Albany - Assemblymember Kevin Cahill (D-Ulster, Dutchess), Chair of the Assembly Energy Committee, called for a hearing on the power outages caused by the storms of the past week. Hundreds of thousands of customers in the northeast have lost power for prolonged periods. The Assemblymember is also requesting that the Public Service Commission undertake a full and thorough investigation of the circumstances that have contributed to the widespread outages.

"These storms have left too many households without power for too long. Lives have been put risk and people are looking for answers," said Assemblymember Cahill. "It is no secret that the northeast is going to be subject severe winter weather, that is why it is so critical that the State, utilities, local governments and emergency responders remain vigilant in preparing, coordinating and executing outage prevention and response plans."

"I am going to take a hard look at the factors that have contributed to the severity of these outages and I urge the Public Service Commission to do the same," said Assemblymember Cahill. "A little over a year ago my hearing on the December 2008 ice storm brought to light several issues surrounding communication, utility staffing and coordination of outside crews brought in to assist in the response. I am very interested in hearing how the lessons learned then were used to mitigate the impact of this storm, if at all."

Assemblymember Cahill said that the Energy Committee will soon schedule a hearing for the purposes of examining several issues, including: what factors contributed to the severity and duration of the outages; whether the response was timely and adequate; communication between emergency management authorities, utilities and municipalities; whether the utilities charged with maintaining the integrity or the electric grad had adequate plans and staffing in place, and; recommendations to reduce the possibility of future outages. The Committee will request participation from the Public Service Commission, State Emergency Management Office, local government officials, utilities and emergency responders.

"Winter storms are a fact of life in our region; our electric grid has to be able to withstand the stress they bring," said Assemblymember Cahill. "I am focused on how to make the system work better so we can prevent future power outages and reduce the dangers to life and property when they do occur."