(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden promoted the clean energy elements of his stalled spending bill in a session with power company executives, saying his proposals would lower prices, create jobs and make the nation’s grid more resilient to extreme weather.
“Companies are betting on a clean energy future and the world is betting on American workers to build it,” Biden on Wednesday told executives from some of the nation’s largest utilities who gathered at the White House.
The session comes as Senate Democrats and the White House attempt to find a way to advance a new version of provisions in the stalled Build Back Better Act. Of the $550 billion related to climate and energy, more than $300 billion would go toward new and expanded tax credits for wind and solar power, nuclear plants, and other items that have drawn utilities’ support.
It’s the latest effort by Biden to rally support for the bill from corporate leaders. Last month, he hosted executives from Microsoft Corp., General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. who praised the plan’s provisions for child and elder care.
As the meeting got underway Biden noted what other industries -- from automakers to railroads -- are doing to adapt to a clean energy future.
He said the climate and energy provisions of his Build Back Better legislation would create jobs and lower costs for consumers. “It’s an incredible opportunity for our country,” he said.
Among the participants were several chief executive officers, including Tom Fanning of Southern Co., Nick Akins of American Electric Power Co Inc., Pedro Pizarro of Edison International, Lynn Good of Duke Energy, Dennis Arriola of Avangrid Inc., Patricia Vincent-Collawn of PNM Resources.
Ameren Corp. Executive Chairman Warner Baxter, Exelon Corp. Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Calvin Butler, and DTE Energy Co. Chairman Gerry Anderson, Edison Electric Institute President Tom Kuhn also attended, the White House said.
“The tax credits will make the more sophisticated transmission infrastructure much less expensive,” Vincent-Collawn, of PNM Resources, said in response to a question from the president. “You need that transmission. It is going to be absolutely critical to building the nation’s clean energy infrastructure.”
Akins of American Electric Power said the proposed tax credits and other government aid is “really an important opportunity for us” to make the transition to clean energy.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy and Deputy National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi also joined Biden for the meeting.
The meeting with the president was followed by a discussion with multiple officials, including Granholm, to address the growing potential threat of cyberattacks.
“There’s increased coordination, communication and collaboration, but there’s also a sense of paranoia,” Arriola of Avangrid said during an interview on Bloomberg TV. “There are a lot of bad actors out there, and the electrical grid is a potential victim.”
The effort to pass Build Back Better Bill was blocked in late December by two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, pivotal votes in the evenly divided chamber. Since then, the president has singled out the bill’s climate measures as one area where he thought agreement could be reached.
The Edison Electric Institute, the utility industry’s main trade group, is “strongly advocating that Congress pass legislation that incorporates forward-thinking actions to address climate change, including a robust clean energy tax package,” Kuhn said ahead of the meeting.
The group also plans to make a pitch for building new transmission lines and other energy infrastructure, Kuhn said.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
POPULAR