WASHINGTON (Reuters)Ohio utility FirstEnergy Corp. on Thursday defended its actions during the worst blackout in North American history, saying the electricity outage that rippled through eight states and Ontario was due to a combination of factors rather than its own negligence. ---
Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee excoriated FirstEnergy, with one lawmaker saying the utility could not be trusted with a license to drive a car, let alone operate a nuclear power plant. ---
A transcript of telephone calls between FirstEnergy and the Midwest power grid operator showed chaos and confusion in FirstEnergy's control room in the hours before the blackout. ---
Democrat Edward Markey of Massachusetts said he was unsatisfied with FirstEnergy's responses. "All of the evidence appears to be focusing on FirstEnergy as the culprit in this blackout and you appear to be trying to shift blame elsewhere." ---
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