On May 31, 2012, FERC and NERC issued a joint report on the October 29–30, 2011 Northeast Snowstorm. The unprecedented fall snowstorm hit the northeastern United States, blanketing the region with up to two and a half feet of heavy, wet snow. Snowfall amounts broke all previous October records throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions. The snowfall totals were most significant in New England, but parts of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania also received well over a foot of snow. On the morning of October 30, near the end of the storm, more than 3.2 million homes and businesses were without power. Thousands were without power for more than a week, some for as long as 11 days. Estimates put storm costs between approximately $1 billion and $3 billion.
The joint inquiry focused on determining the causes of the transmission facility outages and on the steps utilities could take to improve their performance in maintaining grid reliability during the next large snowstorm or similar weather event.
