by Gongwer News Service
June 13, 2008

Lobbying teams from both sides of the energy reform battle that continue to doggedly sink millions of dollars and countless hours into the fight were thrown for a bit of a loop this week when a Senate committee moved three important House bills onto the Senate floor without a clear idea of when the Senate would vote on the bills and without indication of what the final package of bills might look as it makes its way back to the House.

Utility companies and others supporting the effort to give greater market power to the state’s major utilities seemed to have a “take what you can get approach,” praising the committee’s action while remaining cautiously optimistic about what changes may still lie ahead for the bills.

But those seeking more customer choice in the market said they were “dumbfounded” by the passage of an incomplete package.

The affirmative vote on the three bills (HB 5524, HB 5548 and HB 5549) in the House energy package dealing with setting a renewable portfolio standard and reforming PA 141 also saw opposition from three out of the five GOP members on the Senate Energy Policy and Public Utilities Committee.

For her part, Sen. Patricia Birkholz (R-Saugatuck), tried and failed to shape one of the most contentious bills into what she thought would be a more amenable piece of legislation for the Senate floor.

Her amendment would have stripped many of the disputed provisions from HB 5524, including the cap on customer choice, the provision allowing the utilities to collect stranded costs and the additional staff for the Public Service Commission. The amendment also would have given the PSC more time to review utility rate filings and for the subsidy residential rates to be removed from commercial and industrial rates. But Committee Chair Sen. Bruce Patterson (R-Canton) was the only one to join her on that amendment.

It appears clear that a provision in that amendment that would have removed language giving the governor more authority over the PSC will return on the Senate floor.

The committee did amend the bill to cap the increases on residential rates due to de-skewing at 2.5 percent a year. It also required that utilities include considerations for seniors and low-income residents in their rate filings and made some provisions for smaller utilities.

In addition to the interim renewable steps added to HB 5548 at a prior meeting, the committee also amended both that bill and HB 5549 to treat municipal utilities separately, though still requiring them to comply with the RPS standards.

Despite the changes, Mr. Patterson said that the legislation he referred to the full Senate was not necessarily the version that would ultimately get a vote from the body.

“I can’t say this will be the final product,” he said after the meeting. “This package of bills, while it may be changed on the floor, takes us in the right direction.”

He said that while some may have viewed it as premature, he chose to vote the bills out of his committee in large part to get the entire Senate involved in the legislation’s revisions.

But others spread tales of a more malicious motive, which it should be noted that neither Mr. Patterson nor Senate leadership confirmed.

While agreeing the committee action Thursday will get the package moving, several sources indicated putting the bills on the Senate floor in incomplete form was an effort by Mr. Patterson to pressure Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) into calling for action on a local government annexation package Mr. Patterson is supporting.

No matter the reason, the bills are now awaiting Senate action and the question now becomes how long it will be before the chamber acts.

First, Mr. Patterson has to finish referring all of the bills he intends to put before his colleagues. He said this week that he intends to approve a bill he sponsored dealing with net metering (SB 1246).

As for floor action, Mr. Patterson and Matt Marsden, spokesperson for Mr. Bishop, both suggested that senators will need the summer to look over the legislation, meaning the likely answer is that the energy reform in these bills won’t become law until summer breezes give way to autumn leaves.

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