Power & Energy Systems
Complex electrical networks depend on protection systems, redundant generation, and coordinated control. Failures often reveal assumptions about operating modes, protection coordination, or the independence of backup systems that do not hold under all conditions.
Common Failure Themes
- •Hidden failures in standby or protection systems that remain undetected until the primary system is stressed
- •Assumptions about protection coordination that break down during simultaneous events or non-standard operating modes
- •Backup systems designed for single failure modes that cannot handle correlated or cascading failures
- •Operating context changes (temperature, load, fuel availability) treated as independent when they are not
Case Analyses
Power & Energy Systems
2025Iberian Peninsula Blackout
Cascading voltage instability when conventional power plants failed to maintain proper voltage control during high renewable penetration.
Power & Energy Systems
2021Texas Winter Storm Grid Collapse
Cascading failure when generation capacity assumptions did not account for simultaneous cold weather impact across multiple fuel types.
Power & Energy Systems
2011Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
Backup power system design did not account for flood levels that would occur given the initiating event requiring their use.
Power & Energy Systems
2003Northeast Blackout
Alarm system failures and lack of situational awareness allowed local problems to cascade into regional grid collapse.
How many of your protection and backup systems have been tested under the conditions that would actually require them?