Sigh...fudge world this morning
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Some Utilities Disappointed in Scaled-Back U.S. Energy Plan
2010-07-23 04:01:00.28 GMT
By Simon Lomax and Lisa Lerer
July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Democrats' decision to scale
back energy legislation disappointed environmentalists, some
utilities and the Obama administration, which took office
promising to steer the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels.
Conversely, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's decision to
drop a cap-and-trade plan, in which companies would buy and sell
pollution rights, was "welcome news" for companies that sell
coal to power plants, said Luke Popovich, spokesman for the
National Mining Association.
A cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases linked to climate change was a major feature of
the first budget President Barack Obama sent to Congress last
year. Climate legislation passed the House in June 2009, then
took a back seat to overhauls of the health-care system and
banking sector.
"We are disappointed that we do not yet have agreement on
comprehensive legislation," Carol Browner, Obama's senior
energy adviser, said at a press conference with Reid yesterday
in Washington. She said the White House will continue to work to
get climate-change legislation passed, and Reid made a similar
promise.
Reid said he can't round up enough support in the Senate
this month for broad energy measures like a cap-and-trade
program to restrict carbon pollution and a requirement that
utilities buy more electricity from renewable sources.
Instead, the majority leader said he will offer legislation
to overhaul offshore drilling rules in response to the BP Plc
oil spill, and establish household energy-efficiency programs
and incentives for natural-gas-fueled vehicles. The measure is
scheduled for Senate debate next week.
$1 Billion on Lobbying
For utilities that spent more than $1 billion over the past
decade lobbying Congress for new energy policies, yesterday's
announcement will "mean continued uncertainty and delay," said
Ralph Izzo, president of the Public Service Enterprise Group
Inc. utility based in Newark, New Jersey.
Some utility officials said it will slow the spending of
billions of dollars on solar, wind and other types of renewable
energy.
Power companies are ready to invest $1 trillion in new
infrastructure "but much of that money remains on the
sidelines" without clear rules for carbon dioxide emissions,
said Howard Riefs, spokesman for Exelon Corp., the biggest U.S.
nuclear-power producer.
The American Wind Energy Association, a Washington group
that represents companies such as Clipper Windpower PLC and
Siemens AG, said it is "beyond comprehension" that the energy
bill wouldn't require utilities to buy more renewable
electricity.
Jobs in Jeopardy
About 85,000 existing wind-industry jobs may be in jeopardy
and the opportunity to create more than 270,000 new jobs may be
lost, Denise Bode, the wind industry organization's chief
executive, said in an e-mail.
Some utilities are in less of hurry for Congress to act.
John Russell, president of Jackson, Michigan-based utility
company CMS Energy Corp., said before Reid's announcement that
lawmakers should wait until "the economy has rebounded" to
tackle the climate-change issue.
"We feel more cost pressure today than we have in many
years because of the state of the economy," Russell said.
Popovich said companies that own coal-burning power plants,
including American Electric Power Co. and Southern Co., have
been looking to Congress to pass legislation that supersedes
greenhouse-gas regulations planned for next year by the
Environmental Protection Agency.
'Worse Than the Disease'
The cap-and-trade program sought by Senators John Kerry, a
Massachusetts Democrat, and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut
independent, "would have been a cure that's worse than the
disease," Popovich said. The news isn't all good for the coal
industry because the EPA's rules are still coming next year, he
said.
Tom Gibson, chief executive officer of the American Iron
and Steel Institute, said the broader proposal would have hurt
"energy-intensive, trade-exposed manufacturers" with overseas
competitors.
Although Senate Democrats are divided over plans for
cutting carbon dioxide emissions, Reid blamed a lack of
Republican support, and that party's leaders took credit for
blocking the cap-and-trade plan.
"Republicans are more than happy to protect Americans from
a job-killing national energy tax," Don Stewart, a spokesman
for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said
in an e-mail.
Trucks, Homes and Drilling
Reid told reporters the legislation would aid the
conversion of diesel-fueled trucks to natural gas to help reduce
U.S. oil imports. The bill would include a new version of
"Homestar," a $6 billion program Obama proposed in March
offering rebates to homeowners for new insulation, water
heaters, windows and other energy-saving upgrades.
The League of Conservation Voters, a Washington-based
environmental group, called Reid's decision "deeply
disappointing" and said advocates for regulating greenhouse
gases will keep pressing for climate-change legislation this
year.
The energy bill may also raise the $75 million liability
cap for companies that cause oil spills, Reid said without
providing details.
Bill Bush, a spokesman for the American Petroleum
Institute, said in an e-mail that any move to eliminate the oil
spill liability cap "could all but shut down deepwater
operations, affecting many thousands of jobs."
For Related News and Information:
Top environment stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about U.S. and climate: TNI US CLIMATE <GO>
Global emissions data: EMIS <GO>
Northeast U.S. trading: RGGI <GO>
--Editors: Laurie Asseo, John Brinsley.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Simon Lomax in Washington at +1-202-654-4305 or
slomax@bloomberg.net;
Lisa Lerer in Washington at 202-624-1966 or
llerer@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Dan Stets at +1-212-617-4403 or dstets@bloomberg.net.
