Campaign supported by Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party movement fails to muster two-thirds majority needed
Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 13 July 2011 05.26 BST
A Republican campaign to defend America against a sweeping assault on personal freedoms – or energy-saving lightbulbs as they are more commonly known – went down in defeat on Tuesday night.
The result is a rejection of one of the great causes of the conservative Tea Party movement: the repeal of a 2007 law promoting environmentally efficient lighting.
Presidential contender Michele Bachmann and talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck had dismissed the legislation as an assault on personal freedom.
In a speech in New Orleans last month Bachmann declared: "President Bachmann will allow you to buy any lightbulb you want."
But Tuesday night's vote in the House of Representatives failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed under special rules invoked by Republicans to fasttrack the repeal.
The bill did get a 233-193 majority in the House, however, and Joe Barton the Texan Republican behind the measure told US politics website Politico he would try again to get the legislation through – by any means.
"We can put it on an appropriations bill", he said. "We can back it under a rule. I can try and go to some of the Democrats who didn't vote for it and figure out a way to get them to consider voting for it in a different format."
The Texan said he had originally counted on getting more than 300 votes for the measure including help from some Democrats. But the Republicans' hopes of using the defence of old-fashioned 100 watt bulbs as a rallying cry for freedom had already begun to dim by Tuesday night.
The party cast the 2007 measure, which was signed into law by George Bush, as an outright ban on the familiar 100 watt bulb, and even an affront to its inventor Thomas Edison. In their view encouraging the adoption of curly lightbulbs was yet another example of government overreach by Barack Obama.
Saving the lightbulb was not a traditional Republican cause, however. The original 2007 bill had strong Republican support; it was even crafted in part by Fred Upton, now the chair of the House energy and commerce committee. Upton, anxious to reinforce his conservative credentials, has since recanted: he voted for the repeal of the measure.
The defence of the 100 watt bulb seemed in the Republican mind to be a winner until the run-up to the vote, when lighting manufacturers such as Philips and General Electric joined the White House, Democrats, and environmental organisations in opposing the Republican campaign.
Steven Chu, the energy secretary, told reporters last week the 2007 measure was actually aimed at raising efficiency standards for all new bulbs by more than 25% beginning in 2012.
The companies pointed out, meanwhile, that they were already shifting to newer LED and compact fluorescent bulbs.
It also became more difficult for Republicans to maintain the argument that the new energy-saving bulbs were a burden on consumers.
Although energy-saving lightbulbs do cost more than the old-fashioned variety, environmental organisations argued that the new standards would save the average American household around $85 a year (£50) in electricity costs.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Chris Huhne: UK must invest in energy infrastructure to keep the lights on
Climate secretary unveils a package of far-reaching reforms in the biggest shake-up of the electricity market since privatisation
• Follow the day's events and post your comments here
Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 July 2011 17.52 BST
Households and businesses across the UK face a future of power blackouts unless they help to pay for major new investments in the country's creaking infrastructure, the energy secretary warned on Tuesday.
"We have to stop dithering – you can have blackouts or you can have investment. Which do you want?" asked Chris Huhne, unveiling a package of far-reaching reforms in the biggest shake-up of the electricity market since privatisation.
He said the UK's energy infrastructure, from ageing power stations to an outdated grid, was in such poor state that it would cost scores of billions of pounds to overhaul, even without investment in low-carbon generation. Government estimates show the total investment required in both electricity and gas is likely to be £200bn by 2020.
The reforms – to come into effect from 2013 - include new long-term contracts for renewable energy generation, a minimum price for carbon emissions from fossil fuel plants, and contracts that encourage companies to help their customers become more energy efficient.
Huhne also ushered in a new "dash for gas", inviting the construction of new gas-fired power stations with a promise that a new "emissions performance standard" would be set at a rate that favoured gas but blocked new coal-fired power. He promised this new regulation would not be reviewed until 2015, and any revision would not be retroactive, giving gas companies a clear window for investment. "We are sending a clear signal that we do want new gas," he said.
Some critics have labelled the reforms too expensive, claiming they would add hundreds of pounds in "green taxes" to already stretched consumer energy bills and penalise heavy industry.
But Huhne rebuffed claims that investing in greener energy – one of the aims of the reforms, as well as improving the security of electricity supply – would lead to an increase in bills. "I am absolutely convinced that what we are doing is the best possible solution for the British consumer," he said.
