Arne Nes: Two Toronto blackouts: a comparison to Norway

After freezing for 24 hours last week during the blackout I was very pleased to see that the local community had managed to put together a public meeting with people from Toronto Hydro, Hydro One and the city.

I went mainly to get a more accurate report on what did happen at the substation and what is going to be done about it.

I came to Canada almost 6 years ago, just in time to enjoy the massive blackout of 2003. When most people back then was back on line we were still in the dark,,, again our famous substation was to blame.

Diagram used by Hydro One's Mike Penstone
Click to enlarge

I used to work as a certified high voltage technician back in Norway during the 80's. I have worked in substations and on the high voltage grid, belove and above ground. Never have I seen blackouts like the ones we have had in our community. So why is this happening again and again. The explanations given to us from the Hydro staff give us a look into a seriously flawed system. We like to think there is an up to date grid that will serve us and give us stable sufficient supply of electricity. Instead we are told that our substation and many others are +40 years old and that they are fire proofed with water. Water can be a good fire retardant but inside electrical equipment they can cause more damage than good. Our substation has not had fires but the sprinklers have been used and the result is known to all of us. Wet electrical equipment is no good and has to be dried. Therefore these long black outs.

In more developed parts of the world we have real GRIDS. If a part of it is damaged for whatever reason it will take only a couple of hours to redirect any line from one substation to another. This grid system is in place from the very high end with massive transfer lines to cities and all the way down to street level.

In our substation this is not possible. If the station is down then all people depending on it is in the dark. The substation has to be back on line for all residents to have their power back. If one line is gone then people will see that their neighbor across the street is fine and you are in the dark.

What to do!

1. Make sure the substation has proper fire protection, preferable gas; CO2 or another inert gas. If there is a fire they will put it out, if there is an accidental release (like what we have seen twice the last few years) there will be no consequence, power stays on and there is no damage to the station.

2. Long term. Make sure all lines from substations connect in several switching sites. This way one can reroute the power to where it is needed.

Even a rolling blackout is better than 24 hours in January. 2 hours on and 2 hours off will still keep people warm and houses safe.

I do not think any of this will change until the people of Toronto demands a better stable supply of power. Nuclear power and windmills have nothing to do with this. Conservation likewise. But of course I think about the nuclear reactors that surrounds us. Are the same people running our substation running the reactors!!!!

Arne Nes