The Blackout of 2003

 

 

It was three days past the full moon in August, 2003, and fifty million people in the North- East quarter of the United States and Canada were plunged into total darkness.  Within hours the whole world knew, but the reality of living it was something else.  

The days leading up to the blackout were hot and humid, and air-quality was bad, stressing everyone's endurance to the limit.  Air conditioners hummed and streets were bare as folks retreated to the relative coolness of their homes.  Occasionally a solitary pedestrian could be seen walking slowly, wide-brimmed hat protecting them from the harsh rays of the sun.  It was not a typical August day; it was an extreme-heat day for this part of the world.  

At 4:15 PM, during the hottest part of this August 14th day, everything stopped.  No humming air conditioners, no music, TV or radio news.  If you were preparing dinner it ended abruptly.  Refrigerators quit, creating a serious food-safety concern.  Traffic piled up for hours at this crucial rush-hour, when street-lights ceased to operate.  

As news began to filter in by way of portable radios, we understood the gravity of the situation: this was serious, and it was going to take a long time to fix.  Inside rapidly-heating homes people hunted for candles & matches, battery- operated radios, lanterns, lamp oil, Coleman stoves, and coolers.  We were advised to conserve water because filtration stations were down and unable to keep the supply pure.  

People were told to stay off the roads, but it didn't happen.  Frantic to find ice for their coolers, candles and other emergency supplies, people and cars jammed the roads again.  Some stores offered special deals on much-needed items while others gouged the public by elevating prices.  It was a time to see up close and personal just what stuff makes up our people.  

As the hours passed and darkness settled in, the whole atmosphere changed to relaxed acceptance.  True, some folks were in a state of panic, but most rallied and had yard parties or a quiet evening.  One could see the glow of candle-light in nearby homes.  The silence was unbroken by traffic, people, appliances, machinery, or aircraft.  Only soft garden conversations dotted the great blackness.

Bedtime came early!  With no TV, computers, radio, or music, one soon realizes just how much we rely on electricity for our very existence.  With nothing to do but gaze into the August night sky-- with an almost-full moon--people eventually dropped off to sleep.  

Somewhere near midnight there were shouts from outdoors that power had been restored.  It had been nearly 8 hours and we were fortunate to have this possibly-brief interlude.  No one knew when, or for how long, they would have electricity so for those awake it was urgent to deal with refrigerator food and water supplies.  It was hard to tell what food would make it and what would not so that problem was left till morning.  

Most of the Eastern region was still in darkness, and many homes were without electricity for over 24 hours.  Passengers were stranded in airports.  Phone lines were overloaded and we were asked not to use the service unless there was an emergency.  TV news told us that many people still were without power and that even those up and running would surely have rotating blackouts over the next few days because the grid was extremely delicate and could collapse again at any time.  We learned that when a nuclear power plant goes down it takes almost a week to get it back online, and since Ontario electricity is fully one third nuclear we had a long wait.  * Here is a good argument in favor of wind and solar power!  

For a full week many businesses and government departments closed down in an effort to conserve energy.  Householders were asked to restrict use of air conditioners, washers and dryers, and all but essential services.  Even water was in short supply in many municipalities because their storage tanks had gone dry and filtration was not yet operational.  

Days passed...  Sandwiches for lunch and salads for dinner were the menu.  No cooking!  The weather was hot and muggy but one rarely heard the outdoor hum of an air conditioner.  Rotating blackouts came and went as power stations tried valiantly to restore energy to the entire province.  

It took ten full days to get back to normal.  By that time we had all developed many good habits of energy conservation.  No longer did we let the water run as we washed vegetables.  TVs , computers, and radios somehow seemed like luxuries.  A shallow bath or a shower of more than 2 minutes was the norm during our week of conservation.  Now we could do what we wanted with all the resources available to us.  Or could we?  

No.  The blackout had changed most people.  We have become wiser in the ways of the world around us.  The bad news was that we faced a crisis in our lives.  Grocery stores lost much of their perishable food; as did householders.  Many important--if not 'essential'--services were shut down.  Businesses lost millions of dollars.  The good news is still coming in, and it shows that power companies have had a hard slap in the face about their antiquated facilities.  Where there was a great weakness in the grid now we have knowledge about its structure.  Wind power and solar panels have had a resurgence of interest as folks realize the many advantages of natural energy sources.

It will now take many years to build a power grid that works well under pressure, but it is a work in progress.  As in all things of this world, it takes a crisis in order to facilitate growth.

 

Victoryanah  (c)