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Caught in the Electrical Fallout by Gary Locke, Governor of Washington. New York Times - February 2, 2001

President Bush and his energy secretary, Spencer Abraham, should put pressure on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to stabilize the market immediately by putting temporary price controls on wholesale electricity. They should also ask Congress to expand the federal assistance that helps low-income people pay their electric bills.

California, of course, must work to solve the debt problems of its utilities and renew the financial integrity of its system. But as it struggles to restore stability, our entire region needs protection.

Washington State is doing its part. I have issued an energy supply alert that mandates a 10 percent reduction in energy consumption by all governments in the state. I've asked for the same reduction by citizens and businesses. The energy alert also allows companies to fire up their own diesel generators now, with the requirement that they offset additional particulate emissions with investments in clean air contributions later.

We in the Northwest cannot protect ourselves from a crisis we did not cause and a deregulation experiment we did not want. Even the most fervent free-market advocates should recognize that there must be short-term steps taken now to stabilize the market. And only the federal government can provide the immediate help we need.