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4 May 2004 - The massive blackout that plunged the east coast into darkness last August could hit Illinois unless the state's electric utilities move quickly to improve tree trimming and embrace new energy sources, warns a draft report written by a state commission.
The report also found that the state's utilities lag in efforts to reduce demand, setting up the transmission system for an overload. The recommendations, if implemented, are likely to increase utility costs.
"It's also very expensive for 50m people to lose electricity in nine seconds," said Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn, chairman of the Illinois commission, referring to number of people affected by the August blackout.
"If we don't take these steps, we are inviting trouble." The draft was obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
State task forces were created across the country in the wake of the Aug. 14 blackout. In Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich charged it with recommending changes to prevent a similar failure.
Consumer advocates say it is imperative that the report be released soon, so regulators and state lawmakers can pressure the utilities to rapidly implement changes.
"Clearly the East Coast power blackout was a wakeup call to people in the Midwest to take steps to avoid a similar situation," said Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
"When it comes to reliability the public has, and should have, very little tolerance for power outages and blackouts."
The 11-member task force is comprised of high-ranking officials, including Ed Hurley, chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, and Bill Burke, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
It has traded notes with commissions from other states, notably New York and Michigan.
The Illinois report incorporates several ideas from the other states. They include a New York suggestion that backup generators be identified, particularly at critical government agencies and health care facilities, and that new generators be built to uniform standards.
In a move that has been fought by most Illinois utilities, the report calls on the state legislature to pass a law setting targets for the amount of renewable energy - wind, solar and biomass, for example - that utilities should be required to include in their power generation portfolios.
Among the most costly of the recommendations is for utilities to increase tree-trimming maintenance - the single biggest line item in most utility budgets. In 2002, Illinois utilities spent about $80.5m on such vegetation management.
A 2003 study of tree trimming on local distribution lines at nine major Illinois utilities ranked only three as "good." The state's largest utility, ComEd, ranked "poor" -- a distinction shared with two other utilities, tiny Mt. Carmel Public Utility Co. and South Beloit Water & Gas Electric Co.
Major high voltage power lines in Ohio sagging into trees contributed to the August blackout, according to a panel investigating the outage.
The report recommended that the Illinois General Assembly pass a law, similar to California's, which specifies how far utilities should keep tree branches from local-distribution and high-voltage lines.
There are two main types of power lines. The major high-voltage transmission lines, which contributed to the August outage, and local distribution lines, which can cause lesser disruptions.
The draft report also questioned the reliability standards Illinois utilities use to maintain their facilities and transmission lines, citing an ICC staff report that showed the state's utilities "grossly underreport" the number of power outages considered controllable.
Another prime concern highlighted in the draft report was steep staffing cuts at most of the state's utilities, which reportedly has delayed preventive maintenance in some cases.
The report also said that the ICC should establish standards for customer service that utilities must meet.
The draft report also called on utilities to make it easier for individuals and businesses to establish distributed generation systems, which lightens the load on transmission lines.
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