BACK | HOME

NASEO News

September 2003

Hawaii to Host Asia-Pacific Homeland Security Summit

Posted: September 30, 2003

The State of Hawaii is organizing an Inaugural Asia-Pacific Homeland Security Summit and Exposition, November 19 - 21, 2003. Of particular interest to NASEO members will be the Infrastructure Protection, Energy, and Information Technology Track. Attendees will preview critical infrastructure protection methodologies, explore best practices surrounding risk assessments and strategies, and identify security and Homeland Defense technological innovations.

The conference will include such speakers as Admiral Thomas Fargo, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM); Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Senior Visiting Fellow, Institute of Defense & Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological University, and Author Inside Al Qaeda:Global Network of Terror; Lieutenant General William James Lennox. Jr., Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point; Dr. Charles E. Morrison, President of East-West Center; Secretary Tom Ridge (Invited to Speak), Department of Homeland Security; Lieutenant General (Ret.) Henry Stackpole, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies; Mr. R. James Woolsey, Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton and former Director of Central Intelligence Agency.

For more information visit www.scd.state.hi.us/summit.

NASEO Provides Comments in Support of Certain Provisions of Energy Bills

Posted: September 26, 2003

In a letter to Chairmen Domenici and Tauzin, NASEO provided its comments in support of certain provisions of the energy bills.  The NASEO letter praises the Chairmen for their effort to develop a balanced national energy policy, and supports such provisions as:  1) reauthorization of the State Energy Program (SEP); 2) reauthorization of the Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program; 3) reauthorization of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program; 4) authorization of a new "Energy Star" appliance rebate program; and 5) authorization of a new public buildings energy efficiency program. To access the letter click here.

October is Energy Awareness Month

Posted: September 24, 2003

In recognition of Energy Awareness Month, NASEO suggests visiting the new Smart Energy Campaign Resources web page established by DOE's Rebuild America Program. The page outlines activities to aid in continuing down the path of smart energy use. To learn more, please visit the Smart Energy Campaign Resources page by clicking here.

Hawaii Report Evaluates Gasoline Price Cap Legislation

Posted: September 10, 2003

A new report from Hawaii evaluates the state's Act 77 gas price cap legislation and recommends against gas caps, while advocating increased authority to collect and analyze price and volume information from oil companies. The report includes an extensive analysis of the petroleum industry in Hawaii, as well as analysis of gas caps elsewhere.

The report was produced under a mandate by Hawaii’s Act 77, which directs the State of Hawaii, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) to conduct an expert comprehensive, empirical examination of Hawaii’s petroleum market and policy analysis of the efficacy and appropriateness of the Act 77 price cap mechanisms. Among the Act’s several major provisions, the gasoline price caps are scheduled for implementation on July 1, 2004. To obtain a copy of the report click here.

NASEO Publishes New SEP Success Story and Metrics Document

Posted: September 10, 2003

Relying on the great results of the recent Oak Ridge National Laboratory SEP Metrics study and information collected from a number of State Energy Offices, NASEO has prepared a four-page publication describing the value of the State Energy Program. The document includes ORNL data, as well as information about other important "non energy saving" activities the State and Territory Energy Offices conduct using SEP and State funds. The report will be distributed at the upcoming NASEO Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, and is available in pdf format by clicking here.

Energy Conferees in House and Senate Named

Posted: September 8, 2003

House and Senate leadership have named energy bill conferees. Chairmen Tauzin and Domenici anticipate presenting an agreement to conferees for their consideration by October 1. In their view, a conference report should be ready for House and Senate consideration. Following are the conferees:

Senate: Domenici, (NM), Nickles (OK), Craig (ID), Thomas (WY), Campbell (CO), Grassley (IA), Lott (MS), Bingaman (NM) , Dorgan (ND) , Graham (FL), Wyden (OR), Johnson (SD), Baucus (MT).

House: Tauzin, Bilirakis, Barton, Upton, Stearns, Gillmor, Shimkus, Dingell, Waxman, Markey, Boucher, Rush, Goodlatte, Frank Lucas, Stenholm, Hunter, Curt Weldon, Skelton, McKeon, Sam Johnson, George Miller, Oxley, Ney, Waters, Tom Davis, Murphy, Tierney, Sensenbrenner, Lamar Smith, Conyers, Pombo, Cubin, Rahall, Kind, Boehlert, Biggert, Hall, Costello, Lampson, Don Young, Petri, Oberstar, Thomas, McCrery, and Rangel.

Republican staff from the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committees have had preliminary meetings to look at the legislative lay of the land. They will continue to meet several times a week. Staff has preliminarily identified Tier I and Tier II issues. The majority of the issues are Tier II issues that can likely be resolved on the staff level. The Republicans hope that a substantial number of these issues will be resolved in the next 10 days.

Tier I issues will be addressed by members later in the conference. Those issues will include, but are not limited to, electricity, ANWR, CAFÉ, RPS, Climate Change, liability provisions in ethanol and the Alaska pipeline incentives. Tier I issues may also include Indian energy and hydropower–depending upon how staff discussions on those issues evolve.

