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b. Power Failure (outages) <br />In the U.S., from July 2 to August 10, 1996, the Western <br />States Utility Power Grid reported widespread power outages <br />that affected millions of customers in several western states <br />and adjacent areas of Canada and Mexico. These problems <br />resulted from a variety of related causes, including sagging <br />lines due to hot weather, flashovers from transmission lines to <br />nearby trees, and incorrect relay settings. According to the <br />electric utility industry's trade association, the potential for such <br />disturbances is expected to increase with the profound <br />changes now sweeping the electric utility industry. <br />To address times when generating capacity is tight, or falls <br />below consumer demand due to state or local emergencies, <br />the Florida Electrical Emergency Contingency Plan was <br />developed. Alerts have been created to give early warning of <br />potential electricity shortfalls and bring utilities, emergency <br />management officials, and the general public to a state of <br />preparedness. The Contingency Plan has four stages (Florida <br />Reliability Coordinating Council): <br />Generating Capacity Advisory - A Generating <br />Capacity Advisory is primarily for information purposes. <br />It starts utility tracking activities, and it initiates inter - <br />utility and inter -agency communication. No action by <br />the public is required. General information may be <br />distributed to consumers to forewarn them of conditions <br />if necessary. <br />Generating Capacity Alert - A Generating Capacity <br />Alert starts actions to increase reserves. Available <br />emergency supply options will be explored. When <br />reserves fall below the size of the largest generating <br />unit in the state, loss of that size unit to an unexpected <br />mechanical failure could lead to blackouts somewhere <br />since insufficient backup is available. <br />Generating Capacity Emergency - A Generating <br />Capacity Emergency occurs when blackouts are <br />inevitable somewhere in Florida. Every available <br />means of balancing supply and demand will be <br />exhausted. Rolling blackouts, manually activated by <br />utilities, are a last resort to avoid system overload and <br />Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Basic Page 29 <br />