DLC and NDN Meetings

NDN

Senator Bingaman (D-NM) chaired the New Democratic Network (NDN) energy breakfast this morning. He told me he was looking forward to meet with Ken later in the day. He talked about how his Committee plans to proceed, beginning with the release today to Senators of a document that identifies issues that were included in both the Murkowski and Bingaman drafts of energy legislation. He hopes to make this the starting point for bipartisan comprehensive legislation.
Bob Simon, Committee Staff Director, told me he was interested in working with Enron.

After Sen. Bingaman departed, Reps. Cal Dooley (D-CA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Adam Smith (D-WA), and Rick Larsen (D-WA) talked about the New Dems energy plan. They restated their intent to focus on policy and not the rhetoric being spread by the Democratic Leadership. They also say they want a "goal" to reach, for instance, energy independence by 2020. I mentioned open access on the electricity grid as a mid-term energy policy goal.

Follow up: I spoke to Rep. John Larson's staff about our investment in fuel cell technology in Connecticut. They called and want to meet with us next Wednesday.

DLC

The DLC is currently considering energy policy and Peter Fox Penner is leading the drafting. They hope to have the plan developed and released in the next month or so. Their proposal will focus on the following issues:

The pre-California regulatory environment clearly did not work as it should. How can we improve FERC, state and local regulatory regimes to avoid another California.

Mandate a "Clean Quarter": Ensure that at least a quarter of all new energy production come from "clean" energy sources defined by low emissions output. The goal is to increase renewable energy, but it is unrealistic to deny the need for fossil fuels. So the DLC would look to mandate renewables and cleaner burning fossil fuels.

Encourage deregulation and competition, through support and transition funds. The goals is to ease the transition into deregulate markets and the volatility that often accompany such a transition. Create investment funds (like a Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) to make a move to competitive markets easier and less threatening.

Create a market to tradeable Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard units.

On transmission, the DLC would expand transmission by creating binding Regional Electricity Siting Compacts that would ease eminent domain issues.

4P and 3P trading programs. The DLC would support efforts to expand emissions trading beyond S02, to NO2 and Mercury (and possibly CO2). I spoke to Pat Shortridge and Lisa Jacobsen and will offer them up to the DLC as experts on these programs.

Full-scale reexamination of Nuclear as a viable energy source.

Encourage real-time pricing to avoid reliance on spot markets.

Mandate new buildings be constructed "smart" and provide incentives to encourages large industrials and buildings to outsource their energy needs.

Follow up: The DLC is going to look to Enron for ideas on how to structure these proposals over the coming weeks. Perhaps Rick Shapiro could spend some time with Peter Fox Penner and Will Marshall when he is in town next week.