Nick Weininger, writing at Radley Balko’s group blog, The Agitator, says: It may sound a little goody-goody and boosterish to say so, but I think not nearly enough recognition has been given to the rank-and-file folks who got the power…

I just shake my head at all the politicians and pundits who are pointing fingers at the utility companies involved — blaming the blackout on their greed.

Don’t they get it — these companies do not have any interest in compromising reliability. If the power does not flow, they do not get paid.

I was a college co-op in the planning department of a municipial utility. These companies put a lot of resources into planning and analysis to prevent blackouts like this from happening.

Like any human endeavor, however, stuff happens — and you can bet there are hundreds of engineers right now working their tails off to get to the bottom of this, as their managements wait with baited breath.

BTW, a lot of my career since my college days was spent designing generator controls. Be afraid … be very afraid :).