Dr Taylor credits this system with preventing another big blackout in his region, and says his counterparts in America's north-east could have avoided last year's blackout if they had had such a system.

ECONOMIST: ENERGY: Building the energy internet | The

After the 2003 blackout revealed the vulnerabilities of the transmission system and the immediate need for new power lines Congress in 2005 gave the federal government "backstopping" authority to site new projects.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Rainien said that another blackout is possible because of the weakened electrical system following the quake.

CNN: Widespread power blackout hits Chile

The investigation into last year's North American blackout revealed that during the precious minutes following the first outages in Ohio, when action might have been taken to prevent the blackout spreading, the local utility's managers had to ask the regional system operator by phone what was happening on their own wires.

ECONOMIST: ENERGY: Building the energy internet | The