OVERNIGHT ENERGY: The wonk before the storm

He’s slated to outline the subcommittee’s agenda and “discuss how new federal regulations will impact the utilities sector,” an advisory states.

State, Energy Department officials on hand, too

{mosads}Speakers at the NARUC conference Tuesday are also slated to include Robert F. Ichord Jr., who is a deputy assistant secretary with the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources, and Peter Lyons, who is the Energy Department’s assistant secretary for nuclear energy. Click here for the full agenda.

Former Interior chief Babbitt to float new energy plan

Bruce Babbitt, who served as President Clinton’s Interior secretary, will appear at the National Press Club Tuesday armed with what organizers promise are new ideas about U.S. energy development.

Babbitt will “announce a new proposal to help translate the current energy boom into sustainable economic growth and improved stewardship of iconic landscapes for future generations,” an advisory states.

“Mr. Babbitt will discuss opportunities for the Obama administration and Congress to implement the type of bold agenda for energy and conservation that President Obama called for in his recent inaugural address,” it states.

BP looks into crystal ball

Mark Finley, oil giant BP’s general manager of global energy markets and U.S. economics, will offer the company’s “Energy Outlook 2030” Tuesday.

He will appear at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Groups make case for renewables

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute and the American Council On Renewable Energy will hold a Capitol Hill forum Tuesday on renewable energy “technology, trends and economics.”

Speakers include Steven Chalk, the Energy Department’s deputy assistant secretary for renewable energy. Click here for more info.

Conservative group to make revenue case for drilling   

The conservative Institute for Energy Research (IER) will unveil a report Tuesday that will make the case that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has low-balled the revenues that opening more federal lands and waters to drilling would provide.

A report prepared for IER by a Louisiana State University professor will assess CBO estimates, which have forecast very modest federal leasing and royalty revenues.

“The report also offers contrasting projections of the potential revenue impacts, job creation, and overall GDP growth that energy resource development on federal lands would provide,” an advisory states.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out these stories that ran on E2-Wire Monday and over the weekend …

– Outgoing EPA chief regrets lack of dialogue with rural America
– Sen. Murkowski backs calls to reevaluate biofuel mandate
– Biden vows climate change action in meeting with French president
– Gasoline costs take biggest share of household income in three decades
– Sen. Murkowski: Super Bowl blackout could ‘kick-start’ energy-policy debates
– Murkowski launches push for expanded drilling, green-energy policy revamp
– Gore presses Obama to ‘follow through’ on climate change promises
– Report: Top EPA air quality official in line to replace outgoing administrator

NEWS BITES:

Cyberattack at DOE affects ‘several hundred’ employees, contractors

The Department of Energy said Monday that it was the victim of a cyberattack last month that “resulted in the unauthorized disclosure of employee and contractor Personally Identifiable Information.”

DOE said no classified data was compromised. The department said it is working with federal law enforcement officials to assess the full impact of the attack, which it said might have affected “several hundred” employees and contractors.

Top natural-gas lobbyist resigns

America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) CEO Regina Hopper said Monday that she would step down on Feb. 28.

Hopper is leaving the association she has led since 2009 to return to litigation communications. Before heading ANGA, Hopper held senior positions with USTelecom and the American Trucking Associations.

“I was hired to build an effective and powerful advocacy organization with strong fiscal management,” Hopper said in a Monday statement. “By all accounts we have achieved these important objectives.”

ANGA has not yet named Hopper’s successor.

Weekly gas price increase hits two-year high

DOE said the 18-cent increase in gas prices between this week and last week represented the largest one-week jump in two years.

The national average for unleaded fuel hit $3.54 per gallon this week, ABC News reported Monday. Despite the spike, the AAA motor club said it does not expect gas prices to reach last year’s highs.

Please send tips and comments to Ben Geman, ben.geman@digital-staging.thehill.com, and Zack Colman, zcolman@digital-staging.thehill.com.

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