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With this action in the Senate, it seems to me that advocates
for energy efficiency and renewable energy should oppose action on the energy package
this year, make it a campaign issue this fall to strengthen our position in the
House, and make sure that the utility companies can’t get what they want unless
it is coupled to a strong efficiency and renewable package. It will be better
to wait and get a good package in the next session than to lose all leverage
and get a weak package in this session. Douglas Jester From: owner-enviro-mich@great-lakes.net
[mailto:owner-enviro-mich@great-lakes.net] On Behalf Of Anne Woiwode Late
last night, the Michigan Senate gutted the renewable portfolio standards and
energy efficiency bills that have been wending their way through the
legislature for the past 18 months. Reports
from the front (the Senate Journal for yesterday is not yet updated so details
are only available from eye witnesses to the midnight massacre) the Senate
passed a substitute bill offered up by Senator Patty Birkholz that calls for
just a 7 % COMBINED Energy Efficiency and Renewable Portfolio Standard by 2015
and opens up huge loopholes in the definitions of renewables. Just a note
-- Consumers Energy is thought to already have a 4% RPS -- and this is a
pathetic level compared with the city of Grand Rapids which has met a 25% RPS
after just three years. Energy Efficiency, the cheapest, cleanest and
fastest to capture “new” energy source was urged to be at least 1%
per year -- this is less than even that goal. Senator
Birkholz also was the prime speaker AGAINST the version of the RPS bill that
came out of the Energy and Technology Committee with bipartisan support.
Senator Olshove offered the substitute, but apparently Senator Birkholz led the
gutting and filleting that, if it were to actually pass the full legislature,
would make Michigan the laughing stock of the country. Olshove’s
sub lost by 16 to 20 -- details on the vote breakdowns will await the
publication of the Senate Journal. Add
to this that the Senate also passed HB 5524, the bill that the utilities and
major manufacturers wanted that partially reregulates the utilities -- no
details on whether this contains the Integrated Resource Planning provisions
sought by environmentalists, but it can be expected that it does contain the
“deskewing” language (shifting costs onto residential customers
from manufacturers) and the removal of most of the customer choice provisions
in place in the past. A
Friday night massacre like this in prime summer weekends away season is a
classic way to bury the bodies before the public wakes up. The bills will
need to go to the House, whose moderate bills look positively visionary in
comparison to this mess. The timing and manner of House consideration is
yet to be learned. House members, eager to keep their jobs, have been
expected to disburse after yesterday’s session, although there are
usually sessions scheduled one day a week through the summer in the event there
is a need for action. Sounds like there will be a LOT of need for
action. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anne M.
Woiwode, State Director Sierra
Club Michigan Chapter - 109 E. Grand River Avenue, Lansing, MI 48906 -
517-484-2372 anne.woiwode@sierraclub.org Visit us
at http://michigan.sierraclub.org/index.shtml Act
Today: Join our Legislative Alerts System! http://mackinac.sierraclubaction.org Act FOR
Tomorrow: Support the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter - contact Wendi Tilden at wendi.tilden@sierraclub.org "The
idea of shifting to a carbon-free society appears to be technically feasible.
The question is whether it's politically feasible or economically
feasible." Brian O'Neil, National
Center for Atmospheric Research |