Platts Energy Week TV show: West Virginia mine disaster may spur new rules

Washington - April 12, 2010

The U.S. West Virginia mining disaster that took 29 lives this past week will spur new efforts at mining safety legislation in Congress, according to a leading Washington analyst speaking on the Platts Energy Week television program Sunday.

Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, told Platts Energy Week guest host John Kingston, Platts Global Director of News, that the deaths at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine "(are) probably going to be used to reframe the debate in terms of safety, and it is going to be difficult for Congress not to do something given how close they came before."

Platts Energy Week is a new weekly half-hour television program for discussion and debate on U.S. energy policy, produced by W*USA Television and Platts, a leading global energy and metals information provider. The program airs every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. ET on W*USA Television in the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area and shortly thereafter online at plattsenergyweektv.com.

Book made reference to a failed effort in 2008 to tight mining safety regulations, which passed the House but failed in the Senate. Many of the arguments that killed the bill in the Senate were "economic in nature," Book said, with opponents arguing that new costs injected into mining companies would have an adverse impact on employment.

Asked if new regulations would make any difference, given the enormous backlog of fines and other infractions that have come to light in the wake of the incident, Book said that the Mine Safety and Health Administration is now "being run by folks who have a slightly more labor- aligned and labor-protective focus than in the last administration." And in the wake of the West Virginia deaths, "Congress is going to be watching very closely," Book said. "If there has been a weakness in oversight before, I wouldn't expect to see it going forward."

Turning to the Kerry-Graham-Lieberman climate change proposal, Book said the plan -- which is not yet a formal bill -- has a stronger chance of getting through Congress than is generally believed. Major stakeholders, including the coal industry, are participating in the process, Book noted. He added that the prospect of economic recovery, and the higher energy prices that may go along with it, means that this is the time when it would be easier to get through climate change legislation that would add costs to the price of energy.

Among the other guests on Platts Energy Week were Jonathan Elkind, the Department of Energy's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs. He recently returned from the International Energy Forum (IEF) meeting in Cancun, and said the "enhanced cooperation" called for by the group, would initially take the form of "negotiations over the coming year for the specific terms of reference that will guide the entity going forward." The IEF meeting began the process for establishing the group's formal charter.

Also on the program, Guy Caruso, former head of the Energy Information Administration (EIA), said the IEA's statistical offerings "(do) a fantastic job with the resources they have." The EIA's weekly statistical reports have recently been the focus of an internal report that highlighted the study's shortcomings. Caruso said the numbers are "definitely not wrong...it is the best there is given the available resources."

He added that "as time goes on" and the weekly reports morph into monthly and annual reports, "the accuracy improves and the trends are very clear." Caruso is now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Platts Energy Week follows an interview format featuring guests from the Obama administration, U.S. Congress, government agencies, think tanks, the investment community and the energy industry. Program information, special news features, advertising contacts and more can be found at plattsenergyweektv.com. Guest booking and related inquiries should be addressed to plattsenergyweektv@platts.com. # # #

About Platts: Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading global provider of energy and commodities information. With a century of business experience, Platts serves customers across more than 150 countries. An independent provider, Platts serves the oil, natural gas, electricity, emissions, nuclear power, coal, petrochemicals, shipping, and metals markets from 17 offices worldwide. Platts' real-time news, pricing, analytical services and conferences help markets operate with transparency and efficiency. Traders, risk managers, analysts, and industry leaders depend upon Platts to help them make better trading and investment decisions. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies: Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts, Capital IQ, J.D. Power and Associates, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2008 were $6.4 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

About W*USA: W*USA is owned by the Gannett Company Inc. (NYSE: GCI). Gannett is an international news and information company operating on multiple platforms including the Internet, mobile, newspapers, magazines and TV stations. Gannett is an Internet leader with hundreds of newspaper and TV Web sites; CareerBuilder.com, the nation’s top employment site; USATODAY.com; and more than 80 local MomsLikeMe.com sites. Gannett publishes 84 daily U.S. newspapers, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper, and more than 700 magazines and other non-dailies including USA WEEKEND. Gannett also operates 23 television stations in 19 U.S. markets. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s second largest regional newspaper company with 17 daily paid-for titles, more than 200 weekly newspapers, magazines and trade publications, and a network of Web sites. Gannett TV stations are: WATL-TV, Atlanta, WXIA-TV, Atlanta, WLBZ-TV, Bangor, Maine, WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, N.Y.WKYC-TV, Cleveland, Ohio, WLTX-TV, Columbia, S.C., KTVD-TV, Denver, Colo. KUSA-TV, Denver, Colo. KNAZ-TV, Flagstaff, Ariz. WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Mich., WFMY-TV, Greensboro, N.C., WTLV-TV, Jacksonville, Fla., WJXX-TV, Jacksonville, Fla., WBIR-TV, Knoxville, Tenn., KTHV-TV, Little Rock, Ark., WMAZ-TV, Macon, Ga., KARE-TV, Minneapolis-St. Paul, KPNX-TV, Phoenix, Ariz., WCSH-TV, Portland, Maine, KXTV-TV, Sacramento, Calif., KSDK-TV, St. Louis, Mo., WTSP-TV, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. WUSA-TV, Washington, D.C.

Media Contacts:
Kathleen Tanzy, Director of Strategic Industry Communications
Platts, 212-904-2860, kathleen_tanzy@platts.com

Steve Houk, Director of Marketing and Promotion
W*USA, 202-895-5970, shouk@wusa9.com