BLACKOUT 2003: HOW DID IT HAPPEN AND WHY? HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION SEPTEMBER 3 and SEPTEMBER 4, 2003 Serial No. 108–54 Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/house U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 89–467PDF WASHINGTON : 2004 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:14 Jan 26, 2004 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 89467.TXT HCOM1 PsN: HCOM1 COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE W.J. ‘‘BILLY’’ TAUZIN, Louisiana, Chairman MICHAEL BILIRAKIS, Florida JOHN D. DINGELL, Michigan JOE BARTON, Texas Ranking Member FRED UPTON, Michigan HENRY A. WAXMAN, California CLIFF STEARNS, Florida EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts PAUL E. GILLMOR, Ohio RALPH M. HALL, Texas JAMES C. GREENWOOD, Pennsylvania RICK BOUCHER, Virginia CHRISTOPHER COX, California EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York NATHAN DEAL, Georgia FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey RICHARD BURR, North Carolina SHERROD BROWN, Ohio Vice Chairman BART GORDON, Tennessee ED WHITFIELD, Kentucky PETER DEUTSCH, Florida CHARLIE NORWOOD, Georgia BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois BARBARA CUBIN, Wyoming ANNA G. ESHOO, California JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois BART STUPAK, Michigan HEATHER WILSON, New Mexico ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona ALBERT R. WYNN, Maryland CHARLES W. ‘‘CHIP’’ PICKERING, GENE GREEN, Texas Mississippi KAREN MCCARTHY, Missouri VITO FOSSELLA, New York TED STRICKLAND, Ohio ROY BLUNT, Missouri DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado STEVE BUYER, Indiana LOIS CAPPS, California GEORGE RADANOVICH, California MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania CHARLES F. BASS, New Hampshire CHRISTOPHER JOHN, Louisiana JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania TOM ALLEN, Maine MARY BONO, California JIM DAVIS, Florida GREG WALDEN, Oregon JAN SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois LEE TERRY, Nebraska HILDA L. SOLIS, California ERNIE FLETCHER, Kentucky MIKE FERGUSON, New Jersey MIKE ROGERS, Michigan DARRELL E. ISSA, California C.L. ‘‘BUTCH’’ OTTER, Idaho DAN R. BROUILLETTE, Staff Director JAMES D. BARNETTE, General Counsel REID P.F. STUNTZ, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel (II) 2 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:14 Jan 26, 2004 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 89467.TXT HCOM1 PsN: HCOM1 C O N T E N T S Page Testimony of: Abraham, Hon. Spencer, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy; accom- panied by Hon. Kyle McSlarrow, Deputy Secretary of Energy ................. 33 Burg, H. Peter, Chairman and CEO, FirstEnergy Corp ............................... 195 Draper, E. Linn, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO, American Electric Power ............................................................................................................. 220 Durkin, Charles J., Jr., Chairman, Northeast Power Coordinating Coun- cil .................................................................................................................... 148 Eldridge, Brant H., Executive Manager, East Central Area Reliability Council ........................................................................................................... 142 Fleishman, Steven I., First Vice President, Merrill Lynch ........................... 358 Flynn, Hon. William M., Chairman, New York State Public Service Com- mission ........................................................................................................... 133 Gent, Michehl R., President, North American Electric Reliability Council . 138 Glauthier, T.J., President and CEO, The Electricity Innovation Institute . 367 Goulding, David, CEO, The Independent Market Operator of Ontario ....... 309 Granholm, Hon. Jennifer, Governor, State of Michigan ............................... 87 Harris, Phillip G., PJM Interconnection, Inc ................................................. 322 Kessel, Richard, Chairman and CEO, Long Island Power Authority .......... 211 Kilpatrick, Hon. Kwame M., Mayor, City of Detroit ..................................... 94 Lark, Hon. J. Peter, Chairman, Michigan Public Service Commission ....... 129 Makovich, Lawrence J., Senior Director, Americas Research, Cambridge Energy Research Associates ......................................................................... 354 McGrath, Eugene R., Chairman, President and CEO, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc .......................................................................... 202 Moler, Elizabeth A., Executive Vice President for Government, Environ- mental Affairs and Public Policy, Exelon Corporation .............................. 