Fed energy bill lights fire under natural gas By Mark Jaffe The Denver Post Posted: 07/09/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT Former Sen. Tim Wirth said other industries fought harder and won more concessions. (Post file photo )When federal energy legislation was being crafted last spring, the natural-gas industry "was not at the bargaining table" and as a result was left out, said former Colorado U.S. Sen. Tim Wirth. Wirth's comments Wednesday in a speech at the Colorado Oil and Gas Association's annual conference echoed those of some top industry executives. "We as an industry really didn't show up for this game," Keith Rattie, chief executive of Salt Lake City-based natural-gas producer Questar Corp., said Tuesday. And while natural gas "was not in the room," Wirth said, other industries fought for a piece of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. The bill passed the House 219-212 on June 26 and is to be considered in the Senate this fall. "The coal industry, fighting hard for its future, came away with the most impressive array of permits and give- backs," said Wirth, president of the nonprofit United Nations Foundation. The utility industry largely dictated the terms of the cap-and-trade system of carbon-emission permits, Wirth said. The solar and wind industries, the agricultural industry and the auto industry all got something in the bill, Wirth said. "Every industry was deeply engaged — except one," Wirth said. "The natural-gas industry." That industry has 60 days to regroup and try to insert elements that will help develop markets for natural gas, Wirth said. "The industry has to decide on its two or three biggest legislative priorities: Fuel switching? Transportation? Alliance with renewables?" he said. Ensuring that natural gas is a main fuel for electricity generation is a prime goal, Questar's Rattie said. The lobbying failure may be the result of the industry's more dispersed nature and a general antipathy toward government involvement, Wirth said. A key for the industry will be to find eight to 10 senators from natural-gas states who will support the bill only if accommodations are made to the industry, Wirth said. Rattie said Questar and 20 other large natural-gas-production companies have formed the American Natural Gas Alliance to promote the fuel. Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com

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