How about We Improve the Electrical Grid?

Infrastructure, anyone?

The failure of a single piece of equipment in Yuma, Ariz., ignited a massive blackout that left more than 4 million people without power, baffling utility officials and highlighting the vulnerability of the U.S. electrical grid.

Authorities in Arizona said Friday that safeguards built into the system should have prevented the breakdown at a Yuma substation from cascading across southern Arizona and into California and northern Mexico.

They didn't, and the resulting instability led to the sudden shutdown of the San Onofre nuclear power plant, cutting off power to a large swath of Southern California. "We lost all connection to the outside world," said James Avery, San Diego Gas & Electric's senior vice president of power supply. "This happened in a matter of seconds."

The story goes on to say that the utilities don't really know why this happened, but you can bet that aging, overstressed equipment was most of the problem.