Republican

The staffs of House and Senate Republican negotiators were expected to work throughout Friday night to “hammer out the details” of the remaining sticking points to a broad energy bill in time for a final conference committee session possibly as early as Monday.

The staffs of House and Senate Republican negotiators were expected to work throughout Friday night to “hammer out the details” of the remaining sticking points to a broad energy bill in time for a final conference committee session possibly as early as Monday.

The Senate is expected to take up consideration of a Republican-crafted comprehensive energy package on Monday (May 5), with a vote to come within two to three weeks, according to Capitol Hill observers.

The Senate is expected to take up consideration of a Republican-crafted comprehensive energy package next Monday, with a vote to come within two to three weeks, according to Capitol Hill observers.

Republican lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representatives last Thursday introduced legislation based on the Bush administration’s “Clear Skies” initiative, which would create a mandatory program to reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and mercury by setting a national cap on each pollutant.

The sole remaining Republican appointee on the five-member California Public Utilities Commission, Henry Duque, received a four-week extension to his term to have time to file an appeal of an earlier ruling regarding alleged conflict-of-interest violations involving his ownership of telecommunications stock of a company the CPUC regulates. The extension was granted despite an earlier court ruling recommending his removal from the state regulatory panel.

Republican and Democratic senators Tuesday drew lines in the sand over key amendments to strike a federal mandate for renewable energy from the omnibus energy bill (S. 517), and to regulate trading of over-the-counter (OTC) energy derivatives.

Alaska Republican Sen. Frank Murkowski vowed to amend the Senate energy bill before the end of winter to better ensure that his fellow Alaskans get a fair shake in any gas pipeline deal that comes out of the legislation. Murkowski said he wanted to include a ban to prevent producers from pursuing an “over-the-top” pipeline route, which would bypass most of the state by crossing the Beaufort Sea and then heading down the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to connect with the pipeline grid in Alberta.

Alaska Republican Sen. Frank Murkowski vowed to amend the Senate energy bill before the end of winter to better ensure that his fellow Alaskans get a fair shake in any gas pipeline deal that comes out of the legislation. Murkowski said he wanted to include a ban to prevent producers from pursuing an “over-the-top” pipeline route, which would bypass most of the state by crossing the Beaufort Sea and then heading down the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to connect with the pipeline grid in Alberta.