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BloombergDec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- A lobbying blitz by some of the U.S.'s biggest utility companies is likely to strangle the most potent provision in energy legislation that's making its way through Congress.
Southern Co., American Electric Power Co. and other producers hired top Washington lobbyists, including Rudy Giuliani's firm, to help defeat a measure that would force them to boost electricity generated by wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy to 15 percent of the U.S. total by 2020. That's up from less than 2 percent today, and is a move the industry says would cost at least $67 billion.
The Senate failed on Dec. 7 to get the 60 votes needed to move the legislation, a day after the House of Representatives approved it. To get the bill to President George W. Bush's desk this year and steer clear of a White House veto threat, the Senate will probably have to pass a weakened measure.
``The lobbying effort led by Southern Co. is the principal obstacle to America unleashing a renewable-electricity revolution,'' says Representative Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat who has led the fight for a federal standard on the new energy sources.
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