Senate Republican conferees believe S. 14, as amended, largely represents the current will of the senate regarding energy. The Senate held 18 roll call votes on the bill this summer. In all cases, the underlying provisions prevailed. Hence, Chairman Domenici believes S. 14, as amended, and his electricity amendment most accurately reflect the senate’s position on energy.

Regarding electricity. As most of you know, Senator Domenici and Senator Shelby reached an agreement regarding SMD and RTOs in the final hours before the August recess. This agreement was essential to the unanimous consent agreement (UC) on the energy bill. That agreement is as follows: FERC cannot implement SMD until Dec. 31, 2006. FERC cannot mandate participation in RTOs until Dec. 31, 2006. According to Chairman Domenici, nothing in the agreement in July can be interpreted to infer that FERC has authority to mandate participation in RTOs AFTER Dec. 31, 2006. Obviously, this is highly controversial.

The above agreement will be the Senate Republican conferees’ position going into conference. This agreement was not reached lightly. It has not changed in the wake of the black-out.

Chairman Domenici’s position on ANWR is that he strongly supports opening ANWR for energy development. If he sees any possibility for including ANWR in the conference report in a way that ensures the 60 votes needed for cloture, he will do so. We likely won’t know until the final hours of the conference whether the provisions in the conference report can draw 60 votes if ANWR is included. Hence, ANWR will remain in play until the final hours of the conference.

Chairman Domenici also agreed as part of the energy bill UC agreement in late July to abandon his nuclear energy loan guarantees and purchase agreements in favor of a different avenue for incentivizing the nuclear energy industry. The new provisions are being crafted. They will be addressed later in the conference.

It is Chairman Domenici’s position that climate change should not be addressed in the context of the energy bill. He retains that position going into conference, though there had been a commitment made to Senators’ McCain and Liebrman to debate the issue this fall. It is worth noting that the House has a similar position.

In light of the August blackout and the hearings last week, the issue of federal eminent domain will be a critical issue in conference. If you have questions, please contact Jeff Genzer at jcg@dwgp.com.

DOE Program Offers Lowest Life-Cycle-Cost Air Conditioners

Posted: September 8, 2003

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has joined forces with air conditioning manufacturers to bring higher efficiency rooftop air conditioners to the market. Public- and private-sector buyers may purchase these units at advantageous prices through DOE’s Unitary Air Conditioner (UAC) program.
Five units are available, with cooling capacities ranging from 88,000 to 120,000 Btu per hour, and Energy Efficiency Ratios ranging from 11.0 to 13.5. All units meet or exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® efficiency levels, Federal Energy Management Program recommendations, and Tier 2 levels established by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency's High-Efficiency Commercial Air Conditioning initiative. An in-depth article on these units is available by clicking here.

For more information, visit www.pnl.gov/uac/ or contact the manufacturers directly by calling Global Energy Group at 727-372-3939 or Lennox Industries at 972-497-5160. The UAC website includes a Cost Estimator Tool that helps buyers compare the energy and economic performance of high-efficiency and standard-efficiency air conditioners under varying conditions.

Congressman Tauzin Asks NASEO for Input on Power Blackout

Posted: September 2, 2003

In an August 20, 2003, letter to NASEO, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Billy Tauzin asked for NASEO's input on a number of questions related to power reliability and the recent power blackout in the Northeast and Midwest. The questions from the Chairman cover issues ranging from our views on the severity of blackout to thoughts on contributing conditions to suggestions for improving reliability. NASEO's response Chairman Tauzin can be accessed by clicking here. For more information, please contact Jeff Genzer at jcg@dwgp.com.

Three Governors To Testify On Power Blackouts

Posted: September 2, 2003

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) released the tentative witness lists for a two-day full committee hearing, entitled "Blackout 2003: How Did It Happen and Why?" late last week. The hearing will be web cast via the Committee’s home page on Wednesday, September 3, at 10:00 a.m. and will continue on Thursday, September 4th. At 9:30 a.m. Following are a few of the many witnesses scheduled to testify:

• The Honorable Spencer Abraham, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
• The Honorable George Pataki, Governor, State of New York, Albany, NY
• The Honorable Jennifer Granholm, Governor, State of Michigan, Lansing, MI
• The Honorable Bob Taft, Governor, State of Ohio, Columbus, OH
• The Honorable Patrick Wood, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• Michehl Gent, President, North American Electric Reliability Council
• Brantley Eldridge, Executive Manager, East Central Area Reliability Council, OH
• Charles Durkin, Jr., Chairman, Northeast Power Coordinating Council, New York, NY
• Peter Lark, Chairman, Michigan Public Service Commission, Lansing, MI
• Alan Schriber, Chairman, Ohio Public Utilities Commission, Columbus, OH
• William Flynn, Chairman, New York State Public Service Commission, Albany, NY

For more information and to view the entire list of the witnesses visit the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s homepage.

< back to top >