Legislative Activity
This Week’s Hearings:
- Tuesday, June 25: A Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee will consider pending energy efficiency legislation.
- Wednesday, June 26: A House Natural Resources Subcommittee will hold a hearing on “The Power Marketing Administrations: A Ratepayer Perspective.”
Regulatory Activity
Hydraulic Fracturing
According to a senior EPA official, the federal research study on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (HF) activities on drinking water resources is not expected to be completed until 2016. A preliminary report may be released in late 2014.
Methane Hydrates
The Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee will meet on July 16 at the Department of Energy.
GOM Lease Sale 227
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has extended the post-sale evaluation period for bids received in the Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area Lease Sale 227 through July 18.
FERC
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will host a technical conference on centralized capacity markets in Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators on September 25.
Manufacturing
Comments on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s proposal to create new “Manufacturing Technology Acceleration Centers” are due by July 22. The centers are intended to address challenges encountered by small and mid-sized manufacturers in the integration, adoption, transitioning, and commercialization of existing and emerging product and process technologies into their operations.