US senate blocks Alaska oil drilling, proposes regional power grids

Prospects for opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling suffered a further blow in March as the US senate voted narrowly to block what is a key part of President Bush’s energy plan.

The senate voted 52-48 against the move to develop oil in the refuge in northeastern Alaska on the grounds that drilling would cause significant environmental damage to the area.

The proposal will no longer be included in the long-delayed national energy bill, which is expected to be considered by the senate in May. Some Republican politicians have indicated they will try to amend the bill to include the drilling provisions, but opposition Democrats have promised to block legislation that gives oil companies access to the Alaskan reserves.

Delay
The passage of a comprehensive energy bill has been delayed for more than a year, mainly due to disagreement between parties over the ANWR issue. As EPRM went to press, the senate energy committee, which is leading the moves to pass the bill, started a six-day hearing on April 1 to discuss the provisions.

In March, Republican senators also proposed legislation that would allow states to create regional energy services commissions in order to co-ordinate electricity transmission grids.

The move would bypass the standard market design (SMD) proposals being pushed by interstate energy regulator the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc), which some states fear will increase federal control over the energy markets.

Under SMD, states will be required to join large regional transmission organisations. Ferc is due to issue an analysis of how its proposals will affect individual states in April.

The energy committee’s draft legislation also includes provisions to increase domestic US crude oil and natural gas production by speeding up the approval of federal drilling permits; promoting the use of cleaner-burning coal; increasing renewable energy use; and building more nuclear power plants.

Any bill passed by the senate will have to be reconciled with energy legislation that is expected to be passed by the US’s second chamber, the House of Representatives, within the next few months.