Blackout was preventable, probe finds (Congress does nothing)

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/04/05/blackout.report/index.html

Blackout was preventable, probe finds
Task force says 2003 outage not caused by terrorist attack
Tuesday, April 6, 2004 Posted: 8:24 AM EDT (1224 GMT)

(CNN) -- Last summer's power outage that plunged parts of eight states and a Canadian province into darkness could have been prevented and was not a terrorist or cyber attack, according to a final report released Monday by an investigative task force.

The task force's co-chairmen -- U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and R. John Efford, Canadian minister of natural resources -- said the group would remain active for another year to push for its recommendations.<snip>

Task force recommendations include:

Strengthening the institutional framework of the North American Electric Reliability Council and developing a funding mechanism for it to help ensure its independence from the companies it oversees.

Addressing deficiencies at FirstEnergy by June 30.

Improving training and certification requirements for operators, reliability coordinators and support staff.

Increasing the network's physical and cyber security.

MEANWHILE BACK IN THE GOP CONTROLLED CONGRESS:
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGALVFJZPSD.html

Blackout Showed Need for Grid Rules, but They're Mired in Congress

By H. Josef Hebert Associated Press Writer
Published: Apr 6, 2004

WASHINGTON (AP) - A seven-month investigation into the nation's worst blackout is putting new pressure on Congress to boost the reliability of power grids - but legislation addressing the problem remains in limbo. <snip>

Many of the voluntary rules, managed by a private, industry-sponsored group, were largely ignored by the Ohio power company and others whose failures led to the blackout, the task force said in a 228-page report. <snip>

However, provisions to establish mandatory rules on the electricity industry, along with measures to make it easier to build transmission lines, have been caught up in a partisan fight over broader energy legislation.

As the task force report was being released Monday, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., took another stab at trying to get his energy bill out of the Senate, announcing he would attach it to a popular jobs bill.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also cited the blackout findings as a fresh reason to pass energy legislation. But Barton also has said he won't go along with an energy bill that doesn't provide liability protection to the makers of a gasoline additive, MTBE. That issue helped kill the energy bill - and its electricity section - late last year. <snip>

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