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What is national grid?

What does it mean for a power grid "to separate"?

  • "New York separate[d] from the New England grid" in the Northeast blackout of 2003 [1]. Intuitively I take this as the grid closing itself off; does this necessarily result in a blackout for "separated" grid? Would a blackout occur if the separating grid were energy self-sufficient (supply = load)? Can a self-sufficient grid disconnect from an insufficient one if it senses trouble, even if that collapses the latter's grid? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003

  • Answer:

    A series of critical interconnecting circuit breakers tripped, meaning there were no conductive connectors between that part of the grid and the rest. That could mean a blackout or brownout if there is insufficient generating capacity inside the separated area. If local power plants are able to handle the load, it's possible it could continue as an island for quite some time.

Ryan Carlyle at Quora Visit the source

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A grid separates from another to avoid tripping the grid which is without faults. An AC grid is synchronous, which means all the generators and synchronous motors run at the same frequency. In case of a fault in a certain generator, it will trip, decreasing the power supplied to the grid. This deficit can cause the grid frequency to drop. If it comes below a critical level, generators will start tripping and cause a blackout. If you can isolate the fault are from the rest of the grid, you can remove the load deficit and keep the frequency within the limits.

Nishant Singh

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