House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas J. Bliley (R-VA) saysthat while the short-term fixes approved by FERC last week toprevent power outages this summer are laudable, he doubts they’llbe effective.

“I view these efforts as positive developments,” but they “willfall short of truly protecting consumers from interruptions andoutages this summer,” Bliley said in a May 19 letter to PresidentClinton.

In addition to FERC’s measures, Bliley also was referring to theseries of workshops that the Department of Energy (DOE) has beenholding this year to discuss grid reliability problems and possiblesolutions.

Bliley believes the only answer is comprehensive restructuringof the electricity industry. “I am gratified that youradministration has joined with me as a proponent of comprehensivefederal legislation to foster a competitive marketplace forelectricity,” he wrote. “Competition will provide this nation’sconsumers with lower electricity rates, better service and thebenefits of innovation.”

At a brief meeting on May 11, Bliley said he and Clinton “shareda similar view” of a recent Washington Post article, which reportedthat several major power utilities were funneling millions ofdollars to block restructuring legislation in Congress.

“…I was encouraged by your own interest in advancing the causefor competitive markets. With that in mind, I would like to meetwith you to continue our conversation on the importance of gettingthis bill to your desk.”

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