Coal supporters skeptical about policy changes post-election

Coal supporters skeptical about policy changes post-election

Washington (Platts)--9Nov2006

As Democrats prepare for leading the House and Senate, environmental groups
say the election will bring changes to the administration's flawed energy
policy, but representatives of the coal industry are skeptical.

"Voters sought a new direction on Election Day, and Congress should start by
delivering a new energy policy," Anna Aurillo, director of the US Public
Interest Research Group, told Platts on Wednesday. "But there is a lot more
opportunity for change in the House ?the Senate is less clear."

One of the best examples is outgoing chairman of the House Committee on
Resources, California Representative Richard Pombo. He supported "big oil" and
sought to drill the country's way out of any energy crisis; alternative energy
sources were not his priority, according to Aurillo.

"Pombo was unseated by [Jerry] McNerney, whose platform includes a push for
renewable energy," Aurillo said.

But coal industry representatives are skeptical on any major changes occurring
in terms of energy policy.

"There's less than meets the eye here for our industry," Luke Popovich,
spokesman for the National Mining Association, told Platts on Wednesday.

"We [coal industry] have enjoyed bipartisan support for clean coal and mine
safety legislation. I have no reason to believe that support wouldn't
continue," Popovich said.

"Climate change in some minds may offer more conflict, but even there,
cautious heads may prevail in terms of obligation to the economy. The
Republicans looked at cap-and- trade for climate change and found that it
would be problematic, difficult to implement and costly, so I see no reason
why that calculation will change."

"The Energy Policy Act of 2005 was a disaster: The time is right to push some
new incentives through. There are 20 people coming to Congress that signed on
to our New Energy Future platform. We're going to see some changes," Aurillo
said.

USPIRG's New Energy Future, released in October, called on the US to invest
$30 billion over the next 10 years to push renewable energy technologies and
remove dependence on fossil fuels like coal and oil.

"In this election, there was more talk about other issues as opposed to
climate change or energy," Popovich said. "There may be some shifts on energy,
but they will be subtle."

--Regina Johnson, regina_johnson@platts.com

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