President Bush has called for the modernisation of the ageing US electricity grid in the wake of the biggest power failure in American history, which has left millions without electricity.
Mr Bush said the blackout was "a wake-up call" and that a forthcoming Congressional review of energy policy in September needs to "recognise the grid has to be modernised". The three major electricity grids that cover the US date mainly from the end of the second World War.
The energy blackout has led to bickering between the US and Canada. Parties on either side of the border blame the other for the energy failure, which cascaded throughout the cross-border north-eastern electricity grid, knocking out power from Maine to the Great Lakes, and from Manhattan to Ottawa.
The Governor of New York, Mr George Pataki, pointed the finger squarely at Canada in a press conference yesterday, claiming that the problem originated in western Ontario.
The Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Jean Chrétien, countered the US accusation by asserting that a nuclear power station in Pennsylvania was the source of the problem. Experts in the electricity industry say it could take days or even weeks before the actual cause of the power failure is known.
Many shops and restaurants in the affected areas stayed closed, and queues formed at petrol stations as fuel shortages began.
Yesterday many people stayed at home as requested, shunning the idea of battling into work on a crippled transport system.
In Toronto and Ottawa many businesses were closed and a state of emergency was in force.
For many office workers, the blackout was a nightmare, as they couldn't get transportation home and had to bed down for the night on park benches or makeshift beds on the pavement.
Airports were affected all across the north-east, and flights to and from Ireland were among those disrupted.