Shedding Light on Power Blackouts

Since 1982, the Wisconsin Public Utility Institute (WPUI) in the School of Business has been advancing the understanding of public policy issues in the electricity, gas and telecommunications industries.

Seldom has a mission been more timely.

Last summer, a massive power outage plunged millions of people in the eastern United States and Canada into darkness. Suddenly, discussion of the reliability of the nation's power grid became much more relevant to people who had taken it for granted.

WPUI, which is part of the Executive Education unit of the School of Business, held a press conference “to provide a neutral forum to educate the media and general public on how cascading power failures happen, whether they could happen in Wisconsin and what's being done to prevent them here,” said Wendy Grapentine, WPUI director. Dozens of area reporters, looking for information on Wisconsin's energy situation, heard from a variety of public utility experts from UWÐMadison and industry. “Most of us don't think about energy until we flip the switch and the lights don't go on,” said Grapentine. “But making sure they stay on is not just a matter of convenience. It's critical to the economic future of our state and it's something we all need to be talking about.”

The increased interest in utility issues since the Big Blackout of 2003 has continued. WPUI's annual Energy Utility Basics program in October was quickly filled to capacity. That same month, in collaboration with the UW-Madison Chancellor's Office, WPUI held the first Chancellor's Energy Policy Forum. The topic: the current state and future direction of energy policy in the state of Wisconsin. Representatives from industry, government and academia attended. Chancellor John Wiley gave the keynote speech and Burnie Bridge, chairperson of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, was a featured speaker.

For more information on WPUI resources and programs, go to www.uwexeced.com/wpui.