Earlier this month the House GOP proposed a $34 billion energy and water spending bill that restores almost $1 billion in cuts from the Army Corps of Engineers and takes money from the Department of Energy (DOE), notable from renewable energy programs.

The General Assembly is officially engaged in the state budget process, which with any luck will conclude on time, at the June 30 deadline. Similar to recent years, passing a fair and on time budget will continue to be a struggle as the state slips further and further into debt with lower than expected revenue numbers and a pension crisis with no immediate end in sight.

The Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority offered its proposed State Energy Plan for public review and comments in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on May 31. The plan, a statement of the Authority’s policy goals, operating principles and investment priorities, will be open to comments for 60 days.

On Monday, the Obama Administration released what could be the most important element of its climate agenda, dubbed the Clean Power Plan. In it, the EPA proposed a state-centric framework for regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing power plants. The regulation would require states to cut carbon emissions from existing coal- and gas-fired power plants by an average of 30 percent below their 2005 levels by 2030.

After a long battle in both the House and Senate, the Farm Bill passed Congress in February reauthorizing the Energy Title for five years, including $694 million in mandatory funding for bioenergy programs. Just a few short months later, a House committee has voted to roll back that mandatory funding through its fiscal year 2015 agriculture appropriations bills. The cuts were first revealed during House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee session in late May.

The House has scheduled three energy related bills for consideration when the legislature returns to Harrisburg next month. House Bill 1699, sponsored by Rep. Chris Ross (R-Chester), provides for the regulation of air emissions from backup generators; House Bill 2104, sponsored by Rep. Robert Godshall (R-Montgomery), further provides for consumer protections in variable rate electric supplier contracts; and House Resolution 249, sponsored by Rep. RoseMarie Swanger (R-Lebanon), supports increased development and delivery of oil from North American oil reserves.

Gov. Corbett this week signed into law Senate Bill 1037, which would end more stringent gasoline regulations during summer months. Sen. Elder Vogel (R-Beaver) introduced the legislation in an effort to save customers in the region from having to pay more for the more expensive “summer gas,” which is now only required in southwest Pennsylvania and a few counties in Maine. Gasoline prices in the seven-county region last summer ranged as much as 18.87 cents more per gallon because of the EPA mandate.

The Senate officially presided over the demise of bipartisan energy efficiency legislation Monday – and the chance to put the Keystone XL pipeline up for a vote ahead of the midterm elections.

Despite a “leaner and more efficient government”, the state’s fiscal outlook continues to draw skepticism and promises of more difficult budget discussions to come, not only this year, but into the future.

During the PA Energy Development Authority’s (PEDA) April board meeting, the entity discussed opening a grant application period, possibly starting this June. That would mark the first time PEDA has accepted applications for project funding since 2010, with the last award being made in 2011.