Power and ElectricalPower System Blackouts: Causes and Prevention
Major blackouts follow a recognisable pattern: an initiating event the system should have survived, followed by cascading failures that protection and operators could not arrest in time. This course studies that pattern. Delegates work through documented blackouts from several systems, reconstructing the sequence in each and identifying the point at which the outcome became inevitable. The technical material covers cascading overload, voltage collapse, frequency instability and the protection maloperation that frequently accelerates a cascade. Defence plans, islanding and load shedding are examined as the measures that limit extent, and the course closes on black start capability and restoration planning.
Course objectives
- Reconstruct the sequence of a documented blackout
- Identify the point at which an outcome became inevitable
- Explain cascading overload and voltage collapse
- Recognise how protection maloperation accelerates a cascade
- Design defence plans, islanding and load shedding to limit extent
- Assess black start capability against a realistic scenario
- Build a restoration plan and test it
Who should attend
- System operations and control room engineers
- Utility planning and protection engineers
- Generation operations staff
- Regulators and system security authorities
- Consultants advising on system security
Course outline
- 01The recognisable pattern behind major blackouts
- 02Case studies and sequence reconstruction
- 03Cascading overload
- 04Voltage collapse
- 05Frequency instability
- 06Protection maloperation in a cascade
- 07Defence plans, islanding and load shedding
- 08Black start and restoration planning
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 to 6 November 2026 | Accra, Ghana | Classroom | USD 995 per delegate | Register Now |
| 9 to 11 November 2026 | Durban, South Africa | Classroom | R14,950 per delegate | Register Now |
| 10 to 12 February 2027 | Online | Online | R6,500 per delegate | Register Now |
| 22 to 24 February 2027 | Nairobi, Kenya | Classroom | USD 995 per delegate | Register Now |