Lindsey Graham 'Floating' Utility-Only Bill in Senate

Greenwire reported that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who abruptly dropped out of the tripartite Senate effort to revive a comprehensive climate change bill in late April, was "floating yet another alternative to price carbon emissions by focusing on just power plants." The utility sector is "most in need of a market signal for pricing greenhouse gases," the newsletter reported, adding that leaving other sectors out of a bill could also help win additional Senate votes.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass, who along with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-CT, co-authored the latest draft unveiled in mid-May, was insisting that legislative efforts remain focused around a comprehensive bill. But other senators beyond Graham "also have expressed an interest in a less sweeping plan for controlling greenhouse gases," Greenwire reported.

EEI's Brian Wolff, senior vice president for external affairs, said the Kerry-Lieberman draft has encountered headwinds in overcoming "the gas tax" label, adding that the transportation component of the bill "was really going to be hard for people politically." Wolff told Greenwire that there have not been any discussions with member companies yet about the power plant-only option, adding "it's not been baked at all."

EEI also plans calls to key senators in the coming weeks on the Kerry-Lieberman bill, which was welcomed by the association "because it included valuable allocations that help the industry compensate customers for otherwise higher energy prices," Wolff was quoted as saying. "We've been focused on each legislative effort, whether it's the House effort or the Senate effort, on what we can do to improve it and what we can do to support it," Wolff said.