WHO BOUGHT THE ENERGY/CLIMATE BILL

Southern Company Dominates the Climate Lobbying Scene
Marianne Lavelle and David Donald, July 1, 2009 (Center for Public Integrity)

"Southern Company, the nation’s largest electric power generator, also had the largest force of lobbyists among the hundreds of businesses and interest groups that were seeking to influence the landmark climate change legislation that just passed the House.

"With 63 lobbyists, the Atlanta-based energy giant had nearly twice as many climate lobbyists as any other company or organization, according to registration statements filed with the Senate Office of Public Records for the first quarter of 2009. (The second quarter filings won’t be available for a few weeks.) Eleven of Southern’s climate representatives were in-house, while the rest came from a dozen different lobbying shops."

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"Southern’s interest in the bill is not surprising, since more than 80 percent of the 200 million megawatt hours of electricity its plants generate annually is fired by fossil fuel — the main source of greenhouse gases…For a comparison that illustrates just how huge Southern’s lobbying force is, look at the No. 2 power generator, American Electric Power, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, which actually has a more fossil fuel-intensive fleet and higher carbon dioxide emissions than Southern. AEP had only nine registered climate lobbyists…

"…[E]xpect more lobbying ahead, as action moves to the Senate…Although the list [of the top 10 businesses and organizations ranked by lobbyists hired on climate change in 2009] is certainly dominated by big energy generators and users, there are a few unabashed advocates of climate action on the list — most notably the political action arm of the Washington, D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center, headed by Jason Grumet, who served last year and in the transition as a top energy adviser to President Obama…"