WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Shoddy tree-trimming around major power lines by Ohio utility FirstEnergy Corp. led to the failure of three key transmission lines and was the root cause of August's massive power outage, U.S. and Canadian blackout investigators said on Wednesday.
Industry experts say this is not the first time that trees have caused problems, pointing to widespread West Coast outages in August 1996 triggered by one offending tree that took out the entire grid. Big utilities typically spend millions of dollars each year to clear away tree limbs that can pull down key transmission lines during ice storms or high winds.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/11/19/blackout.report.reut/index.html
Industry experts say this is not the first time that trees have caused problems, pointing to widespread West Coast outages in August 1996 triggered by one offending tree that took out the entire grid. Big utilities typically spend millions of dollars each year to clear away tree limbs that can pull down key transmission lines during ice storms or high winds.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/11/19/blackout.report.reut/index.html
