Democratic Senator Urges Energy Reform (radio address- Cantwell)

WASHINGTON Aug. 14, 2004 — Congress must pass legislation to protect the nation's electricity grid if it wants to avoid repeats of the devastating outages that rolled across eight states last year, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Saturday.

"America is not a third-world country that can't guarantee power to its citizens. We are not a country without resources, technology or ingenuity," Cantwell said in the weekly Democratic radio address.

"But we are a country without mandatory rules for performance and coordination of our electricity grid, because Washington Republicans and their special interests refuse to do what's right for the country by passing new electricity rules that hold violators accountable."
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Cantwell introduced legislation that aims to give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to devise a system of standards for the reliable operation of the energy grid. Her measure is part of the energy bill stalled in the Senate; she has been unable to persuade majority Republicans to agree to consider it separately.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040814_895.html

If we end up with the infrastructure of a 3rd world country, we'll have nobody but ourselves to blame.

ON EDIT: better photos

It is necessary and also brings to mind the secretive Energy Meetings between Cheney and Energy Lobbyists. It is an extremely important issue about more than just oil and oil drilling. We need Alternative Energy and we need it yesterday.

To upgrade electricity, water, natural gas, and sewage systems.

I'm not sure about electricity by itself, but it would be expensive. It's probably worth it though.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to devise a system of standards

They may be the agency to enforce the standards. But creation?
We should be adopting standards from ANSI, NFPA, UL etc. Not trying to recreate the whole process. Let the standards experts do their job. And have the congress adopt/codify the standards they develop.

voted to go to war.