Now No Renewable Standard For Utilities, CAFE Increase In House Energy Bill - IHT

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To garner broader Democratic support, Pelosi scrapped proposed changes in the way royalties are collected from offshore federal oil and gas leases. Also dropped was a provision that would have made it harder for the federal government to designate nationally significant corridors for pipelines and electric power lines.

Pelosi, bowing to Democratic lawmakers in oil-producing regions, agreed to some changes in the way permits are issued for energy leases on federal land.

Congress two years ago gave new authority for the federal government to designate energy corridors to ease power grid congestion. The House Resources Committee, in its portion of the bill, had put severe restrictions on that authority, provisions the Democrats agreed Monday to scrap.


"The speaker has sought to bring about Democratic unity" on the energy package, said a Pelosi spokesman, Drew Hammill. The Democratic bill avoids, however, several of the toughest energy fights, by not including measures to increase automobile fuel economy, a mandate to use more ethanol as a substitute for gasoline, or to require electric utilities to use renewable fuels.

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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/31/america/NA-GEN-US-Congress-Energy.php

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1. Hmmm. Beefing up the grid doesn't come for free.