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"We need to learn from what we
witnessed in the Northeast this week. An outage of that magnitude
presents serious health and safety concerns to those involved,"
Blagojevich said. "The demand for energy continues to increase, and
we have a responsibility to make sure we can continue meeting that
demand without overloading our system and putting our citizens in
danger."
The Aug. 14 blackout in the Northeast
was the worst in U.S. history, affecting communities from New York
City to Detroit and Cleveland and costing the region hundreds of
millions of dollars in lost tax revenue, lost business and overtime
for emergency personnel. As a result, the United States and Canada
have formed a joint task force to review the causes of the Niagara
Electric Grid outage.
Blagojevich asked Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn to
lead the special task force to look into Illinois' vulnerability to
a similar failure. Quinn, who served as state treasurer from 1991 to
1995, spearheaded the consumer movement that won passage of
legislation establishing the landmark Citizens Utility Board in
1983. As an attorney, he has represented consumers in numerous
proceedings before the Illinois Commerce Commission over the past
two decades.
"In light of the catastrophic power
failure in the East, it's imperative that we thoroughly examine
every part of Illinois' energy infrastructure to protect the health
and safety of our citizens," said Quinn.
Top state officials with expertise in
public safety or the regulation and use of energy in Illinois will
join Quinn on the 11-member task force:
--Bill Burke, director of the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency and an Army veteran with certification
in aviation safety management
--Renee Cipriano, director of the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and a former associate
director and chief legal counsel of the IEPA
--John Filan, director of the
Governor's Office of Management and Budget and former founding
principal and managing partner of the firm FPT&W, which worked with
dozens of municipalities and state governments
--Carl Hawkinson, governor's deputy
chief of staff for public safety, who previously served in both the
Illinois House and Senate and was a Knox County state's attorney
--Ed Hurley, chairman of the Illinois
Commerce Commission and a former administrative law judge for the
ICC from 1984 to 1991
--Jack Lavin, director of the
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, responsible for
overseeing the Illinois Bureau of Energy and Recycling
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--Susan Lichtenstein, general counsel
to the governor; former counsel to Tellabs, a telecommunications
infrastructure company; and former senior vice president and general
counsel of Ameritech Corporation
--John Mitola, chairman of the Illinois
Tollway Authority and chief executive of Electric City Corp., a
company that specializes in developing, manufacturing and
integrating energy-saving technologies
--Michael Ruman, director of Central
Management Services and former president of People's Energy
Services, a major provider of electricity and natural gas in
Illinois
--Gary Wright, director of the Division
of Nuclear Safety, which administers more than two dozen programs
dealing with monitoring operations at active nuclear power sites,
inspecting nuclear shipments and overseeing cleanup efforts
The task force will look into a number
of questions about the condition of Illinois' energy infrastructure
and preparedness to deal with a large-scale outage.
- Is the Illinois energy
infrastructure protected from a catastrophic power failure?
- What are the ingredients of a
safe, reliable comprehensive energy plan for Illinois in the 21st
century?
- What level of modernization is
necessary to protect consumers from a widespread outage?
- What can Illinois do to promote
the use of energy efficiency and renewable energy to relieve
pressure on the electric grid?
- Are Illinois utilities taking
appropriate steps to reduce electric demand during warm weather?
- What are the testing procedures
used by Illinois utilities to monitor and maintain reliability and
safety of the energy infrastructure?
- Do Illinois utilities have
sufficient personnel dedicated to maintaining the integrity of
their transmission and distribution systems?
- Do Illinois nuclear power plants
have sufficient safeguards for public health and safety in the
event of a cascading power outage?
- Does Illinois have adequate
backup generating capacity for emergency and critical law
enforcement facilities in the event of a widespread power outage?
The task force will review Illinois'
energy system through the end of 2003, and will report its findings
to the governor in early 2004.
[Illinois
Government News Network
press release] |
