This report shows how vulnerable we are. This was one of the two major failures of the Western power grid in 1996.
Some 500,000 Californian homes lost power. Another 700,000 homes in Nevada lost power.
A spokeswoman for the Bonneville Power Authority in the Pacific Northwest put it this way: "Having an interconnected system really makes for more efficient use of our natural resources and keps the cost down. But it means when something goes wrong, it can cascade through the system."
What if this shutdown had been universal? That's the problem the Millennium Bug offers.
What is the solution? I have not seen one suggested by anyone.
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