Lashed

Energy billionaire T. Boone Pickens on Wednesday lashed out at recent U.S. oil import levels and urged Congress to reduce the nation’s foreign oil dependency.

Citing the need for a national clean energy standard, NRG Energy Inc. CEO David Crane lashed out (again) Wednesday at what he calls the “tyranny of natural gas” as part of his pitch for Congress to consider not only a national renewable energy standard, but a clean energy standard including all zero-emission options, such as nuclear generating plants.

A business-labor coalition in the Pacific Northwest has lashed out at environmental organization Columbia Riverkeeper (CRK) for allegedly working covertly in a recent anti-liquefied natural gas (LNG) local election. CRK’s work supposedly led to the narrow recall of one of five members of the Clatsop County (OR) Commission, a majority of which has supported building an LNG receiving terminal along the Columbia River.

In what could be part of the prelims to bigger, harder-hitting fights, Nevada Consumer Advocate Eric Witkoski in March has publicly lashed out at Sierra Pacific Resources’ two utilities, alleging possible shoddy maintenance practices in the north and an excessive general rate increase request in the south. Meanwhile, the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that regulates the utilities has been mostly quiet.

The Wilderness Society lashed out Thursday at Bush Administration plans to expand oil and gas drilling in protected areas, calling for measures aimed at conservation rather than “drilling America first.”

The beleaguered California independent electricity grid operatorlashed out at a recent state report to the governor on thecontinuing electricity crisis in its own submittal to the state’schief executive on Tuesday.