Power outage in canada?

Question

I have a fear of the power going out. Remember that power outage in 2003 that occurred in Canada and parts of the States? How rare is that? Would anything like that ever happen again? I start thinking "what would happen if the whole world's power went out" and I get panicky. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

If the whole world's power went out it would affect about 1 billion of the 6 billion souls on this planet.  I can not speak for most of the world just my little corner of it most of the electrical power where I live is generated by hydro electric dams and nuclear generating stations.  Ok the nukes can be shut down but as long as the water keeps flowing/falling we have electricity.

Power outages are quite rare as indicated by your concern about it happening again.  I've lived in areas where the power was unstable you just learn to live with it.  We have candles and oil lamps as well as flash lights and a crank powered portable radio.  If you are REALLY concerned I would suggest if you live in a house get yourself a good sized power

inverter and run it from your car if the power goes out that way you aren't worring about gas and oil for a generator you can run your car with the garage door OPEN for a few minutes to keep thing cool in the fridge and run the furnace.

Answer 2

You know what? I think it is great that this question came up on here.  So many people just don't think about what could happen, we live in such a dependant society.  If you are prepared, there is no need to panic and be concerned about such an occurrence.  The key is being prepared.  Panic happens when people haven't thought it out.

Always be prepared and have an action plan, but don't worry.

Answer 3

I dunno why 2 people rated Jayde's answer down. It's actually quite accurate. The root cause of that failure was in Ohio and it did affect the Americans ( number wise) more.

Rare? Yes. Would it happen again? Possibly, although steps on this side of the border, have been taken to reduce the impact if it were to happen again.

As to how to address your fear, I can't help you there, only you can. Just remember that the world is still going to turn. The sun is still coming up at dawn. Just using your hair dryer will be an issue. Use a towel.

Humans survived for thousands of years without electricity.

Answer 4

Don't panic!

Get a power generator just in case.

Answer 5

The 2003 outage was the largest in North American history, and it was actually caused by the Americans.  A power station near Cleveland, Ohio overloaded the circuit and it caused a cascading failure through most of the north-east because they are all on the same grid.  Out of the 50 million people who were affected, 40 million were in the USA.

Could it happen again?  Definitely.  

Is it something to freak out over? Not really.  Just get lots of flashlights, some non-perishable food and a portable gas cooker and you'll be fine...think of it as camping in your own bed :D