News 
2005
| Statement: September 02, 2005 |
Statement of FERC Chairman Joseph T. Kelliher on Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts
“As our nation confronts this tragedy of historic proportions, let us recognize the efforts of the men and women working to provide emergency services and to rebuild the region’s energy infrastructure. Utility crews are working day and night to restore electricity service to the hundreds of thousands affected by Hurricane Katrina. To the extent they help restore service to the region’s refineries and pipelines, they serve the long-term interests of the nation as a whole, and not just those suffering the storm’s immediate impact on the Gulf Coast.
“Utility crews are pouring in from all over the country. The industry pulls together in a crisis like this. They did so in Florida with Hurricane Ivan, and they are doing so today in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama with Hurricane Katrina.
“Electric service is being restored to the affected communities, and petroleum product pipelines have resumed deliveries of oil and gasoline to the Midwestern and Eastern United States. Progress is being steadily made.
“The Commission took prompt action within its limited authority to provide regulatory relief to aid in the recovery process, and stands ready to take any additional steps within the scope of its authority to further those efforts.
“But the real hard work is being done in the field. Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to the quiet efforts of the thousands of men and women who, even though their own families have been affected by this disaster, are working around the clock to restore electricity and pipeline networks that support our national economy and way of life.”
