Government Lab Tests 'super' Power Cables For NYC

Terrorists are not the only threat to the power grid. So is the growing consumers demand for electric gadgets from plasma TVs to plug-in electric vehicles.

The cascading 2003 blackout that affected millions from the Midwest to the Northeast began with a single sagging power line in Ohio. The cost for repairs and losses to commerce: $6 billion to $10 billion, according to Homeland Security.

"So we see that as a pretty important mission — to keep the lights on," Murphy said.

Superconductor electrical cables are not for everyone and everywhere. They cost about twice as much as copper cable and require special expertise to maintain the nitrogen coolant.

In urban settings like Manhattan, however, where utility pipes, cables and water lines are as crowded underground as the vehicles on the streets above them, the advantages may balance out.

"Space and real estate in New York are very hard to come by and anyone who has seen an underground dig in Manhattan, particularly, knows the very, very congested situation you have underground," Consolidated Edison spokesman Mike Clendenin said.