Senate Energy Action Expected Before Memorial Day
On April 11, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced that he hopes to have energy legislation on the Senate floor before the Memorial Day recess, which begins May 28. Today, in an effort to move this plan along, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced the "Energy Efficiency Promotion Act," a measure that offers loan guarantees for fuel efficient auto manufacturers and suppliers, codifies the Department of Energy’s appliance efficiency standards and streamlines the current rulemaking process so DOE can act more quickly on future efficiency standards. The bill, however, does not include a renewable portfolio standard (RPS).
A hearing on the “Energy Efficiency Promotion Act” is scheduled for Monday, April 23, with a mark-up expected shortly thereafter. In introducing the bill, Bingaman said he plans to send it to the floor along with carbon capture research and development and biofuels legislation, possibly similar to bills (S. 962 & S. 987 respectively) he recently introduced on these issues, in the next two to three weeks. He also said he intends to introduce his climate change bill "in the next several weeks."
Regarding an RPS, is also planning on introducing legislation soon that would require utitlies to obtain 15% of their generation from renewables by 2020. The Bingaman RPS is expected to be based on his legislation from the last Congress, which included a threshhold that would limit the requirement to approximately 22 of the largest public power systems. The provision passed the Senate but was dropped during House-Senate conference on the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Chairman Neal Announces Hearing on Energy and Tax Policy
On April 19, House Ways and Means Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) will continue hearings on energy and tax policy, with a session that focuses on the current framework of tax incentives encouraging the development of alternative sources of energy.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Neal said, “We need to know which current tax incentives are working and which are not so that we can take that knowledge and apply it to future policy decisions. This hearing will take a deeper look into our tax code to find out if there are ways to update and improve existing tax incentives that encourage the development of alternative sources of energy.”
Members of the Committee are in the process of developing an energy tax package, which could be rolled into a larger energy/climate bill and considered by the full House, possibly as early as July or early September. The Senate Finance Committee may consider energy tax legislation even sooner.
NEPPA Members Encouraged to Garner Co-sponsors on H.R 1821, the Clean Renewable Energy for Public Power Bill
In an effort to garner board bi-partisan support, NEPPA members have been requested to contact their House members to co-sponsor H.R. 1821, the Clean Renewable Energy for Public Power Act of 2007, which would extend the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) program for 5 years, among other things. The bill was introduced by Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN), both members of the House Ways and Means Committee. Morgan Meguire has sent an e-mail to NEPPA’s Congressional delegation requesting their support, but individual contact is encouraged. Large numbers of cosponsors help indicate the depth of support for the legislation to the Chairman, who largely controls the contents of the bill.
H.R. 1821 provides consumer-owned utilities with an important incentive for investing in renewable generation, particularly as they struggle to meet regional climate initiatives and state renewable portfolio standards. The bill improves upon the existing CREB program by removing the dollar volume cap, which is currently $400 million annually, extending the program for 5 years, and modifying the definition of governmental entity to ensure that utilities with an obligation to serve their communities will receive an appropriate share of the allocation. In addition, the bill makes a number of technical changes to the CREBs program to improve its efficiency and ability to attract public power investment in renewable energy projects.