**1.3 Literature review**

The major industrial continents of North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia have faced the same causes of blackouts since 1965 [1]. In September 2003, due to cascade tripping in the transmission line (380 kV 220) linking Italy and northern Europe, which resulted in the largest blackout that Italy has witnessed, affecting more than 55 million people [2]. In 2010, there were many blackouts in the supply of electrical energy to consumers, which caused millions of customers to lose energy for long hours. September 2011, due to a blackout in the southwestern ocean, which led to a loss of energy for more than 12 hours, and about 2.7 million people have affected in some southwestern states in North America, such as residents of San Diego, California, Arizona, and Mexico. The main reason for the occurrence of blackout is an increase in the load during the peak period on a major transmission line, which caused the collapse of the electrical network system [3]. In 2019, there was a study on the performance of the Zawia CCPP during the blackouts and normal operation conditions [4]. Therefore, when a blackout or power outage takes place, the consequences can be costly. It can cause the loss of life of intensive care patients and children where childbirth needs a nursery, in addition to financial and industrial losses. There are several reasons that lead to blackout and power outages in power system grid

*Assessment of Power Plants in the Western Region of Libya during a Period of Insecurity DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97208*

such as; faults in transmission lines, increase of load demand, failure in protection system, poor maintenance of the equipment, human error, over frequency, cyber-attacks, voltage fluctuation, a short circuit, lighting strike, severe weather, and ice storms [3, 5].