Government estimates show that if the reforms are implemented, consumers are likely to see smaller rises in their energy bills in the next two decades than if the current market is allowed to continue. On previous policies, consumers would face an increase of about £200 on a yearly bill by 2030, but because of the reforms, this increase is likely to be limited to £160.
Charles Hendry, a Conservative energy minister, backed up his coalition partner. "One of the reasons [the UK has] historically had the lowest prices is that we have not seen the necessary investments in the replacement of new power plants," he said.
Green campaigners are concerned that the UK may be locked into an over-reliance on gas – not least because Huhne himself blamed recent energy bill rises on soaring gas prices. Friends of the Earth pointed out that gas prices have risen 84% since 2004, and domestic energy bills by 90%. Over the same period, the costs of renewables have increased to only about 1% of energy bills. Andy Atkins, executive director, said: "If we keep relying on dirty imported energy and expensive nuclear to power our homes, we'll all pay the price for years to come."
Others complained that the government had not done enough to break the "stranglehold" of the six biggest energy companies, from which 99% of consumers get their energy. John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: "They have been given a continued licence to pocket rather than save customers money. For millions of consumers, many now living in fuel poverty, this white paper just increased the amount they will have to fork out each year without fundamentally changing the foundations for a shift to an energy efficient and renewable energy economy - the only way customers can in future be protected from the rise in fossil fuel prices."
• Follow the day's events and post your comments here
Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 12 July 2011 17.52 BST
Households and businesses across the UK face a future of power blackouts unless they help to pay for major new investments in the country's creaking infrastructure, the energy secretary warned on Tuesday.
"We have to stop dithering – you can have blackouts or you can have investment. Which do you want?" asked Chris Huhne, unveiling a package of far-reaching reforms in the biggest shake-up of the electricity market since privatisation.
He said the UK's energy infrastructure, from ageing power stations to an outdated grid, was in such poor state that it would cost scores of billions of pounds to overhaul, even without investment in low-carbon generation. Government estimates show the total investment required in both electricity and gas is likely to be £200bn by 2020.
The reforms – to come into effect from 2013 - include new long-term contracts for renewable energy generation, a minimum price for carbon emissions from fossil fuel plants, and contracts that encourage companies to help their customers become more energy efficient.
Huhne also ushered in a new "dash for gas", inviting the construction of new gas-fired power stations with a promise that a new "emissions performance standard" would be set at a rate that favoured gas but blocked new coal-fired power. He promised this new regulation would not be reviewed until 2015, and any revision would not be retroactive, giving gas companies a clear window for investment. "We are sending a clear signal that we do want new gas," he said.
Some critics have labelled the reforms too expensive, claiming they would add hundreds of pounds in "green taxes" to already stretched consumer energy bills and penalise heavy industry.
But Huhne rebuffed claims that investing in greener energy – one of the aims of the reforms, as well as improving the security of electricity supply – would lead to an increase in bills. "I am absolutely convinced that what we are doing is the best possible solution for the British consumer," he said.
Government estimates show that if the reforms are implemented, consumers are likely to see smaller rises in their energy bills in the next two decades than if the current market is allowed to continue. On previous policies, consumers would face an increase of about £200 on a yearly bill by 2030, but because of the reforms, this increase is likely to be limited to £160.
Charles Hendry, a Conservative energy minister, backed up his coalition partner. "One of the reasons [the UK has] historically had the lowest prices is that we have not seen the necessary investments in the replacement of new power plants," he said.
Green campaigners are concerned that the UK may be locked into an over-reliance on gas – not least because Huhne himself blamed recent energy bill rises on soaring gas prices. Friends of the Earth pointed out that gas prices have risen 84% since 2004, and domestic energy bills by 90%. Over the same period, the costs of renewables have increased to only about 1% of energy bills. Andy Atkins, executive director, said: "If we keep relying on dirty imported energy and expensive nuclear to power our homes, we'll all pay the price for years to come."
Others complained that the government had not done enough to break the "stranglehold" of the six biggest energy companies, from which 99% of consumers get their energy. John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, said: "They have been given a continued licence to pocket rather than save customers money. For millions of consumers, many now living in fuel poverty, this white paper just increased the amount they will have to fork out each year without fundamentally changing the foundations for a shift to an energy efficient and renewable energy economy - the only way customers can in future be protected from the rise in fossil fuel prices."
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