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Waxman dethrones Dingell as chairman
Patrick O’Connor, Politico
California Rep. Henry A. Waxman on Thursday officially dethroned longtime Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, upending a seniority system that has governed Democratic politics in the House for decades.
In a secret ballot vote in the Cannon Caucus Room, House Democrats ratified an earlier decision by the Steering and Policy Committee to replace the 82-year-old Dingell with his 69-year-old rival. The vote was 137-122 in favor of Waxman.
The ascension of Waxman, a wily environmentalist, recasts a committee that Dingell has chaired since 1981 with an eye toward protecting the domestic auto industry in his native Michigan. The Energy and Commerce Committee has principal jurisdiction over many of President-elect Barack Obama’s top legislative priorities, including energy, the environment and health care.
(20 November 2008)
This is a BIG change. -BA
Former Clinton official Ballentine discusses impact of new administration on negotiations
Monica Trauzzi, OnPoint, E&E TV
As President-elect Obama begins to make his Cabinet selections, many questions remain as to how he will specifically address climate and energy during his first year in office.
During today’s OnPoint, Roger Ballentine, president of Green Strategies and the former chairman of the White House Climate Change Task Force during the Clinton administration, gives his perspective on how Obama may choose to handle climate change in the early days of his administration.
Ballentine talks about the impact of the credit crunch on investors’ willingness to move forward on green projects. He also discusses China’s recent economic stimulus package and how it may affect investments in the clean energy sector.
(20 November 2008)
Surprise Drop in Power Use Delivers Jolt to Utilities
Rebecca Smith, Wall Street Journal
An unexpected drop in U.S. electricity consumption has utility companies worried that the trend isn’t a byproduct of the economic downturn, and could reflect a permanent shift in consumption that will require sweeping change in their industry.
Numbers are trickling in from several large utilities that show shrinking power use by households and businesses in pockets across the country. Utilities have long counted on sales growth of 1% to 2% annually in the U.S., and they created complex operating and expansion plans to meet the needs of a growing population.
“We’re in a period where growth is going to be challenged,” says Jim Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy Corp. in Charlotte, N.C.
The data are early and incomplete, but if the trend persists, it could ripple through companies’ earnings and compel major changes in the way utilities run their businesses. Utilities are expected to invest $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion by 2030 to modernize their electric systems and meet future needs, according to an industry-funded study by the Brattle Group. However, if electricity demand is flat or even declining, utilities must either make significant adjustments to their investment plans or run the risk of building too much capacity. That could end up burdening customers and shareholders with needless expenses…
(21 November 2008)
