| Power outage: assessing the impact The North American power outage has broad-reaching implications on general business and the power industry according to Joel Phipps, power and utilities expert with Aon Corporation. Phipps says: “Over the last few years, capital has flowed into building power generation with minimal investment in infrastructure. The nation's power grid is made up of independent geographic systems that are marginally connected and complicated to manage. This outage shows the need for further investment to upgrade infrastructure. It also underscores the value of planning for impacts to the system. “It is too early to tell how much damage the power outage will cause. The most recent comparison is the 1998 San Francisco blackout that was relatively short-lived. Financial claims that were speculated to be significant were much lower than originally expected. Because of its magnitude, however, this outage directly impacts utilities and may have implications on other industries such as manufacturing, transportation and retail. “Many major corporations have prepared for unexpected interruptions through business continuity planning. This will serve their customers well and minimise financial loss.”
•Date:
15th August 2003 • Region: N.America •Type:
Article •Topic: BC
general
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