And you're right. If this is the first stage of a terrorist attack - a "set up" - wherein they want people stranded or out in the open - we're in trouble.
I thought the same thing as you did - that this is a distraction for "stage 2" of whatever they might be up to.
At the very least it provides them adequate example of how vulnerable our power grid is, and gives them ideas, or provides them a "target of opportunity" in that they might, with little preparation, take advantage of this distraction to do something they might have been planning for a while.
I do hope that's not the case, but this whole thing just stinks to high heaven in my view.
You're right, not in a million years are they going to admit it is at all terror related if they are trying to stop people from panicking.
Gonna be a hairy ride for the next twenty four hours...
If it's bioterror we may not even find out for a week or two...