The House of Representatives, meeting in a rare Saturday session on August 4, passed its version of an energy bill that includes a federal renewable energy mandate for electric utilities. H.R. 3221, adopted by a vote of 220-190, requires investor-owned electric utilities to generate at least 15% of their electricity from sources such as wind and solar power by the year 2020.
However, an earlier energy bill voted on the Senate in June rejected renewable energy requirements of utilities. The House and Senate bills will need to be reconciled before being presented to President Bush.