By Debra DeHaney-Howard
May 12, 2003

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the Energy Policy Act of 2003, S. 14, on April 30 by a vote of 13 to 10. The action largely passed on a party line vote, clears the way for Senate floor action.

The legislation, which was introduced by Committee Chairman Pete Dominici (NM), encompasses provisions on renewable energy and conservation, construction of a natural-gas pipeline, lifts federal royalties from deep-water gas drilling, encourages energy production on federal lands, and authorizes $1.8 billion for President Bush's initiative to develop hydrogen fuel cells to power automobiles. The bill also includes an electricity restructuring title that contains language that delays the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's "standard market design" (SMD) rule — to standardize the national power grid — by two years. It also contains language that does not grant FERC eminent domain power to approve transmission lines, eliminates a provision on regional transmission organizations, and repeals the 1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUCHA).

In an effort to move the bill to the Senate floor, several contentious items, including climate change, drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wild Life Refuge, Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFƒ) standards were left out. These issues are expected to be introduced as amendments during the full Senate debate for the bill.

The committee adopted a few amendments, but rejected several that were brought forward. Several others were discussed but left for final deliberation during the Senate floor debate. One major amendment — Renewable Portfolio Standards — offered by Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM) the committee's ranking Democrat, was defeated along party lines by a vote of 11 to 12. Senator Bingaman's amendment would have required electric utilities, including public power utilities to produce 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by the year 2020.

The bill faces a number of amendments and revisions on the Senate floor. It will be merged with a $15.7 billion energy tax bill, S. 597, approved on April 2 by the Senate Finance Committee.