WASHINGTON, DC -- Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham today advised those individuals in the areas affected by the blackout to help ensure the stability of the system by reducing energy use as their electricity comes back on line:

"Electric service is being restored this morning, adding to power that was restored last night.   Utility crews are working to restore the remaining service, to determine the cause of the outage and to take steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.   While the power is being restored, we urge those who do have electricity in the affected areas to help the restoration process by conserving energy.  Consumers should unplug major appliances until stable power is restored."

“I urge citizens to listen to their state and local officials and heed their advice.”

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