Last summer's blackout plunged much of the Northeast and parts of Canada into blackness. But a newly released report on what caused the power failure, and whether it might have been prevented, is illuminating. It should put to rest the once-fashionable argument that the utility industry is best served by government deregulation. Perhaps in terms of a free market, less bureaucracy would lead to greater efficiency and lower rates. But what of reliability? If anything, the report is Exhibit 1 in a case for close government oversight.

As expected, the report, compiled by a joint U.S.-Canada task force, faults FirstEnergy Corp. of Ohio for failing to contain the blackout by shutting off 1,500 megawatts of power in the Cleveland- Akron area right after the first surge in voltage occurred in transmission lines south of Cleveland. Not only that, but the investigators found that FirstEnergy should have been more alert to the possibility of a power failure because the region it serves had a known history of grid instability.

The report found that FirstEnergy not only failed to act promptly but was ill prepared for an emergency because it hadn't followed voluntary industry guidelines for long-range planning and system monitoring. Just as alarming, the investigators faulted the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, which oversees FirstEnergy, for failing to alert neighboring regions of a gathering crisis, as well as other safeguards designed to stave off widespread outages.

The report's authors have rightly called for replacing the voluntary guidelines with government regulations designed to ensure the reliability of the nation's power grid. Given the huge cost associated with the blackout, not to mention the inconvenience for millions of stranded commuters and the hazards they faced, ensuring reliability must be a top priority. Given the vulnerability of the grid system to potential terrorist acts, reliability must be an urgent priority.

Regrettably, though, there are signs that any proposed regulations might become mired in yet another partisan standoff in Congress. Rep. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., prime sponsor of a sweeping energy bill, believes that his legislation already contains provisions that address most of the task force's concerns. But Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has warned that the energy bill could become a "quagmire" for new regulations and has proposed a separate bill instead.

She is right. It's past time for corrective action. Perhaps no one has made that point better than Gov. George Pataki did last August, when he bitterly recalled the assurances of power systems managers that there would never be a repeat of the East Coast blackout of the 1960s. He should remind Sen. Domenici that those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it.