National Commission on Energy Policy, Founded in 2002, Comes to an End

Dec. 21, 2010

BPC Energy Taskforces to Continue

Washington, DC – The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) today announced that it is bringing the National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP) to a close.

"We had a great run," said Jason S. Grumet, President of the Bipartisan Policy Center. "The 2010 energy debate demonstrated the nation’s changing politics and priorities. In 2011, the BPC will launch a new effort that will engage both parties’ desire for secure, clean and low-cost energy."

Over the coming weeks, the BPC will meet with stakeholders, Members of Congress, the Administration, leading experts and NGOs to solidify its plans for a major new energy project.

"NCEP had many accomplishments, including significant influence on the landmark 2005 and 2007 energy bills," said NCEP Co-Chair William K. Reilly, former Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency. "At a time of passionate disagreements, the NCEP model of inclusive membership, top quality research staff, and timely engagement of issues before they were ripe for decision, proved confidence-building and highly effective. The habit of mutual respect in deliberations didn't hurt either."

"NCEP labored mightily to develop market based approaches to deal with energy and climate issues," said NCEP Co-Chair and Exelon Corp. Chairman and CEO John W. Rowe. "Its work was important even if not all of its recommendations carried the day."

Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and ranking Republican Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) sent the Bipartisan Policy Center a joint letter praising the work of the National Commission on Energy Policy.

"NCEP’s leadership bringing together a bipartisan and institutionally diverse group to develop and advocate detailed policy recommendations has been of great relevance to this Committee," Senators Bingaman and Murkowski said in the letter. "Many of NCEP’s ideas were influential during the development of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007."

Regarding the new BPC energy project in development, Bingaman and Murkowski added: "We hope that this new project will continue the tradition of constructive bipartisan dialogue, technical expertise, and political relevance that have been the hallmarks of NCEP’s success."

"More than anything else, NCEP proved that leaders with widely varying interests and politics could nonetheless accept a shared set of facts and goals on the toughest energy issues, and generate detailed and constructive proposals based on consensus and mutual respect," said NCEP Co-Chair Susan F. Tierney, Managing Principal at the Analysis Group. "This is perhaps our lasting value to policymakers."

The BPC will continue to oversee existing energy-related task forces that will issue reports, make policy recommendations and meet with stakeholders and policymakers. These include BPC Task Forces on: 1) America's Future Energy Jobs 2) The Impact of EPA Rulemakings on the Electric Power Sector Reliability 3) Ensuring Stable Natural Gas Markets; 4) Clean Energy Finance and 5) Geoengineering.

NCEP was founded in 2002 with grants from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and its partners. The Commission helped pioneer the approach of having a private, bipartisan and diverse group of leading energy experts and stakeholder and develop and advocate in-depth policy recommendations for use by national policymakers.

NCEP’s 2004 landmark report, "Ending the Energy Stalemate: A Bipartisan Strategy to Meet America’s Energy Challenges," was invoked positively dozens of times during the 2005 Congressional energy deliberations on the House and Senate floors. Many of the report’s recommendations were incorporated into the Energy Policy Act of 2005, signed into law by President Bush in August of that year.

In 2007, NCEP issued "Energy Policy Recommendations to the President and the 110th Congress," which updated the 2004 recommendations and strongly influenced key elements of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. An overview of key NCEP recommendations from 2004 and 2007 that became law can be found here.

NCEP also issued dozens of other reports, staff papers, and other materials, in addition to working with Members of Congress and both the Bush and Obama Administrations, the states, key industry groups, organized labor, energy and environmental non-profits, and other policymakers and stakeholders. The BPC library (www.bipartisanpolicy.org/library) will continue to be a repository for the most prominent NCEP reports and materials.

"A distinguishing feature of both NCEP and the BPC is real time anticipation of and responsiveness to Congressional and Administration requests for technical assistance and policy proposals," said Grumet. "Our goal is not simply to come up with good ideas, but more importantly to work with all parties to see that they are put into practice for the benefit of the American people. As we consult Congress and others regarding the BPC’s new energy project, these characteristics will be central to our new effort."

The following is a list of NCEP Commissioners and their periods of service:

William K. Reilly, Co-Chair (2002-2010)
John W. Rowe, Co-Chair (2002-2010)
John P. Holdren, Co-Chair (2002-2008)
Susan F. Tierney, Member (2002-2010), Co-Chair (2008-2010)
Phillip R. Sharp, Congressional Chair, (2002-2010)
Neil Auerbach (2008-2010)
Marilyn Brown (2002-2008)
John Bryson (2006-2010)
Ralph Cavanagh (2002-2010)
Erroll Davis (2006-2010)
Archie W. Dunham (2002-2005)
Rodney Ellis (2002-2010)
Andrew Lundquist (2002-2004)
Leo W. Gerard (2002-2010)
Bob Grady (2006-2010)
F. Henry Habicht (2002-2010)
Holly Hart (2008-2010)
Newton Jones (2008-2010)
Paul Joskow (2002-2004)
Frank Keating (2006-2008)
Richard Meserve (2006-2010)
Mario J. Molina (2002-2010)
Sharon L. Nelson (2002-2010)
Richard Schmalensee (2006-2010)
Linda Stuntz (2002-2005)
Norm Szydlowski (2006-2010)
R. James Woolsey (2002-2010)
Martin B. Zimmerman (2002-2010)

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Energy Project, National Commission on Energy Policy