The week ahead: Solyndra probe, attacks on EPA continue

Republicans accusing the EPA of regulatory overreach say the standards, taken together, will have effects including shuttering some coal plants that will jeopardize electric supply reliability. But recent Bipartisan Policy Center and Congressional Research Service reports call the concerns overblown.

Other Energy and Commerce Committee action: On Tuesday its Energy and Power subcommittee will mark up bills to delay and soften air-toxics rules for industrial boilers and cement plants.

The House Natural Resources Committee will also have a busy week. A highlight: Its subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a hearing Thursday on committee Chairman Doc Hastings’ (R-Wash.) bill to put his stamp on the reorganization of federal offshore drilling oversight in the wake of the BP spill.

That revamp has been under way since last year’s BP oil spill. Interior has abolished the scandal-plagued Minerals Management Service and replaced it with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).

That agency is subdividing in a revamp slated for completion by October, creating a Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

It will be a topic of discussion off Capitol Hill this week, too.

On Tuesday, BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich will appear at the Center for Strategic and International Studies to discuss the reorganization.

Another off-the-Hill event to watch: Energy Secretary Steven Chu will deliver remarks to the National Petroleum Council on Thursday at a meeting to discuss the future of transportation fuels and other matters.

It’s also GridWeek! It’s a multiday electricity conference in Washington, featuring a suite of senior federal and power industry officials. More here.

On the nuclear safety front, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will meet Wednesday to discuss proposals for implementing recommendations from a task force on safety matters reviewed in the wake of the Japanese nuclear crisis.