As power was getting restored in India after one of its worstblackouts in history, US energy experts called for reforms in India's energysector while US officials just said it's an "internal Indian issue".
"Obviously, we're pleased that the lights are back on, that the power isback to this large amount of people who did not have electricity," StateDepartment spokesman Patrick Ventrell told reporters Wednesday.
Declining to comment on a suggestion that India's reduction of oil imports fromIran because of or lack of progress on the India-US civil nuclear deal may havecontributed to the crisis, he said: "I'm not aware that that's thecase."
"I mean, I think it would be a little difficult for me here from the StateDepartment podium to give a deep analysis of the internal energy environment inIndia in terms of how their electrical grids work," Ventrell said whenpressed.
"I think that would be a bit of a stretch. It sounds to me like it'sprimarily an internal Indian issue," he added.
Meanwhile, two energy experts at Washington think tank Brookings Institution inan analysis piece, "Emerging Power Failure in India," on the blackoutsaid that this crisis must spark reforms in India's electricity and energysectors.
"Slow development of domestic resources, costly imported resources,burdensome regulations, and a lack of investment in distribution prevent Indiafrom meeting a growing demand for energy," Brookings Energy SecurityInitiative's Charles Ebinger and Govinda Avasarala wrote
Changing subsidy policy and setting market rates for fuel and electricity wouldlead to more revenue, more investment, and ultimately more reliable energy andelectricity sectors, they argued.
US power experts cited by the New York Times suggested that critical circuitbreakers on India's power grid may have been neglected.
"The demand for power in India far surpasses the supply, with around 300million people without access to electric power," it noted.