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