FACTBOX - Major Provisions of US House Energy Bill
Date: 22-Apr-05
Country: USA
The Senate Energy Committee is scheduled to finish writing its version of an energy bill next month, which would be followed by a vote in the full Senate. Both versions of the legislation, once approved by each chamber, must be reconciled into a final bill.
Key elements of the House bill include the following:
OIL/GAS
* Opens Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling.
* Suspends federal royalty payments five years for drilling in Gulf of Mexico deep water of more than 400 meters.
* Earmarks $2 billion in royalties from federal Outer Continental Shelf for research in ultra-deepwater drilling.
* Eases environmental constraints to build or expand oil refineries in economically depressed areas.
* Expands the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by 300 million barrels to 1 billion barrels, and halts new shipments if US oil futures prices rise above $40 per barrel.
* Authorizes more than $3 billion in research for oil, gas and coal industries.
* Gives Federal Energy Regulatory Commission final say if localities object to new liquefied natural gas projects.
FUEL/TRANSPORTATION
* Limits product liability for makers of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a fuel additive and suspected carcinogen that has fouled groundwater in cities across the nation.
* Bans MTBE use by 2014 and gives more than $1.7 billion in transition aid for MTBE makers to switch to other products.
* Cuts number of special gasoline blends now required to ease air pollution in cities and regions.
* Requires at least 5 billion gallons of corn-blended ethanol be used in US gasoline supply by 2012.
* Offers $750 million in subsidies to build new ethanol production plants.
COAL
* Doubles funding to develop low-emission coal plants to $2.5 billion.
* Offers federally guaranteed loans for five petroleum coke plants and a coal gasification plant in West Virginia.
NUCLEAR ENERGY
* Extends expiring accident insurance protection for owners of nuclear power plants by 20 years.
* Spends $1.3 billion for experimental Idaho reactor that would also produce hydrogen fuel.
ELECTRICITY
* Sets mandatory reliability standards for the electric power grid to prevent a repeat of the August 2003 blackout that left 50 million people in the dark.
* Offers financial incentives to generate more electricity from solar, wind, biomass and geothermal sources.
MISCELLANEOUS
* Extends annual US daylight-saving time by two months to cut energy use.
* Extends deadline for cities downwind of polluting factories to comply with smog standards if states can prove that most pollution comes from outside their borders.
* Requires 20 percent cut in federal buildings' energy use by 2015.
* Authorizes more than $3 billion annually to help poor families pay winter heating bills.
