SAWHILL: GROUP EFFORT REQUIRED TO FORGE ENERGY POLICY

Former U.S. Energy Czar John Sawhill says a National Energy Strategy would have the best chance of being formed outside, not within, the halls of Congress. Sawhill, administrator of the Federal Energy Administration during the Nixon and Ford terms and later a deputy Energy secretary in the Carter administration, now is president of the Nature Conservancy. In a talk last week at Washington seminar held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Sawhill said, "in its current form the

March 4, 1991

3 min read

Former U.S. Energy Czar John Sawhill says a National Energy Strategy would have the best chance of being formed outside, not within, the halls of Congress.

Sawhill, administrator of the Federal Energy Administration during the Nixon and Ford terms and later a deputy Energy secretary in the Carter administration, now is president of the Nature Conservancy.

In a talk last week at Washington seminar held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Sawhill said, "in its current form the president's strategy is unlikely to get very far on Capitol Hill."

He said for years the U.S. has been wallowing in energy policy paralysis, and neither Congress nor the administration has shown much leadership. That's because environmentalists and industrialists long have been polarized on energy issues, and the political establishment is afraid to offend either side.

"The stalemate will continue," Sawhill said, "The president's NES will flounder politically, as will other proposals."

COALITION EFFORT

Sawhill said the best opportunity to forge an energy strategy would be for interest groups to put together a compromise package of energy policies they could submit to Congress.

He suggested that oil, coal, nuclear, and environmental groups hold an energy summit within the next 6-8 weeks and try to break the stalemate.

"We don't need a lot of new analysis. And ideology and selfinterest would have to be checked at the door."

Sawhill said leasing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would not be a long term solution, and giving industry tax incentives to drill does not have much chance.

But he said raising the gasoline tax should be a strong energy policy option. "The right tax to raise is the one that affects everyone. Higher gasoline prices are the only practical, rapid way to reduce gasoline consumption.

"Of all the energy options, it is least complicated and raises badly needed revenues for the federal government."

BP'S VIEW

In a separate talk, British Petroleum Co. plc Chairman Robert B. Horton seemed to agree. He pointed out that the price of gasoline in the U.S. has never been cheaper in real terms.

"And yet," he said, "when you consider the rising outlays for gasoline's aftereffects and the manufacturing expense of reformulation, petrol is no longer intrinsically cheap. But we're selling it that way.

"Clearly, it is always politically difficult to raise gasoline taxes. But it does seem strange we are trying to reduce demand on the one hand and avoid a significant gasoline tax on the other."