It was 20 years ago today that a series of power surges over a 12-second period triggered a cascade of shutdowns at more than 100 generating plants through 8 US states and Ontario, resulting in the largest blackout in North American History.
An estimated 50 million people, including 10 million in Ontario, were suddenly without power when over 61 thousand megawatts of generation disappeared.
Bruce Power led the recovery of Ontario’s electricity system, with three of Bruce B’s 4 units reconnecting to the grid within hours of the event, bringing power back to Ontario.
20 years later the province’s electricity grid is in much better shape in terms of reliability, especially after Bruce Power returned its four Bruce A units to service over the decade following the blackout.
Bruce Power’s Chief Development Officer & Executive Vice President James Scongack shared a video over the weekend offering a retrospective of the event.
You can find a link to the full video on the Power Outage below.
How Ontario recovered from the Blackout in 2003- when it mattered most @Bruce_Power was there – a visit from Premier Eves to Bruce B ill never forget. Then, now and in the future – when its matters most we can be counted on to deliver. pic.twitter.com/yYXxmFGGsA
— James Scongack (@jscongack) August 14, 2023