FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Final Report on the August 14, 2003 Blackout in the United States and Canada:  Causes and Recommendations

The documents listed below are in Adobe Acrobat format. Click the related link to view the section of interest.

US – Canada Power System Outage Task Force

Final Report on the August 14th Blackout
in the United States and Canada

US-Canada Blackout Report Cover

Full Report  (PDF - 6,848 kb)

Part 1 (PDF) 

  • Table of Contents
  • Introduction
  • Overview of the North American Electric Power System and Its Reliability Organizations
  • Causes of the Blackout and Violations of NERC Standards

Part 2 (PDF)

  • Context and Preconditions for the Blackout: The Northeastern Power Grid Before the Blackout Began
  • How and Why the Blackout Began in Ohio
  • The Cascade Stage of the Blackout

Part 3 (PDF)

  • The August 14 Blackout Compared with Previous Major North American Outages
  • Performance of Nuclear Power Plants Affected by the Blackout
  • Physical and Cyber Security Aspects of the Blackout
  • Recommendations to Prevent or Minimize the Scope of Future Blackouts

Part 4 (PDF)

  • Appendices A–G

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