Rosslyn, VA, April 5, 2004 -- Today's release of the U.S.-Canada Final Report on August 14, 2003 Blackout, by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), reconfirms the urgent need for Congress to pass a comprehensive energy bill, according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).

The report singles out the need for mandatory electric transmission reliability standards and significant investments in the transmission system to prevent future outages. NEMA president Malcolm O'Hagan said it is "yet one more wake-up call to policymakers on Capitol Hill that this country is badly in need of a thoughtful, coordinated approach to energy policy. Congressional leaders need to stop playing politics with energy legislation, which had enough votes to pass in the last session, but was scuttled by a threatened filibuster."

The final report adds to largely administrative recommendations of earlier reports by calling for important grid hardware and software upgrades. "Grid operators need better tools to be truly aware of system conditions, especially under degraded conditions," said O'Hagan. "Investment in the basic transmission infrastructure is also needed so that the system is not occasionally operated near limits beyond operator intervention."

The President's National Energy Plan of 2001 and energy legislation pending in Congress are good foundations for policy makers to help address these needs. The Senate and Energy Conference Committee bills, said O'Hagan, contain a balance between energy production (including electricity), energy delivery (including the grid), and energy conservation (including standards for products to use electricity wisely).

He noted that the blackout itself, which affected 50 billion people and cost at least $5 billion dollars, "should have been all the incentive Congress needed to act wisely and pass a bill last year. This should be a bipartisan goal, not a political wedge issue. The Department of Energy report today makes that painfully clear." Energy legislation pending in Congress that would address many of the report's recommendations includes the following provisions:

Electric Infrastructure Enhancement

• Encouragement of regional coordination of planning for transmission


• Mandatory and enforceable transmission reliability standards


• Requirement for electric suppliers to provide net metering for onsite generation


• Requirements for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider incentive- and performance-based rates for reliability enhancement and energy efficiency


• Federal backstop eminent domain for transmission siting


• Tax credit for combined heat and power property


• Extension of the renewables production tax credit


• Reduction of the tax life of new transmission additions to 15 years (not in slimmed-down Senate bill S. 2095)


• Revision of tax life to three years for electric meters used for energy management.

Energy Efficiency

• Increased goals for federal energy efficiency, including federal building requirements that beat ASHRAE 90.1-2001 standards by 30%


• Requirement for metering and submetering for federal facilities with real-time metering to reduce energy consumption and costs


• Requirement for states to consider a standard for real-time pricing and time-of-use meters


• Requirement for DOE to establish new efficiency standards for new federal buildings


• Requirement for federal government to purchase energy efficient products, including mandatory purchases of NEMA Premium™ Motors, and Energy Star® or Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) designated products


• Cost-effective energy efficiency standards based on industry consensus standards for numerous consumer products and distribution transformers


• Expanded R & D for high temperature superconductivity and high efficiency solid state lighting


• Tax deduction for efficient commercial property.