A B717 returned to their departure airport when both bus tie relays opened during their climb.

Attributes
ACN	1070225
Time
Date	201302
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	Marginal
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B717 (Formerly MD-95)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Electrical Distribution Busbar
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Narrative:

Climbing through 12;000 ft both AC tie bus relays tripped open causing numerous level 1 alerts and continuous stick shaker activation. This activated the emergency power - powering only the AC ground service bus off the ships batteries. I notified ATC and requested to stop the climb so we could analyze and treat the emergency. We performed the checklist for AC GS bus off. This calls for a landing at the nearest suitable airport. Aircraft weight was 114;000 pounds - I requested to return to our departure airport and a short hold to reduce the landing weight below 110;000 pounds. The air return; landing; and gate return were uneventful. Maintenance met us at the gate. I made the appropriate log entries - aircraft weight at landing was approximately 108;000 pounds.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B717 returned to their departure airport when both bus tie relays opened during their climb.

Narrative: Climbing through 12;000 FT both AC tie bus relays tripped open causing numerous level 1 alerts and continuous stick shaker activation. This activated the emergency power - powering only the AC ground service bus off the ships batteries. I notified ATC and requested to stop the climb so we could analyze and treat the emergency. We performed the checklist for AC GS BUS OFF. This calls for a landing at the nearest suitable airport. Aircraft weight was 114;000 LBS - I requested to return to our departure airport and a short hold to reduce the landing weight below 110;000 LBS. The air return; landing; and gate return were uneventful. Maintenance met us at the gate. I made the appropriate log entries - aircraft weight at landing was approximately 108;000 LBS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.