Guam to Benefit from Energy Bill
New Energy Assessments Required;
New Grant Program to Harden Infrastructure Authorized

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 19, 2003 – Washington, D.C. – The House has passed comprehensive energy legislation that includes provisions to improve energy supply and reliability in Guam. The legislation, which has survived and emerged from an intense conference committee, now rests with the Senate for final approval. The President has maintained his support for a new national energy policy ever since taking office in January 2001 and this is the closest Congress has come towards enacting such policy into law.

The conference report on H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2003, as passed by the House, requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an energy assessment for Guam in consultation with the Governor of Guam and the U.S. Secretary of Energy. This assessment will result in a published report on energy consumption, importation, and the potential for indigenous alternative energy in Guam. The last time a thorough energy assessment was undertaken for Guam and the insular areas was in 1982. This provision in H.R. 6 was a collaborative effort between the territorial Delegates and the House Committee on Resources.

“Guam remains largely dependent on imported petroleum products to supply our island’s energy needs. This assessment will yield the information we need to effectively plan to reduce our reliance on imported energy. This assessment will help us identify new ways in which we can increase the efficient development and delivery of energy on Guam,” said Congresswoman Bordallo.

“An energy assessment conducted by the federal government will help us to determine our best course for future alternative energy development on Guam. We know all too well the controversies and the stalemate that has occurred in the past due to competing models of wind energy, ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), waste-to-energy incinerators, and other alternative energy sources that have divided policymakers. The assessment will evaluate these models and give us cost-benefit analysis to guide future decisions. Guam should plan for the future, and sound energy planning must be based on sound science and economics,” said Bordallo.

The Act also authorizes a grant program for projects to harden the energy infrastructure in Guam and the other insular areas. “Our distribution lines must be made typhoon-proof as best as possible and this program would go a long way towards making that happen,” said Bordallo.

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Contact: Neil Weare in Washington, D.C., at (202) 225-1188 or Joaquin Perez in Guam at (671) 477-4272.