Washington, D.C. – Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici today urged the swift passage of S. 2095 as the surest, swiftest way to prevent future power outages such as the one in August that left 50 million people without electricity and cost the economy an estimated $5 billion. Chairman Domenici called for prompt passage of S. 2095 today following a full committee oversight hearing on the challenges facing the nation’s electricity grid. Chairman Domenici’s statement: “The August blackout dramatically illustrated the growing strain on our nation’s electricity grid. This strain makes a future blackout of that magnitude inevitable. It’s not if, it’s when. Testimony at today’s hearing made that clear. “Congress must act now. The energy bill pending before the Senate has a reliability provision that dramatically changes the way we police electricity grids in this country. With the passage of this bill, we have the authority to mandate electricity reliability and punish those who don’t comply. Right now, compliance is simply voluntary. Clearly, that’s not enough. With the energy bill, we can act with authority to keep the lights on for all Americans. “Those who oppose the passage of the energy bill put consumers and our economy at risk for another major blackout. Stalling passage of this bill for political reasons is an unconscionable disservice to the American people. “I urge swift passage of S. 2095 as the surest, swiftest way to address our many energy challenges, including the urgent reliability problem facing this nation.” ###