Jeff Bingaman: “I rise to discuss the issue before the Senate and explain my perspective on it and hope that Senators can give their…”

“I rise to discuss the issue before the Senate and explain my perspective on it and hope that Senators can give their attention, those in their offices, and their staffs. This is a complex issue we are debating, the issue of reliability and how we deal with it. The underlying energy bill contains provisions that are intended to create a system to ensure that the grid for delivery of electricity is reliable. This is an issue on which, as the Senator from Wyoming indicated, we all agree. Something needs to change in Federal law to ensure that the grid is reliable. The most recent wake-up call was what happened in California when the lights went out. All of a sudden, everybody starts looking around. Who do we hold accountable? Whose job was it to keep the lights on? We have an interstate transmission system in this country. It is one which most would acknowledge is not adequate for future demands. For that reason, we are trying to ensure that the proper safeguards and mechanisms are in place to keep this system reliable.”