On 21 Mar 2006 06:55:25 -0800, "N9NEO"
wrote:

I don't think power transformers are stocked like spares at every power
company site.. They are designed to be very reliable. There are
probably spares around, but not many. I can't imagine a scene where a
bunch of them could fail at once. They are rugged devices and I would
thinjk well protected as well.

There are fuses all over the medium voltage power distribution system.
They are usually fusible links that pop-open when they trip for easy
spotting. Substations use circuit breakers the size of a car that can
occasionally make huge lightning bolts when they open.

A CME trips overloads at distribution control centers way more often
than it damages any hardware components. This causes other safety
systems to open circuits. Once the grid has shut down, it must be
brought back up in an orderly fashion. This takes time.