Blackouts in California and high energy prices in metropolitan New York are both due to transmission bottlenecks rather than short supply, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Tuesday.
Many countries have national grids.
America does not. Abraham's appearance was part of a tour promoting President Bush's national energy policy. Bush was in Los Angeles, announcing an aid package for low-income Californians caught in the energy squeeze. And he said the Bush administration wants to win the power to decide where new transmission lines should go. It should not be a series of local toll roads.