Power Outage: Electricity Expert Available for Interviews

To schedule an interview with Fred Smith or another CEI environmental policy scholar, please contact Audrey Mullen at 202-861-5677.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />

 

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Washington, DC, August 15, 2003–The electricity blackout has had an immediate impact on the day-to-day lives of citizens in the affected areas, our country's financial markets and the state and local governments struggling to respond to the crisis.  Will it impact public policy next month when Congress returns?

 

Fred Smith, President of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, released the following statement regarding the electricity blackout:

 

“This isn't a surprise.  The magnitude of this blackout is, but not that it would happen at some point. It was only a matter of time.  We haven't built enough power plants, haven't invested enough in capacity to allow a system to operate far enough away from the edge.  And, when every power system is operating so close to the edge, the smallest pebble can cause an avalanche.”

 

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