US consumers were warned on Sunday they would bear the brunt of the cost of updating the nation's power grid - put by some observers at up to $50bn - following the biggest power failure ever to hit North America.
As investigators struggled to establish the chain of events that led to the power cut that affected 50m people in the US and Canada, there were calls for the US to increase investment. Spencer Abraham, US energy secretary, said utility companies would pay some of the cost of improving the system, but much of it would have to be passed on to consumers. "The rate-payer will bear the cost," he told CBS television.
His remarks were echoed by Michehl Gent, president of the North American Electric Reliability Council, responsible for monitoring power transmission.
"We need more transmission," Mr Gent warned. "We have a very good transmission system, but it's now being used in ways for which it was never designed."
The probe into what caused the blackout was homing in on the failure of three transmission lines in north Ohio.
Investigators were also struggling to determine why the failure led to such a massive breakdown of the transmission system.
The system will on Monday face its biggest test since power was restored over the weekend, as millions of people return to work.
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentS...y&c=StoryFT&cid=1059479072406&p=1012571727088
As investigators struggled to establish the chain of events that led to the power cut that affected 50m people in the US and Canada, there were calls for the US to increase investment. Spencer Abraham, US energy secretary, said utility companies would pay some of the cost of improving the system, but much of it would have to be passed on to consumers. "The rate-payer will bear the cost," he told CBS television.
His remarks were echoed by Michehl Gent, president of the North American Electric Reliability Council, responsible for monitoring power transmission.
"We need more transmission," Mr Gent warned. "We have a very good transmission system, but it's now being used in ways for which it was never designed."
The probe into what caused the blackout was homing in on the failure of three transmission lines in north Ohio.
Investigators were also struggling to determine why the failure led to such a massive breakdown of the transmission system.
The system will on Monday face its biggest test since power was restored over the weekend, as millions of people return to work.
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentS...y&c=StoryFT&cid=1059479072406&p=1012571727088