28th Annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers

WHEREAS, New England and Eastern Canada share many of the same concerns regarding electric reliability, having close interconnections between their mutual systems; and

WHEREAS, the power outage commencing August 14, 2003, affecting portions of the northeast United States and Ontario, highlights the need for stable and reliable electric systems; and

WHEREAS, the need for reliable, economical solutions to impending supply constraints can most effectively be resolved through joint planning and cooperation on a regional basis.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the members of the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers are united in their desire to take joint action to limit the opportunity for a similar power outage to occur in the northeast region; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers direct the Northeast International Committee on Energy (NICE) to liaise with the Canada-U.S. Joint Task Force on the Power Outage and other groups investigating the cause of the August 14, 2003 power outage and identify opportunities learned from these investigations to safeguard the reliability of supply in the northeast region; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers direct the NICE Committee to review information obtained from the August 14, 2003 power outage investigations and provide specific recommendations to ensure long-term reliability of the north eastern United States and Eastern Canadian regional systems. The NICE Committee is directed to file an interim report by December 31, 2003, and a final report not more than three months after the conclusion of the power outage investigations.

Adopted at the 28^th Annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers, September 7-9, 2003.

 John G. Rowland
Governor of Connecticut
Co-chair

Bernard Lord
Premier of New Brunswick
Co-chair