Edison Electric Institute

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) was founded in 1933 and describes itself as "the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electrical companies" and says it represents "approximately 70 percent of the U.S. power industry." It also says it has "more than 80 international electric companies as affiliate members and nearly 200 industry suppliers and related organizations as associate members."

Lobbying
According to figures compiled by the Center for Responsible Government, EEI spent $10.5 million for lobbying Congress in 2009 after spending $7.5 million in 2008. The top issues on which EEI lobbied were Energy & Nuclear Power, Utilities, Environment & Superfund, Taxes, and Clean Air & Water, according to the CRG.

Opposing renewable energy targets
The New York Times reported on December 14, 2007 that EEI led the lobbying opposition to a provision in a federal energy bill that would have required utilities nationwide to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. EEI implemented an extensive lobbying campaign against the provision, warning Republican Senators and the White House that the bill would cause sharp increases in electric rates. The provision was eventually stripped out of the bill, and a weaker version without renewable energy requirements passed the Senate on Thursday, December 13, 2007 by a margin of 86-8.

Clean Water Restoration Act Opposition
In October 2007, the EEI set up a website, www.protectmywater.org, for a group called the "Water Advocacy Coalition." The site presents arguments against the proposed Clean Water Restoration Act, a bill (S.787) introduced by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) intended to clarify which bodies of water are subject to federal regulation under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). The bill states that the government's ability to keep pollution out of the nation's waters "has been undermined by the decisions of the United States Supreme Court in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U.S. 159 (January 9, 2001) and Rapanos v. United States, 547 U.S. 715 (June 19, 2006), which have resulted in confusion, permitting delays, increased costs, litigation, and reduced protections for waters of the United States."

Funding
In its 2007 contributions report Xcel Energy disclosed that it contributed $700,296 to EEI.

Personnel

 * Karen R. Obenshain, Director of Fuels, Technology and Commercial Policy
 * Lewis Hay III - vice chair

Contact
Edison Electric Institute 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004-2696 Phone 202-508-5000 Web site: http://www.eei.org/

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth
 * Carbon Capture and Storage in the United States

External articles

 * Pamela M. Prah, "Govs' parties to fund 2010 races," Stateline.org, September 3, 2008.
 * Center for Energy Workforce Development, "Center for Energy Workforce Development Partners with U.S. Army Reserve to Help Prepare Soldiers for Careers in the Energy Industry," Press release via PR Newswire, March 20, 2009.