Guardian Unlimited | World dispatch | Private passion: "President George Bush described last week's power cuts, which affected up to 100 million people, as a 'wake-up call'. Arguably, though, the alarm first went off in the California emergy crisis of 2001, and the president simply hit the snooze button.
At the time, several members of Congress put suggested a $350m (£220m) repair package to improve the transmission system. The White House opposed it, and congressional Republicans, taking their cue, killed the measure.
In the wake of the recent devastating blackout, the administration blamed Congress for failing to agree on Vice-President Dick Cheney's energy plan, but that plan was more about oil (and where it might be found in Alaska) than about power lines. "
- posted by geoff @ #