Kelli Ballard: China ‘Kill Switches’ Found in Solar Power Inverters

China’s infiltration of the US and other countries is nothing new, whether to spy, collect sensitive data, or steal trade secrets. The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) found 224 reported instances of Chinese espionage directed at the nation since 2000. The newest discovered threat comes in the form of “kill switches” that could potentially give the communist country the ability to cause widespread blackouts.

Bryan Leyland: The underlying cause of the blackouts.

"You set the rules, we’ll play the game!" - the underlying cause of the blackouts.

The blackouts on the night of 9 August happened because we did not have enough generating capacity and we were unable to shed enough non-essential load. The spot price reached $300,000 per MWh - more than 1000 times normal. According to market theory it should have substantially reduced demand. It didn’t.

The immediate cause was lack of generation. Tokaanu hydro station shutdown because the intake screens got blocked by weed and starved the turbines of water. Huntly power station didn’t get enough warning of the need for more generation. Wind power dropped rapidly and substantially as the peak demand approached. Taranaki combined cycle station was not available for generation and, anyway, gas supplies were marginal. Not all our water heating load was shed because the industry reforms have decimated this previously world leading demand management system.