BLACKOUT: CAUSES, IMPACT, MITIGATION, AND SYSTEM RESTORATION | ||
| Journal of the Egyptian Society of Engineers | ||
| Editorial, Volume 64, Issue 1, 2025, Pages 20-5 PDF (686.52 K) | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/egsen.2025.464257 | ||
| Author | ||
| Omar H. Abdalla | ||
| Abstract | ||
| A blackout, which means total loss of electric power supply to customers in an area, is the most severe form of power outage that can occur. Electricity outages may last from several minutes to several weeks depending on the nature of the blackout and the configuration of the electrical network. A blackout of a few hours or even several days would have a significant impact on social activities and economy of the country. In addition to tripping electric appliances and losing home and street lighting, critical infrastructure such as telecommunication and transport systems would stop operation. Water supply, production processes and commercial activities would cease. Emergency services such as fire, police or ambulance could not be called due the breakdown of the telecommunication systems. Financial trading, cash machines and supermarkets would in turn have to close down, which would ultimately cause many problems to all sectors of the society. In case of interconnected power grids of different countries, a blackout may spread across the border transmission lines; thus, leading to a catastrophic impact. The objective of this article is to discuss major blackouts occurred in various parts of the world and to analyze their causes, impacts, lessons learned, mitigations and methods of system restoration. A set of recommendations to mitigate/avoid blackout is presented. Blackouts in Arab countries and their impacts will also be described. Statistics of system outages are presented. System restoration plans and the roles of frequency and voltage controls during restoration are discussed. | ||
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