The Power Grid DVD

• Additional Details
• Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
• Rating: Not Rated
• Number of Discs: 1
• Run Time: 50 Minutes
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Language: English
• Studio: History Channel
• DVD Release Date: April 14, 2004

Probe the cascading forces that led to the largest blackout in history, and see how the government and utilities are working to prevent a recurrence.

• Features interviews with industry executives and government officials.
• A fascinating look at the largest machine mankind has ever created.
• See how the grid powered America's meteoric growth, and why the century-old system is poised for rehabilitation.

Turn the switch, push the button, or hit the remote. The result is the same: the power comes on. Yet America's faith in our electric system was shaken on August 14, 2003, when the lights went out across the Midwest and Northeast, leaving cities and towns from New York to Detroit in the dark. Nearly 50 million people were left without power, and everyone wondered whether the nation's aging electric grid is up to its enormous task.

From the early battles between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla over how the system would work to the aftermath of the 2004 blackout, THE POWER GRID traces every step in the evolution of the largest machine ever built by man. See how utilities monitor energy consumption and trade power, visit the plants where electricity is made, and trace the political developments that contributed to the crises the system recently weathered.

From Edison's Pearl Street station to the future of power in America, this is a comprehensive look at the grid.