The Gary Null Blog

http://www.propublica.org/article/recent-blackout-highlights-nations-rickety-power-grid

Experts say the cascading blackout that put millions of Westerners in the dark last week was no surprise: Major power outages have more than doubled in the last decade.

"This is just evidence that we need a smarter, better, more secure system," said Massoud Amin, director of the Technological Leadership Institute at the University of Minnesota, who has analyzed federal data on the reliability of the nation's electric grid.

Blackouts disrupt power to at least a third of U.S. homes each year, and studies show the number of outages is rising.

 The grid's shortcomings have been well-documented, but efforts to modernize it haven't kept up with demand. Many electrical transmission lines are outdated, and parts of the grid date back to the time of Thomas Edison.