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Energy & Renewables vocabulary · Grid, Transmission and Distribution

Blackout

Meaning in energy & renewables, with examples

/ˈblækaʊt/nounCore term

In energy & renewables, blackout means: A total loss of electricity over a large area, often caused when a major fault spreads through the grid faster than operators can contain it.

In Turkish: geniş çaplı elektrik kesintisi, büyük elektrik kesintisi, karartma

How it is used

Used for large, serious events, often in the news. A blackout hits a region, spreads and lasts hours until power is restored. Grid operators keep black start plans to restart the system without outside power. Smaller local interruptions are usually called outages.

Example sentences

  1. The blackout left millions of people without power for most of the day.

  2. The investigation found that a single line fault triggered the blackout.

Common collocations

  • nationwide blackout
  • cause a blackout
  • prevent blackouts
  • black start
  • rolling blackouts
  • power outageA period when electricity is not available to customers because of a fault, bad weather, damage to the network or planned maintenance.
  • load sheddingDeliberately cutting power to some areas or customers for a period, usually in rotation, to protect the grid when supply cannot meet demand.
  • frequencyThe number of times per second that alternating current changes direction, measured in hertz (Hz). It is 50 Hz in Europe and Turkey and 60 Hz in North America.
  • grid operatorThe organisation that runs the power system in real time, balancing supply and demand and keeping voltage and frequency stable across the network.

More terms: Grid, Transmission and Distribution

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