Government or official record
August 2003 Blackout
North American Electric Reliability Corporation
Where this source supports the record
Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.
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Engineering failures · 14–16 August 2003Open article references →
The Northeast Blackout of 2003
FirstEnergy control area and interconnected blackout region · United States
Why editors use it hereReliability record of cascade, plant trips, operators, system restoration, and lessons.
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Quick read
On 14 August 2003, overloaded transmission lines sagged into trees in Ohio after software alarms failed at FirstEnergy's control room.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Trigger and conditions
A generating unit trip and high demand increased stress.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Uncertainty
The outage affected about fifty million people and 61,800 megawatts; numbers vary slightly by whether neighboring partial outages are included.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Why it matters
The blackout began with ordinary faults that should have been manageable.
Reviewed 26 July 2026
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Quick read