Senate Energy Bill Passes Committee

In This Issue:

• Energy Bill: Senate energy bill passes Committee...
• Energy Policy: Final Clean Power Plan released...
• Grid Security:  Senate punts consideration of cyber information sharing bill...

Over three days (July 28-30), Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) successfully reported the "Energy Policy Modernization Act" from their panel in a 18-4 vote. Nearly 100 amendments were considered. 

The bill addresses energy efficiency as well as infrastructure issues including grid security, energy supply, and improvements to the hydropower licensing process.  It does not include a provision to ensure that public power utilities in regions with Regional Transmission Organizations can self-supply capacity resources, but APPA efforts continue in that regard. 

Of interest to public power, the Senate Committee considered the following items:  

Flake (R-AZ): Protects public power entities from disclosing critical electric infrastructure information under state and local disclosure laws.  Unexpectedly, Sen. Cantwell tried to strike the disclosure protection provision, but her amendment failed.  APPA supported the Flake amendment, and will work to allay Cantwell’s concerns before the bill moves to the Senate floor in the fall.

 

Capito (R-WV): To ensure that public power systems are covered by liability protection during activities authorized during grid emergencies.

  

King (I-ME): Would direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to study net metering.

King (I-ME): Would have added interconnection of distributed energy resources to PURPA’s "must consider" requirements, as well as required consideration of compensation criteria for DG resources.  Sen. King withdrew the measure, but plans to offer it again on the floor.

Risch (R-ID): The provision would have streamlined siting of renewable generation facilities on federal lands.  

Sanders (I-VT): Would have stated that climate change is real, caused by human activity, and should be addressed.  A second amendment would have provided loans and grants to low-income households and underserved areas to install community solar. Both failed.

Franken (D-MN): Would have required utility customers to increase their energy efficiency by 1.5% each year.  Failed 13-9. 

Capito (R-WV): Would have expedited and streamlined permitting and siting for oil and natural gas pipelines. 

Barrasso (R-WY): Would have increased the portion of funds states receive from the LWCF to at least 50% - a 10% increase. Failed 7-15.

In addition to reporting the larger energy bill, the Committee also approved the "Energy Savings and Industry Competitiveness Act" (S. 270) by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) by a vote of 20-2.  Even though most of the provisions of S. 720 were incorporated into the larger bill, it was approved separately in case the larger bill fails to move.   Separately, on Aug. 11, DOE published new energy efficiency rules for grid-enabled water heaters as a result of the April 30, 2015 passage of the Portman- Shaheen Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015. 

The bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration after the August recess.