Hill

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Tuesday received the White House nomination of Pennsylvania regulator Nora M. Brownell to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, according to a spokesman for the panel. This came less than a day after the committee received the Bush administration’s nomination of Texas regulator Patrick Wood III to the Commission.

As California suffered through two consecutive days of daytime darkness last week, FERC regulators remained as divided as ever over whether to impose price caps on wholesale power sales in the West to help alleviate the continuing crisis.

As California was plunged into its second consecutive day ofdaytime darkness on Tuesday, FERC regulators remained as divided asever on whether to impose price caps on wholesale power sales inthe West to prevent continuing blackouts and price hikes thissummer.

The White House energy task force plans to forwardrecommendations for a national energy policy to Capitol Hill inearly April, according to a high-level staff official for the taskforce.

The White House energy task force plans to forwardrecommendations for a national energy policy to Capitol Hill inearly April, according to a top staff official for the task force.

Rep. Tony Hall (D-OH) has introduced legislation to create anatural gas reserve to help stabilize the market during times oflow supply and high prices. The proposed reserve would be modeledafter the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and the Northeast HomeHeating Oil reserve, the latter of which allows heating oilsupplies to be drawn down during times of tight supply.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced legislation on CapitolHill last week that would give the Department of Energy (DOE) theauthority to overstep FERC by setting an interim regional price capor cost-based rates on wholesale power transactions in 11 westernstates.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is preparing legislation that wouldcall for a price cap to be imposed on wholesale electricitytransactions in the western region during emergency situations, anaide to the senator said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is preparing legislation that wouldcall for a price cap to be imposed on wholesale electricitytransactions in the western region during emergency situations, anaide to the senator said.