Washington (Platts)--25Jun2007

Anticipating that the US Congress will pursue national policy to address
climate change, state utility regulators plan to offer lawmakers a framework
on crafting any federal legislation that would seek to limit greenhouse gas
emissions from electric and gas utilities.

     The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on Monday
released a draft resolution on federal climate-change legislation that the
organization plans to consider at its July summer meeting in New York City.

     The draft resolution urges Congress--should it pursue climate-change
legislation--to take an economy-wide approach to climate-change remedies and
not preempt existing state programs in this regard. 

     The draft resolution also asks Congress to minimize the cost of any such
policy on ratepayers, uphold electric and natural gas utilities' reliability
and ensure states will continue "to deploy a diverse portfolio of
cost-effective generating resources."

     NARUC's Task Force on Climate Policy approved the draft resolution last
Friday and will submit it to the full association for a vote when it gathers
July 15-17.

     NARUC President Jim Kerr, who in March created the 11-member task force
on which he also serves, said the draft resolution represents a collaborative
effort and "demonstrates a delicate balance amongst a very diverse group of
commissioners."

		--Cathy Cash, cathy_cash@platts.com