"We've been able to skate by as a first-rate power with a fourth-rate electricity grid for way too long. But yesterday, things caught up with us," Schumer said in a press release. "We got lucky this time in the sense that this was not a terrorist attack and nobody was hurt. But if we aren't thorough in both reviewing what went wrong and fixing it, we might not be so lucky next time."
Schumer also called for Congress to remove all electricity-related provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2003 until lawmakers could ensure the the bill incorporated measures to prevent future blackouts.
"The blackout faced by the Northeast underscores the profound sensitivity of our nation’s electrical distribution system, and highlights the need to proceed with extreme prudence in establishing federal electricity policy," Schumer wrote.
Department of Energy officials called the blackout the worst in American history, resulting in a 61 gigawatt loss of power. Although a definitive cause for the blackout has yet to be identified, it is clear, according to Sen. Schumer, that the interruption of electrical service had a profound impact on effected communities and will cost millions of dollars to address.
In a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate's Energy Committee, Schumer wrote "I feel that it is imperative to determine a root cause of this event, and to explore possible ways to modernize our electrical grid, centralize operational authority over our nation’s transmission assets, and to assure greater reliability.
"In both the 107th and 108th Congress, the electricity title of proposed comprehensive energy legislation was extremely controversial, and I am concerned that a great deal of uncertainty still exists regarding the impact of the title on electricity markets. I feel that in light of yesterday’s events, this uncertainty should provide justification to proceed with the utmost care. Accordingly, I believe that the electricity title should be reexamined in order to ensure that effective steps are taken within the legislation to centralize operating authority and responsibility over the national power grid, and to enhance reliability," Schumer's letter continued.
In addition, Schumer said he would ask Congress to allocate funds to help New York's local governments, emergency services, businesses, and other entities cover the costs of responding to the power outage. Regular and overtime response by police, fire, paramedics and other emergency personnel alone is expected run into the millions.
"New Yorkers have had to deal with a lot this year – a major fiscal crisis, this past winter's blizzard, the heightened homeland security costs brought on by the war in Iraq, and now the worst blackout in American history," Schumer said. "We need the Feds to step in and help us cover these costs or we'll find ourselves in an even deeper fiscal hole."
