Energy Secretary Addresses Power Crisis | |
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With much of the Western US facing a long, hot and possibly dark summer, US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham last week sent letters to Congress and to the California state legislature stressing the Bush Administration's actions to help address the power crisis.
Secretary Abraham prefaces his letter to Congress by stating, “In response to a number of inquiries from Members of Congress and the California Legislature, and in light of recent discussions of possible federal legislation addressing energy issues in the West, and particularly California, I thought it would be helpful to provide you with a federal update on the crisis."
According to Secretary Abraham, any proposed solutions not resulting in either increased electric supplies or reduced demand will fail to prevent blackouts feared in California and neighboring Western states this summer.
As California's "rolling-blackouts" that began in Dec. 2000 rolled on into Feb. 2001, federal lawmakers from several Western states criticized the new Bush Administration for not taking immediate corrective action. In his letter to Congress, Secretary Abraham outlines a number of actions taken by both President Bush and himself to address the power supply issues. ("Governor Davis" is California Governor Gray Davis, a Democrat.)
- One day after being sworn into office, the President directed me to call
[California] Governor Davis to discuss the crisis and ask how we could help address the
power shortages.
- Three days after taking office, at Governor Davis’ request, we extended
the emergency electricity and gas orders to give California time to develop
legislation aimed at maintaining electricity supplies.
- In February, also at the request of Governor Davis, President Bush issued
an executive order directing Federal agencies to expedite permits relating
to construction of new power plants in California. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency has issued air permits for three power plants in the past
month.
- President Bush and I have engaged in discussions with the Government of
Mexico about increasing electricity imports from Mexico. DOE is also working
expeditiously to approve several cross-border electricity expansions between
California and Mexico.
- In early March, at the behest of Governor Davis, I sent a letter to the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking that the agency act on
his request for an extension of the waiver for qualifying facilities from
certain fuel requirements.
- In response to a request from the State of California, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has provided other assistance, clarifying rules relating to operation of backup generators.
Next page > Administration's Actions - Continued > Page 1, 2
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