Henry Waxman: “This year, there has been only one true energy crisis in the United States. That is the skyrocketing energy prices and…”

“This year, there has been only one true energy crisis in the United States. That is the skyrocketing energy prices and blackouts in California and the West. Incredibly, however, this bill does nothing to address this issue. That is why I am offering this amendment. The goal of the amendment is to prevent a return to the blackouts and skyrocketing electricity prices that have plagued the West. Some people seem to think that FERC's complicated regulatory experiment has solved the energy crisis out West. After all, prices are lower, and there have not been major blackouts recently. I do not mean to sound like Cassandra, but the simple truth is that these conditions may not last. There are two main reasons that prices are lower: one, California has been experiencing unseasonably mild weather; and, secondly, California's successful conservation efforts have decreased energy consumption by more than 10 percent. The conservation efforts will continue, but the weather could turn much hotter at any time. If that happens, demand will soar. And if demand goes back up, the current FERC order will not protect California and the West. Just look what happened on July 2 and July 3 when demand reached 40,000 megawatts, the highest level this summer. When that happened, there were blackouts in Nevada, and there were almost blackouts in California. The FERC order did not help prevent the blackouts; it did just the opposite.”