Next Up - Power Failure on Energy Bill

Today the House and Senate will be passing different versions, maybe, of a proposed energy bill. The real fight is in the House where Steve Fontana, co-chair of the Energy and Technology Committee is pushing a bill that would, as one Democrat said, "do things to the energy market that there are not doing in Russia today." Fontana would try and bring back a managed form of the old system of monopoly oriented energy - with all the bells and whistles that government brings to the table.

The Senate version, offered by the other co-chairman, State Sen. John Fonfara, would make some changes around the edges on conservation, new energy development, blah, blah. It's a big nothing and the Democrats have been at this game for two years with no results.

The Republicans have offered tax cuts for businesses who pay energy taxes while promoting real competition, not the managed competition that has driven costs up.

Once again, the Democrats will spend the better part of a night debating themselves while homeowners and businesses pay higher and higher electric bills with no end in sight.

Today's Journal Inquirer captures the details and the background on the issue the best.