Washington, D.C. – The US-Canada Power System Outage Task Force’s report released today underscores the urgent need for the passage of the energy bill, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici said. Domenici’s statement: “The report clearly says this blackout could have been avoided. The task force makes several recommendations, particularly the implementation of mandatory reliability standards. The task force also calls for clear guidelines for transmission investment, increased use of advanced technologies and better personnel training. “The bill does all of that. We have mandatory reliability provisions. We have provisions to encourage super conductivity, more energy efficiency, smart metering and net metering. We have provisions that encourage investment in the grid – a step critically needed to expand and modernize our electricity system. We expand and improve personnel training. “All of these provisions are important to preventing future blackouts. Mandatory reliability rules alone can’t do it. “This blackout was the largest blackout in U.S. history. It left 50 million people without electricity and cost our economy as more than $5 billion. This must never happen again. The first step to preventing a future blackout is passing the energy bill.”