The first rolling blackouts in California since the power crisis of 2001 were caused by a faulty sensor at a new power transfer station in Sylmar, raising concerns about how such a relatively minor glitch could leave nearly 500,000 customers without electricity.
The $118-million facility, operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, was opened with much fanfare last fall. But officials now believe a malfunction in a sensor that monitors a cooling system at the station triggered an automatic shutdown...
"We have a fragile system in California, and we have more people moving to this state," said Anne Silva, a spokeswoman for San Diego Gas & Electric...
~When I was growing up the reasons given for blackouts were either downed power-lines or 'lighting' during storms. It's a sign of progress that the system itself, without any outside agents acting upon it, can shut itself down, can create its own blackouts.
Maybe 'progress' is not the right word?