"Federal regulators have given U.S. grid companies until Jan. 1, 2028, to shield vulnerable high-voltage transformers from damaging electrical currents triggered by a massive solar eruption.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unanimously issued Order 851 last Thursday, establishing a revised timetable and requirements for protecting essential and hard-to-replace grid transformers from overheating and possible irreparable damage from a once-in-a-century solar burst.
The action completes nearly all of a rulemaking FERC began in 2013, setting off a sometimes furious debate between industry experts and members of a congressional commission about the risk that a solar superstorm would wreck on scores of transformers, causing a catastrophic blackout."
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