Representative Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas) today voted in favor of the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which addresses America’s serious energy shortage, unstable energy prices and national security challenges. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a bipartisan vote of 249-183, which included the support of 41 Democrats. The House-passed energy plan enhances conservation, research and development, and provides for security and diversity in the energy supply for the American people.

The Energy Act of 2005 is of particular interest to North Texas because it ensures that energy production in the Barnett Shale, an unconventional natural gas source in the North Texas region, can continue to provide natural gas for Texas and the nation.

The Act also helps the State of Texas by preserving ERCOT’s (Electricity Reliability Council of Texas) exemption from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulation allowing this authority to continue to reside at the state level with the Public Utility Commission.

“In Texas, we are fortunate that the grid operation and reliability is managed by ERCOT,” stated Rep. Burgess. “ERCOT has put tough, enforceable reliability standards in place which have ensured that Texans have ample access to electricity,” stated Burgess.

Rep. Burgess also had an amendment included in the energy bill that would increase the supply of natural gas, “My amendment would authorize a study to identify and quantify low pressure/low volume natural gas resources and develop incentives to keep them in production. As natural gas demand continues to rise faster than natural gas supply, I believe that that maximizing production from low-pressure gas is an efficient, environmentally friendly way to increase our domestic natural gas supply.”

In addition, the energy bill requires that dual gasoline-alternative fuel vehicles are operated using the alternative fuel system and encourages the hybrid retrofit and conversion of conventional vehicle engines. Congressman Burgess, a proud owner of a Toyota Prius is a strong supporter of hybrid vehicles. This year's energy bill also doubles the authorization amount over last year's conference report for the hydrogen program to $1 billion in 2010.

The Act increases funding for the Department of Energy’s “Clean Cities” program, which provides grants to state and local governments to acquire alternative fueled and fuel cell vehicles, hybrids and ultra-low sulfur diesel vehicles. This will assist localities reduce emissions from automobiles and comply with the Clean Air Act requirements.

From a national perspective, the bill decreases American’s dangerous dependence on foreign oil by increasing domestic exploration and development on non-park federal lands and by authorizing expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to 1 billion barrels. One key component of this would be opening the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, commonly referred to as ANWR, to oil and gas exploration.

The bill now moves over to the U.S. Senate for consideration.