Stichting Laka

Publication Laka-library:
The Big Blackout and Amnesia in Congress

Author	Public Citizen
	3-01-0-00-36.pdf
Date	2003
Classification	3.01.0.00/36 (UNITED STATES - GENERAL)
Front

The Northeast and Midwest blackout of 2003, the largest power outage in North American
history, calls attention to the chaos that deregulation has wrought on the continent’s power grid,
in terms of both the opportunistic, relentless profit-seeking of energy traders and the heightened
vulnerability of nuclear power reactors, 21 of which were immediately shut down when the
blackout hit. The blackout should serve as a wake-up call, spurring legislators to pursue an
energy policy that prioritizes safe, clean, sustainable energy sources; strengthens regulation; and
places the energy needs of citizens above the endless corporate quest for profits.
Sadly, though, congressional lawmakers seem to have suffered a collective blackout of their
own, forgetting the spectacular failure of electricity deregulation (epitomized by the California
energy crisis), which was the prime culprit of the blackout, and denying the serious risks of
nuclear power. The omnibus energy bills recently passed in both houses of Congress actually
further electricity deregulation, repeal consumer protections and, in addition, provide huge
taxpayer-financed incentives for the development of more nuclear power stations. Ironically,
electricity deregulation was once touted as the antidote to expensive government support of
inefficient and over-budget nuclear plants such as Grand Gulf in Mississippi constructed under
regulated markets; now, however, deregulation is being coupled with obscene federal subsidies
for the development of new nuclear reactors.
Unfortunately, many policymakers and politicians have misidentified the cause of the blackout,
ignored one of its most serious effects, and offered as a solution massive legislation that would
only make the situation worse. Although there are problems with many facets of the nation’s
energy system, many of the deficiencies that have been highlighted since the blackout are either
non-existent (such as the alleged shortage of electricity capacity) or have been mischaracterized.
In this report, Public Citizen analyzes one of the most serious and immediately dangerous effects
of the blackout: the unreliability and heightened vulnerability of nuclear power reactors.
Furthermore, we trace the cause of the blackout to the chaotic effects of electricity deregulation.
Finally, we consider the folly of the pending omnibus energy legislation in Congress, which
completely fails to provide the most appropriate legislative prescription for the problem: the
strengthening of electricity regulations and consumer protections, coupled with investment in
safe, renewable and reliable electricity generation and distribution systems.