How on earth does the power supply to an entire Country fail?
In: Engineering
In a smaller country, all of the power is connected on a single grid. (The USA has 5 grids, IIRC.) A problem in any one area is a problem for the entire grid, unless it is separated from the rest of the grid with circuit breakers to isolate it.
In most modern power systems, many of the circuit breakers are automated. When they sense too much current draw from an area, they activate and isolate it. If the circuit breakers are not automated, the entire grid will often fail before human operators can respond.
If there’s a problem with not having enough power generation to meet demand, then the grid can’t recover. As soon as enough parts of the grid are connected and drawing too much current, the voltage drops below acceptable levels everywhere. The circuit breakers then activate and things go down again.
No one wants power that is oscillating up and down (it can damage things) so most or all of the grid will remain down until supply and demand can be balanced. Then the grid is brought up, piece by piece. If the control systems aren’t good enough to recognize how to balance supply and demand, this can take some time, and it can get screwed up, bringing the whole shebang down again.
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