BLACKOUT FALLOUT 2: Whenever a politician (or CEO) says "It's not the time for finger-pointing", you know there's something they hope won't come to your attention. Thus we saw Congressman Steve LaTourette on Action News last night as the anti-Kucinich, asking us to refrain from blaming anyone for the Great Blackout, and regretting that the Creaky Old Grid Issue had been sidelined in Congress by less urgent energy controversies like wilderness drilling. For some reason the Action NewsDroids did not take the opportunity to ask LaTourette how he had voted on a 2001 proposal by California Congressman Sam Farr to create a Federal financing fund for power grid upgrades. Here's an excerpt from Buzzflash's (very partisan) take on the story:

In June of 2001, Bush opposed and the congressional GOP voted down legislation to provide $350 million worth of loans to modernize the nation's power grid because of known weaknesses in reliability and capacity. Supporters of the amendment pointed to studies by the Energy Department showing that the grid was in desperate need of upgrades as proof that their legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) should pass.

Unfortunately, the Bush Administration lobbied against it and the Republicans voted it down three separate times: First, on a straight party line in the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, then on a straight party line the U.S. House Rules Committee, and finally on a party line on the floor of the full House [Roll Call Vote #169, 6/20/01].

I personally think finger-pointing is a vital political exercise, and it sure looks like some important people screwed up royally in this case -- starting, it now appears, with our old friends at First Energy Corporation, who failed to notice and/or notify their neighbors that something very bad was happening to their transmission lines.

First Energy's current position is that it might not have been them, after all. We'll see.

Meanwhile, here are two things you might bear in mind as the utilities and their political friends try to get those fingers pointing elsewhere -- e.g. at revenue constraints, regulators and environmentalists getting in the way:

1. First Energy's Ohio subsidiaries -- CEI, Ohio Edison and Toledo Edison -- are collecting lots more money for their product than other electric companies in the state... you know, the ones that didn't crash. See the Public Utilities Commission's latest Ohio Utility Rate Survey (July, 2003) for details.

2. First Energy has proposed exactly one new transmission project to the Ohio Power Siting Board since 1999 -- the thirteen-mile Hanna-Shalersville line in Portage County. The application to the OPSB was filed in March 2000. It was approved in ten months flat, and completed and energized by April 2002. The OPSB staff report shows no opposition from environmentalists or anyone else -- and if there was any, it sure didn't slow the process down. Neither First Energy nor its subsidiaries have any other transmission grid upgrade applications pending. You can look it all up at the Power Siting Board's website.