If the staff of the Senate Energy and Natural ResourcesCommittee fails to reach agreement today on two contentious areasin electricity restructuring — the extent of FERC jurisdictionover interstate transmission and whether to include a renewableportfolio standard — the Democratic and Republican committeeleaders, may drop efforts to pass a comprehensive bill this year infavor of a stripped-down measure addressing reliability.

If the two issues aren’t resolved prior to the committee’sbusiness meeting Tuesday, “Sen. [Jeff] Bingaman and I may turn toSen. [Slade] Gorton’s legislation on reliability [S.2071],” whichwould provide for enforceable reliability rules for the bulk powersystem, Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) said in a preparedstatement. The bill also would include “consensus language on statesavings,” he noted.

Murkowski made the remark after the committee released a jointdiscussion draft of the legislation in which there was bipartisanagreement on a number of issues — such as stranded cost recovery,termination of the mandatory purchase and sale requirements of thePublic Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, state reciprocity,public benefits fund and grid interconnection. “The draftrepresents significant agreement in many areas, but the differencesthat remain are significant,” Murkowski noted.

Murkowski reportedly favors giving states jurisdiction overtransmission that is bundled with retail sales transactions, whileBingaman supports awarding FERC sole jurisdiction over bundled andunbundled transmission. The two lawmakers also are split on amandate for renewable fuels, with Murkowski dead set against anytype of mandate and Bingaman in favor of one. A number of issuesweren’t included in the discussion draft “either for jurisdictionalreasons or because there was an agreement that the issue was bestreserved for consideration by the full Senate.”

Whatever transpires today, “I believe this will be the last timethe Senate committee will address electricity dereg legislationthis year,” said a Capitol Hill aide.

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