House

The U.S. House on Aug. 12 passed a bill with major implications for the power generation industry, joining the U.S. Senate in supporting the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The bill, which now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature, includes major provisions to combat climate change, including support for a variety of clean energy […]

Legislative scrutiny of the energy industry have picked up of late. Here are practical steps from law firm K&L Gates that your company could take to prepare for congressional investigations.

Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House that would expand the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) to energy storage technologies has gained the backing of major trade groups  representing the solar, hydropower, and wind sectors. The Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act (H.R. 2096), introduced on April 4 by Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), […]

President Trump wants to provide financial support to struggling coal and nuclear power plants. He’s told the Department of Energy (DOE) to make it happen. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, along with commissioners from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), made it clear June 12 they don’t support federal government intervention […]

Lawmakers, industry, and government entities, including the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), this week released a string of measures responding to mounting cybersecurity attacks by state-sponsored actors. A Revised Cybersecurity Framework On April 16, the Commerce Department’s NIST, a federal standards laboratory, released an updated version of […]

The U.S. House of Representatives on November 2 proposed a tax bill that would phase out the wind energy production tax credit (PTC), extend a tax credit for the nuclear power industry, add credits for geothermal and fuel cell programs, and end a tax credit for the purchase of electric vehicles. Wind energy proponents decried […]

The U.S. House has introduced bipartisan legislation to promote the commercial deployment of technologies to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from power plants and industrial facilities and use it for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or geologic storage. The Carbon Capture Act introduced on September 13 by House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) along with 29 co-sponsors […]

A bipartisan bill extending a production tax credit (PTC) for advanced nuclear power facilities passed the U.S. House on a voice vote on June 20. The bill, introduced by Congressman Tom Rice (R-S.C.), seeks to give facilities that use novel nuclear power technologies more investment certainty. The nuclear PTC was established under the Energy Policy […]

Witnesses at a Congressional hearing raised concerns about the complexity, costs, legality, and feasibility of the 3,900 final rules published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the Obama administration. A large portion of those rules affect the power sector, but none are more contentious than the Clean Power Plan, regulatory and citizen interest experts […]

Subcommittees of the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate separately advanced appropriations bills that lay out funding priorities for the Department of Energy (DOE) and other energy-related measures for 2017. The House Energy and Water Subcommittee, a panel of the Appropriations Committee, passed a $37.4 billion bill to fund the DOE as well […]

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed, with bipartisan support, a bill that slackens emissions limits for power plants that burn coal refuse. The Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment (SENSE) Act passed the House with a 231–183 vote on March 15. However, the White House has said it strongly opposes the bill (H.R. […]

Congressional efforts to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) contentious rule asserting federal authority over small bodies of water were derailed on Jan. 21. Senate Republicans voted 52–40, failing to override the president’s veto of the so-called “Clean Water Rule”—also “Waters of the United States” (or WOTUS) well short of the 60 necessary votes. Clean […]

The U.S. Senate has approved the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA), controversial legislation intended to block the deluge of cyberattacks by opening up communication channels between the private sector and federal agencies.   Senate Bill 754 introduced in March by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and co-sponsored by Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) passed the Senate by a […]

Though the U.S. Senate voted 64–29 this week to renew the charter of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im), the House may adjourn for its summer break without taking action on the issue.  Congress let the Ex-Im bank’s charter lapse for the first time in its 81 years of continuous operation on June […]

The U.S. House of Representatives on July 23 passed by a 258–166 vote a coal ash bill that industry and states say is much-needed, but which the White House has threatened to veto.  The Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act of 2015 (H.R. 1734) sponsored by Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) seeks to implement standards finalized […]

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed ozone rule came under scrutiny in two U.S. House of Representatives hearings held during the past week.  The House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s subcommittee on energy and power on June 12 heard testimony on the rule from Janet McCabe, the EPA’s acting assistant administrator for the Office of […]

The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 that cleared Congress last week and was presented to President Obama on Monday has the backing of automation organizations.  The bill was one of four cybersecurity measures passed—without much debate and by voice vote—by Congress before the 113th session came to a close on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Sen. John […]

The Republicans seized full control of Congress on Tuesday, bagging the six seats necessary to snatch the Senate away from the Democrats—and leaving several Obama administration energy-related initiatives in a fog.  With most election results in, Republicans have control of at least 52 Senate seats, snaring key seats in Iowa, North Carolina, Colorado, Arkansas, South […]

The past week saw a flurry of Congressional hearings probing how the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed carbon pollution rules will affect grid reliability and the economy.  On Reliability  The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday summoned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) four sitting commissioners and future chair Norman Bay to testify on […]

The White House on Wednesday threatened to veto a proposed $34 billion House bill setting FY 2015 spending for the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers, saying it “significantly underfunds” investments to develop clean energy technologies.  The 2015 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. […]

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 266–150 to pass a bill that cuts federal red tape and accelerates liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe and other allies. The Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act (H.R. 6) authored by Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) now moves to the Senate. Experts suggest it has a […]

Lawmakers in the House and Senate on Wednesday introduced identical bills that would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the authority to issue emergency orders to protect the grid from physical, cyber, electromagnetic pulse and other threats and vulnerabilities. The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense (GRID) Act was introduced separately by Rep. Henry A. […]

“No industry stays static over time. Change is inevitable,” said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) John Norris in a house subcommittee hearing today. For the electric sector, he said in prepared remarks, “The time of incremental change is clearly over.” The Dec. 5 hearing before the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Energy and Power was […]