worst case electricity scenarios the benefits & costs of prevention lester lave jay apt granger morgan create symposium university southern california august 2005 carnegie mellon industry center one 22 sloan centers excellence in different industries 17 faculty 23 ph d students at probably largest effort its kind world focused on interdisciplinary problems close cooperation with all stakeholders regulators government agencies consumers labor national laboratories working reliability security other focal areas market structure performance distributed energy resources advanced generation transmission technologies environmental sustainability issues who cares about an blackout causes us to freeze sweat dark we find it difficult commute no traffic signals trains get up down buildings elevator work light computers copiers faxes cook microwave refrigerators appliances solid state ignition entertainment tv radio vcr almost modern activities depend this essential system is highly vulnerable central creates high value targets long lines unique voltage transformers substations disrupted frequently by natural hazards