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House Hearing on Challenges Facing Our Electrical Grid
On May 10, the House Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing to discuss the state of the
country's electric transmission infrastructure. This hearing
was a continuation of the Subcommittee on Energy's Powering
America series, a series of hearings dedicated to examining aspects
of the nation's power sector. The gathered panel of experts
provided members of the subcommittee with insight into the
challenges that exist within the electric transmission sector.
House Hearing on Efforts to Clarify New Source Review
Permitting Process
On May 16, the House Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing to examine legislation
that would reform the New Source Review (NSR) permitting process.
The draft legislation, led by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), aims to
bring clarity and certainty to the NSR permitting process, making
it easier for industry to modernize existing facilities and carry
out environmentally beneficial projects.
House Hearing on DOE Cleanup Efforts
On May 18, the House Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing on H.R. 2278, the
Responsible Disposal Reauthorization Act of 2017, and H.R. 2389, to
reauthorize the West Valley demonstration project and for other
purposes. Subcommittee Chairman Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) stated
that the DOE's office of Environmental Management (EM) faces
"a significant workload to complete decontamination work at
legacy Cold War sites. Since its establishment about 30 years ago,
EM has successfully remediated 92 sites, but the most
technologically challenging projects remain in process at 17
locations." Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), who sponsored H.R. 2389,
explained why Congress needs to prioritize cleaning up nuclear
sites, stating, "There are still nuclear sites in the United
States that need to be managed and cleaned up. The Western New York
Nuclear Service Center in my district is one such site. The
Department of Energy estimates that making the investments needed
now in nuclear site remediation will save our nation hundreds of
millions of dollars in the coming decades."
House Subcommittee Explores DOE Modernization Efforts
On May 22, the House Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing exploring legislation to
modernize the DOE's nuclear energy technologies. The fourth in
a series of hearings covering efforts to modernize the DOE, the
hearing provided members of the subcommittee with the opportunity
to review four bills addressing the development, regulation, and
competitiveness if advanced nuclear energy technologies. In an
opening statement, Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman of the Energy
and Commerce Committee, stated that "the bills we will examine
provide key ingredients to enhance a core national security and
energy security mission of the Department, and of the nation:
promoting the safe and peaceful use of nuclear
technology."
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources holds Hearing
to Examine Puerto Rico's Electric Grid
On May 8, the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources held a full committee hearing on The Current
Status and Proposals for Future of the Grid. Chair of the Committee
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) stated that a number of questions
must be answered moving forward in our attempts to stabilize the
electric grid in Puerto Rico: we must know who is in charge of the
electric grid; we must know how the Army Corps of Engineers and the
DOE fit into the grid stabilization process; and we must know why
there are still island-wide blackouts taking place in Puerto Rico.
During the hearing, Assistant Secretary of Energy Bruce Walker
stated, "No single investment in energy infrastructure at one
point in time will achieve resilience. The energy infrastructure of
Puerto Rico must be designed, built, managed, and maintained in
such a way to withstand likely stresses, ameliorate disruptions
when they inevitably occur, recover quickly, and incorporate
lessons learned into post-event planning and operations. This is a
continual process of improvement, one involving a reassessment and
adaptation of solutions and technologies to address changing
needs."
Administration
DOE Issues Final Rule Amending Compliance Date for Energy
Conservation Standards for Ceiling Fan Light Kits (CLFKs)
On May 16, the DOE issued its final rule that set
a final compliance date for energy conservation standards for
CLFKs. The ruling stated that all CLFKs must meet DOE standards by
January 21, 2020 in order to remain in compliance. The rule change
at the DOE came as a response to the passage and signing of the
"Ceiling Fan Energy Conservation Harmonization Act."
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