By Debra DeHaney-Howard
March 17, 2003

House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman Joe Barton (TX) unveiled a draft comprehensive energy bill on February 28. The 280'page draft energy bill includes some provisions from last year's House'passed energy legislation with the notable addition of an electricity restructuring title. Contentious issues such as drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), climate change, ethanol mandates, renewable portfolio standards and tax incentives are not included in the draft bill, but could be added at a later date.

Barton's draft energy bill includes provisions on energy efficiency and conservation; reauthorization of the Renewable Energy Production Incentive — which provides payment for production of certain renewables and expands the program to include landfill gas; oil and gas production; hydro licensing reform; nuclear energy; Department of Energy research programs such as renewable energy and distributed generation; clean coal technology and vehicle fuel economy — which authorizes spending for President Bush's FreedomCar, a program designed to develop hydrogen'powered cars and the hydrogen fuel initiative.

Under the energy efficiency and conservation title, the bill reauthorizes and increases funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the weatherization assistance program, and a low'income community energy efficiency pilot program.

The draft energy bill also includes an electricity restructuring provision, which seeks to improve investment for electric transmission construction and "expedite the critical transmission lines" identified by the Department of Energy (DOE). Among other things, it gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) eminent domain authority to site electric transmission lines if, after one year, a state is unable or refuses to site the line, strips FERC of its existing authority to review mergers, and grants FERC "partial jurisdiction" over municipally owned utilities, the Bonneville Power Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority to give federal regulators more authority to move transmission'owning utilities toward regional transmission organizations (RTOs), as part of FERCs attempt to standardize market design and consolidate transmission management.

Barton's draft energy bill also repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, which requires states to consider uniform standards for net metering service; and authorizes an additional $5 million to help the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration implement the federal fuel economy standards for model years 2004 to 2006. It also directs the National Academy of Sciences to study the feasibility and effects of significantly reducing the use of fuel for automobiles by the 2012 model year and recommend alternatives to the corporate average fuel economy standards (CAFƒ).

Senate Energy Panel Approves Joseph Kelliher For Seat on FERC

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved on March 12 the nomination of Joseph Kelliher to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), by a vote of 18'2.

Kelliher, a senior policy adviser to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, was nominated by President Bush in January 2003 to fill the vacant Republican slot on the five'member commission at FERC. On March 11 President Bush nominated New Mexico School of Law Professor and former Chairwoman of the New Mexico Public Service Commission Suedeen Kelly to fill the open Democratic seat at FERC.