239 Museler, William J., President and CEO, New York ISO ............................. 299 Owens, David K., Executive Vice President, Edison Electric Institute ....... 372 Popowsky, Sonny, Consumer Advocate of Pennsylvania ............................... 363 Schriber, Hon. Alan R., Chairman, Ohio Public Utilities Commission ........ 125 Taft, Hon. Bob, Governor, State of Ohio ......................................................... 84 Torgerson, James P., President and CEO, Midwest ISO .............................. 304 van Welie, Gordon, CEO, ISO, New England ................................................ 315 Welch, Joseph L., CEO, International Transmission Company ................... 224 Winser, Nicholas P., Group Director Transmission, National Grid Transco PLC ................................................................................................................ 206 Wood, Hon. Pat, III, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission .. 120 Material submitted for the record by: Durkin, Charles J., Jr., Chairman, Northeast Power Coordinating Coun- cil, letter dated October 7, 2003, to Hon. W.J. Tauzin .............................. 179 Flynn, Hon. William M., Chairman, New York State Public Service Com- mission, letter dated October 6, 2003, to Hon. W.J. ‘‘Billy’’ Tauzin ......... 188 Gent, Michehl R., President, North American Electric Reliability Council, letter dated October 2, 2003, to Hon. John D. Dingell .............................. 181 Goulding, David, CEO, The Independent Market Operator of Ontario, letter dated September 22, 2003, to Hon. John D. Dingell ....................... 387 Kilpatrick, Hon. Kwame M., Mayor, City of Detroit, letter dated Sep- tember 15, 2003, to Hon. W.J. Tauzin ........................................................ 187 Pataki, George E., Governor, State of New York, prepared statement of ..................................................................................................................... 183 Winser, Nicholas P., Group Director Transmission, National Grid Transco PLC, letter dated September 9, 2003, to Hon. W.J. Tauzin ...................... 389 Wood, Hon. Pat, III, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, letter dated October 17, 2003, to Hon. W.J. Tauzin .................................. 190 (III) VerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:14 Jan 26, 2004 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 89467.TXT HCOM1 PsN: HCOM1 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 12:14 Jan 26, 2004 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 89467.TXT HCOM1 PsN: HCOM1 BLACKOUT 2003: HOW DID IT HAPPEN AND WHY? WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2003 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in room 2123, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. W.J. ‘‘Billy’’ Tauzin (chairman) presiding. Members present: Representatives Tauzin, Barton, Upton, Stearns, Gillmor, Greenwood, Cox, Burr, Whitfield, Norwood, Shimkus, Blunt, Radanovich, Bass, Pitts, Walden, Terry, Ferguson, Rogers, Issa, Otter, Dingell, Markey, Hall, Pallone, Brown, Gordon, Deutsch, Rush, Eshoo, Stupak, Engel, Wynn, Green, McCarthy, Strickland, DeGette, Capps, Doyle, Allen, Davis, Schakowsky, and Solis. Staff present: Jason Bentley, majority counsel; Sean Cunningham, majority counsel; Mark Menezes, majority counsel; Robert Meyers, majority counsel; Peter Kielty, legislative clerk; Sue Sheridan, minority counsel; and Bruce Harris, minority counsel. Chairman TAUZIN. I want to thank our guests for attending today. I think we still have empty seats if folks want to get com- fortable. Today we begin a series of 2 days of hearings. We have three panels today, extensive panels tomorrow. So I would invite every- one to get as comfortable as you can and ask everyone to give each other the courtesy of your attention as we go through a very hectic schedule for the next 2 days. Let me welcome my colleagues back to the grist mill. I am sorry we have to come together to examine such a tragic event in our Na- tion’s history as the huge Northeast blackout, but obviously it is a critical time for us to review what happened in that event so that we can make sure in the conference on energy that we make all the right decisions to hopefully prevent this in the future. Let me again welcome our colleagues and guests and also extend a special welcome to Secretary Abraham, our colleague from his former Senate days, and Mr. McSlarrow, who is accompanying him today in an effort to help us understand what did occur in the Northeast blackout. The Chair recognizes himself for an opening statement. On August 14, we were painfully reminded of the importance of electricity in our day-to-day lives. The scenes of the blackout were everywhere: people milling around the streets, sleeping on the steps