It's hard to imagine living without power. Almost everything we do relies on some form of electricity, and losing access to it would result in a number of problems for the public. That's why it's so important that our electrical grid receive a design that minimizes potential errors and state-wide blackouts.
The worry about blackouts first started in August 2003, when a "chain-reaction outage snarled transportation systems, shut down stock exchanges and was blamed for contributing directly to 10 deaths as it spread through the Northeast's population centers," according to USA Today. The blackout was caused by a misplaced uncut branch, as well as a glitch in the software and a series of human errors. This particular outage was a perfect study point for infrastructure developers, since it provided a simple yet clear proof of how the U.S. infrastructure could go down.
The 2003 blackout, along with a 12-hour long CA-based blackout in 2011, acted as the evidence and proof that electric companies and the government needed to update the current electrical framework. For example, many military bases in the U.S. moved to their own independent grid, while some towns created their own micro-grid that wouldn't be affected by damage to a wire 300 miles away.
While these infrastructural changes are fantastic steps for building a better framework for power, they only go so far. Cybersecurity expert Jeff Carr told USA Today that "There are so many ways to take down a power company.....Unfortunately, the reality is that a dedicated hacker is always going to find a way in."
