Broad

While the major commodity exchanges were divided over the effectiveness of broad-based position limits, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Tuesday indicated that the agency was clearly headed in this direction for trading in the energy futures markets.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) has introduced legislation giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) broad authority to regulate futures transactions involving energy commodities and to regulate credit default swaps, and bolstering the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to issue cease-and-desist orders and to authorize retroactive refunds for natural gas shippers.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last Wednesday released a new discussion draft of the electric transmission title of its broad-based energy bill, which would give FERC jurisdiction to site high-voltage transmission (345-kV or more) facilities when a state fails to act within one year from the filing of an application, imposes conditions that would “unreasonably interfere” with a project or denies an application.

The odds aren’t in favor of Congress passing broad-based climate change legislation and forwarding it to President Obama this year, an official with ConocoPhillips said Thursday.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee began its mark-up of a broad energy bill last Tuesday, focusing first on the less contentious issues — such as energy efficiency — and then moving to the meatier and more controversial issues following a two-week recess for Easter and Passover.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee begins mark-up of a broad energy bill Tuesday, focusing on the less contentious issues — such as energy efficiency — this week and then moving to the meatier and more controversial issues following a two-week recess for Easter and Passover.

The House late Tuesday passed a broad energy bill that would clear the way for drilling as close as 50 miles off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts if coastal state legislatures approve, as well as raise taxes on oil and gas producers by nearly $18 billion, accelerate leasing in Alaska, establish the first national renewable electricity standard and encourage the development of renewable energy and other alternative fuels.

House Republicans protested Tuesday when they were forced to begin debate on the Democrats’ broad energy bill only hours after getting their first glance at the 290-page measure. An up-or-down vote was expected late Tuesday on the measure that would lift the 26-year-old congressional moratorium on oil and natural gas drilling beyond 100 miles from coastlines.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Saturday the Democratic leadership plans to offer a broad energy bill in September that would open some closed portions of the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil and natural gas drilling. Instead of welcoming her remarks, however, House Republicans continued to be wary.