NEWS RELEASE
Committee on Energy and Commerce Democrats
Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member

Dingell Introduces Electric Reliability Legislation

Washington, D.C. -- Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 20 Democratic colleagues today reintroduced electricity reliability legislation, H.R. 878, the “Electric Reliability Improvement Act of 2005," to make transmission grid rules mandatory and enforceable.

“A year and a half after a blackout that left much of the Northeast and Midwest dark, the Republican leadership still hasn’t considered electricity reliability legislation,” said Dingell. “The time to pass reliability legislation is now, before another blackout unnecessarily disrupts the lives and security of millions of Americans.”

Under current law, the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) can only advise utilities to follow voluntary rules designed to ensure the system’s safe operation. A U.S.-Canada Task Force investigation of the blackout found that violations of the rules contributed to the August 2003 blackout that cost billions of dollars and left an estimated 50 million people in eight states and Canada without power.

Dingell first introduced legislation to address the problem a few weeks after the blackout in September 2003. Since then, Democrats have been calling on the Republican leadership to address this important issue by bringing stand-alone electricity reliability legislation to the House floor. Electricity reliability provisions have historically enjoyed broad bipartisan and bicameral support and have been included in comprehensive energy bills in the last two Congresses. Republicans have refused to consider the provisions as separate legislation, insisting it be passed as part of a broader energy bill or not at all. Due to the inclusion of other controversial items, comprehensive energy legislation has failed in the last two Congresses.

“The failed energy bill from the last Congress is now being used as the anchor for comprehensive energy legislation in this Congress,” said Dingell. “The recent history of energy legislation in Congress is proof that this bill should be considered separately and not held hostage to a flawed and outdated energy bill.”

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