12.8.09 Recession Makes ‘03 Blackout Unlikely as Grid Investment Grows

As reorted by Bloomberg-
Six years after the biggest blackout in U.S. history, the reliability of the electricity supply is being shored up by investors betting that transmission projects are a smart wager in a weak economy.

“The current recession definitely bought some time for utilities,” said Angie Storozynski, an analyst at Macquarie Capital USA Inc. in New York. “Economic contraction reduced traffic on transmission lines, easing the pressure to add new transmission capacity.”

Economic weakness in the U.S. and Canada this heating season will reduce peak electricity demand 2.5 percent from last season to 706,965 megawatts, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corp., which oversees power systems that failed 50 million people in the August 2003 blackout.

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