Abstract | Without question, the single most influential force behind the recent deregulation of the electric power industry is Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This phenomenon is not new. A strange codependency between the consuming public, the physics of electricity, and the technology to harness the power has existed since Edison. ICT has now taken its rightful place with preceding technologies, such as the behemoth dams of the last century, in the U.S. “can do” mystique and the somewhat successful quest to conquer power production, transmission, and delivery. However, ICT, unlike prior technologies, is more dynamic and tends to infect all aspects of the supply chain resulting in path dependence more akin to addiction. This addiction is investigated through using a field study conducted at the grid dispatch center of a large California electric power utility during the heyday of deregulation; i.e., before the bust. This study indicates a tightly coupled and reciprocal relationship between societal factors and the power industry’s ICT. This paper recalls some of the struggles electric power grid operators, information system analysts, and management faced as part of their common daily production and the not so common disruptive deregulatory efforts of the mid-1990s. The data indicates the existence of a significant dichotomy at work wherein ICT dutifully plays its role as the key stabilizing force for the grid, but the reliance on the ICT façade erroneously leads policy makers to place their trust in ICT. This dichotomy led to the California economic crash, contributed to the recent 2003 Northeast blackout, and will undoubtedly continue to result in incorrectly focused legislation currently under development. This study illustrates why it is critical to understand and integrate social aspects of ICT into future designs of mission-critical infrastructure. |