Congress may be stepping up its slow pace on legislation to spur energy efficiency and use of renewable power sources. The Senate passed an energy measure in June, and the House approved its version in August. Lawmakers didn’t seem to be making much headway in reconciling the two bills, but that may be changing. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Nov. 26, “We have made significant progress toward completing this package and hope to have a final agreement next week.”
That would require bridging gaps on key points. The House bill would require utilities to get 15% of their retail power from renewable resources, like wind and solar, by 2020. The Senate bill has no such provision. Environmentalists like the House language, but the Edison Electric Institute, which represents utilities, doesn’t. “Our industry is very much in favor of renewables,” says EEI spokesman Jim Owen. “The thing that we’re opposed to is just a federal, one-size-fits-all [standard], particularly at a time when the states are filling that void.” He says more than 20 states now have renewables standards.