FACTBOX - Comparison of US Senate, House energy bills
Date: 28-Jun-02
Country: USA
The two chambers of the U.S. Congress approved sharply different energy packages, and 61 negotiators will spend the next few weeks trying to blend both versions together. A compromise energy bill must be approved by the House and Senate and be signed into law by President George W. Bush.
The following table summarizes key points in the Senate and House energy bills.
* TAX BREAKS
Senate - Give $14 billion in overall tax breaks, evenly divided between conservation and production incentives. House - Give $33 billion in overall tax breaks, mostly weighted toward traditional oil, natural gas and coal industries.
* ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (ANWR)
Senate - Continue ban on drilling throughout ANWR's entire 19 million acres (7.7 million hectares) House - Open 1.5 million acres (607,500 hectares) of ANWR to drilling, with 2,000 acres affected at any one time.
* OIL/GAS DRILLING
Senate - Provide $3.2 billion in tax breaks to encourage oil and gas exploration, including shale oil and coal seam gas.
House - Suspend potentially billions of dollars in royalty payments by oil companies for drilling in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico; provides $1.1 billion in tax incentives for marginal wells; offers $3/barrel tax credit for low-volume wells when energy prices are below $15/barrel.
* VEHICLE MILEAGE STANDARDS
Senate - Order Transportation Department to review effect of higher mileage requirements on vehicle safety and autoworker jobs; exempts pick-up trucks from any future increases in fuel efficiency requirements.
House - Order Transportation Department to reduce U.S. fuel use by 5 billion gallons from 2004 to 2010, an amount equal to a two-week supply of U.S. motor fuel.
* ELECTRICITY DEREGULATION
Senate - Gives Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the power to assess penalties for companies charging unfair electricity prices and gives FERC authority over the Tennessee Valley Authority. Also gives FERC more authority over electricity company mergers, access to utility accounting records and the ability to enforce reliability standards for regional transmission organizations.
House - Bill did not address electricity issues.
* GLOBAL WARMING
Senate - Continue voluntary corporate reporting of greenhouse gases for 5 years but allows Environmental Protection Agency to make reporting mandatory after that.
House - Bill did not address climate change issues.
* ETHANOL
Senate - Triple the amount of ethanol to be blended into gasoline to 5 billion gallons/year in 2012; triple the amountof electricity generated from renewables such as solar and wind by 2020.
House - Order study of renewable fuels program.
* RENEWABLE ENERGY
Senate - Require electricity suppliers to generate 10 percent of their power from renewable energy sources by 2020. House - Bill did not set requirement.
* HOME APPLIANCES
Senate - Set new efficiency standards to save 13 quadrillion BTUs of energy by 2020, require air conditioners to use less energy. House - Provide tax credits to consumers who buy solar water heaters, fuel cell vehicles and energy efficiency improvements to homes.
* COAL
Senate - Offer $1.9 billion in tax incentives for new technology to reduce pollution from coal-fired power plants.
House - Offer $3.3 billion in tax breaks to encourage cleaner coal technology.
* HEATING AID FOR POOR FAMILIES
Senate - Boost annual Low Income Assistance and State Energy Program grants to $3.4 billion; raise weatherization program to $500 million in 2005.
House - Boost annual Low Income Assistance and State Energy Program grants to $3 billion; expand funding for weatherization program.