ELECTRICITY POLICY NOT A CURRENT FOCUS
A second term for President George W. Bush and a slightly stronger Republican majority in Congress are not likely to create a significant shift in the direction of US energy policy including electricity. The administration's 2001 Energy Plan continues to serve as the basis for much of the energy policy goals. The emphasis of this administration appears to continue to be on increasing domestic energy supplies and pushing for the development of new energy technologies. (A full summary of the administration's main energy positions and objectives, as enunciated during the campaign, are included.) What the power sector can anticipate is
- potential for legislative language increasing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's authority to enforce reliability standards and perhaps repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act
- barring a crisis, little attention by the administration or Congress to changing wholesale competitive power market rules
- continued development of a variety of models for governing the transmission grid
