“It’s kind of a national crisis,” an Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientist said about the systems vulnerable to shock from climate change. In a report for the Department of Energy to inform the third annual National Climate Assessment, the Oak Ridge author identifies vulnerabilities and challenges to energy systems, including electricity. For example, according to the report, one meter of sea level rise could prompt 4.6 million people in seven Florida counties to relocate, which would stress power infrastructure because those people account for more than 11% of power demand in the area. Before the people moved, however, the seven counties could be susceptible to hurricane-induced sweeping blackouts lasting weeks.

The report may help Public Service Electric & Gas’ case for the $3.9 billion Energy Strong program it wants authorized to shore up utility infrastructure against storms like Superstorm Sandy.

More: Scientific American; Island Press; NJSpotlight

House Blocks GHG Rule; Senate Outlook Iffy

The House of Representatives voted 229-183 to block the Obama administration’s plan for power plant greenhouse gas controls. The White House has said it would veto the measure if it passed the Senate as well, which is considered unlikely. The bill, the Electricity Security and Affordability Act, would reverse the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal for limits on GHG emissions from new power plants, proposed in January, and would bar the EPA from issuing GHG rules for existing power plants until at least six U.S. plants have achieved the carbon capture technology standards for at least a year. The measure also requires EPA to study the domestic and global impact of the proposed rules.

Meanwhile, at the IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy assured attendees that “conventional fuels like coal and natural gas are going to play a critical role in a diverse energy mix for years to come.” At the same event, American Electric Power chief Nick Akins said he was encouraged by EPA’s outreach on the issue but was skeptical about the outcome.

More: The Intelligencer; The Dallas Morning News

House OKs Efficiency Bill; Senate Version Pending

A bipartisan energy efficiency bill passed the House of Representatives 375-36 in action widely hailed as proof that efficiency is a value honored by both parties in the ongoing political wars. The measure’s provisions are largely voluntary or involve studies, but it could provide a platform for negotiation with the Senate if that body passes its own, much broader, energy efficiency bill. The Shaheen-Portman bill could see a Senate vote soon. The House bill calls for a study of the feasibility of improving efficiency in commercial buildings, with encouragement for owners and tenants to implement high-efficiency measures and a requirement for development of a voluntary Tenant Star program to recognize commercial-building tenants that achieve high levels of efficiency. The program would be similar to the existing Energy Star efficiency labeling program for appliances.

More: Bloomberg

Governors Coalition Plans Grid-Development Measures

With support voiced from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Governors Wind Energy Coalition said it would pursue activities this year to promote construction of transmission lines that support renewable energy development. Among things the group will promote: establishing one-stop shops for transmission siting; supporting state and regional cooperation through collaboration among policymakers, utility commissions and system operators; and removing legislative barriers to siting, “such as those that don’t allow state utility commissions to consider economic, reliability, environmental and functional benefits beyond state boundaries in considering transmission siting.”

More: AWEA