(CNN) Spurred by the recent power blackout in the Northeast, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson is proposing a six-part plan to better ensure Americans will not lose their electricity during severe weather. "The problem is getting worse and in this era of potential deregulation in electricity, it is important to protect the consumer," Richardson said in a telephone interview Sunday from Phoenix with The Associated Press. Hoping to avert future power crisis, Richardson calls for the following:

The six-point Energy Department initiative calls for:

• Developing standards for more efficient air conditioners. When heat waves strike, the first thing people do is crank up the air conditioning -- which consumes electricity at alarming rates. Richardson has asked his staff to step up the development of new standards to get more efficient air conditioners into people's homes sooner rather than later.

• Investigating Major Power Outages. Richardson will form a team of experts within the department to investigate major power outages and recommend ways to avoid recurrences, then act on those recommendations.

• Assessing Capacity and Demand. While electricity demand has increased, little new generating and transmission capacity has been built. The department will examine whether we have enough capacity and whether additions currently being planned will meet future demand.

• Coordinating Efforts Through a Regional Summit. The Secretary will organize a Northeast regional summit with governors, state public service commissions, state energy offices and utilities to examine the problems that have plagued the region this summer and work with them to try to prevent future ones.

• Leading by Example. So that the federal government is ready to take emergency actions to cut electricity consumption in its buildings and facilities when utilities make urgent appeals for conservation., the department will work with the General Services Administration to devise a plan of action.

• Redoubling Existing Efforts. The department is already working to ease generation and transmission capacity shortages by developing advanced generation and transmission technologies, and by promoting energy efficiency in homes and businesses. Richardson will work with the Congress to ensure that these vital programs are fully funded.

Richardson emphasized that these initiatives are not designed to infringe on the states' role in protecting the reliability of the distribution system. Rather the department wants to complement what states are already doing and act as an added resource they can rely on.