Direct & Current

Electrical Apparatus, Jun 2004

JUNE 2004

LAST FALL'S BLACKOUT WAS "UNCONSCIONABLE" to the extent that it was caused by a single utility's (FirstEnergy Corp.) failure to trim trees, the Electricity Consumers Resource Council stated in a recent report analyzing the economic impact of the Aug. 14 event (EA October, 2003, and May, 2004). Estimates by the U.S. Department of Energy, ICF Consulting, and Anderson Economic Group place the damage as high as $10 billion. In Ohio alone, some 12,500 manufacturers reported an average direct cost of $88,000. More than 100,000 auto workers had to stop work, eight oil refineries were affected, and steel facilities were shut down for days in Michigan and Ohio. Finally, an important indirect cost, impossible to quantify, was the "cascading" consequences on regions outside the immediate blackout area.

THE WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL in Washington, D.C., located on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, commemorating the last of America's 20th Century wars, was dedicated May 29. A special first-class postage stamp has been issued. Requests for seats at the dedication of the Memorial far exceeded the number available. (A photograph of the memorial appeared in the May EA.)

FAILURE TO WEAR INSULATED GLOVES CAUSES FATALITY. A $229,000 fine was levied by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on the Alien Canning Co., Moorhead, Miss., after a maintenance worker, not wearing insulated gloves or using insulated tools, was electrocuted while working with new wiring inside an energized electrical panel. The company was also cited for allowing unprotected employees to work on energized electrical lines, lack of fall protection, and failure to guard machinery parts, in addition to several unrelated violations.

HYBRID AUTO PRODUCTION IS EXPANDING as manufacturers join Toyota and Honda to produce gas-electric cars. Two hybrid sports utility vehicles, Ford Escape and Lexus RX400, will enter showrooms in the coming months. A Dodge Ram pickup is also planned, and Toyota and Honda are planning to add hybrid SUV's to their lines. Hybrid SUV's are expected to be more acceptable as gasoline prices rise.

IN THE WAKE OF THE "SASSER," which struck worldwide last month, attacking a flaw in the Windows 2000 and XP operating systems, rail service was halted in New South Wales, Australia; a third of Taiwan's national post office was paralyzed; and Finland's largest bank, Sampo, had to close 130 branches. The virus spreads rapidly without users having to click on an e-mail attachment to activate. Some computers will continually crash and reboot, because of what was said to be "bad programming" by the virus writer, an 18-year-old German youth. Sasser does not cause permanent damage and can be fixed by software patches obtained from Web site http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Older versions of Windows are not affected.

THE EDITORS