APPA Legislative Rally March 12-15, 2007
The 2007 APPA Legislative Rally will start on Monday evening, March 12, and run through Wednesday, March 15, in Washington DC. Morgan Meguire is putting the finishing touches on talking points and background information on the following issues: climate change, a federal renewable portfolio standard (RPS), an extension to the clean renewable energy bond (CREB) program, federal funding for the Low-Income Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) and the Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI) programs.
A package of information will be mailed to all NEPPA members attending the Rally, prior to their arrival. In addition, NEPPA will be hosting a breakfast briefing on Tuesday, March 13, so that members can discuss issues with Morgan Meguire staff prior to meeting with their Congressional delegation. More details on the briefing will be forthcoming.
EPSA Supports Emissions Cap; EEI Adopts "Principles" on Climate Change Legislation; APPA & NRECA to Follow
On February 7, the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), the national trade association that represents the competitive electric supply industry, called for a federal cap on green house gas emissions. Apparently, EPSA has linked its support for GHG caps to a requirement that all new generation be competitively bid.
On the following day, February 8, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the national trade association representing the investor-owned utilities, announced its adoption of a set of general "principles" to guide Congress on the development of climate change legislation. Unlike EPSA, which endorsed mandatory carbon caps, EEI's principles do not endorse mandatory emissions reductions. EEI wants Congress to:
- Assure stable, long-term public/private funding to support the development and deployment of needed technology solutions.
- Assure compliance timelines consistent with the expected development and deployment timelines of needed technologies.
- Employ market mechanisms to secure cost-effective GHG reductions and provide a reasonable transition and an effective economic safety valve.
- Establish a long-term price signal for carbon that is moderate, does not harm the economic competitiveness of U.S. industry and stimulates future investments in zero- or low-carbon technologies and processes.
- Address regulatory or economic barriers to the use of carbon capture and storage and increased nuclear, wind or other zero- or low-GHG technologies.
- Minimize economic disruptions or disproportionate impacts.
- Recognize early actions/investments made to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
- Provide for the robust use of a broad range of domestic and international GHG offsets.
- Provide certainty and a consistent national policy.
- Recognize the international dimensions of the challenge and facilitate technology transfer.
APPA and NRECA are also working to develop a policy positions they expect to bring to their memberships later this year. In 2006, APPA created a CEO Taskforce to tackle the issue it has met twice on the matter and is in the final stages of advancing principles, to guide the debate.
Congressional Hearings Commence on Climate Change; Action Expected by July 4th Recess
In the House, two hearings are scheduled in the Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The first on Tuesday, February 13, will solicit views from the private sector on how to address climate change. The second, on Wednesday, February 14 will examine a recent U.N. report indicating that 90% of climate change is caused by Human Activities.
In the Senate, both the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee have scheduled hearings on Tuesday to hear, respectively, from the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a group of businesses and leading environmental organizations that have come together to encourage action, and hear from experts on the economic impacts of climate change.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) recently announced her desire to have a bill out of Committee by the July 4th recess. In the Senate, staff to the top Democrat, Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA), of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has indicated "she intends to move a series of bills this year."
Bottom line: Action in both chambers is forth coming.
APPA Working with Reps. McNulty & Camp on Stand-Alone CREB bill
Reps. Jim McNulty and Dave Camp (R-MI), both members of the House Ways and Means Committee are working with APPA to develop a "message" bill on the Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB) program. While the text of the bill has not yet been released we expect that it will extend the program, increase the volume cap and possibly modify the definition of "governmental utilities," to apply to electric utilities that have an obligation to serve.
As you know, the CREB program was enacted in EPAct 2005 and provides financial incentive for consumer-owned utilities to invest in new renewable electricity generation facilities. It was authorized in EPAct 2005 at $800 million for 2 years, and extended for an additional year in 2007, adding $400 million in bonding authority.
Initial demand for the CREB program, far exceeded the amount of total program funding ($2.6 billion vs. $800 million) in 2006, and efforts to extend the program and eliminate or significantly increase the volume cap are underway.
NEPPA members will need to highlight this issue with their Member of Congress who sit on the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees. In the House that includes: Reps. Richard Neal (D-MA) and John Larson (D-CT), and in the Senate, Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME).