David Spett

HARRISBURG (Oct. 8 ) – The House and Senate passed an amended energy bill Wednesday afternoon that will change the way electric utilities buy power and impose new energy conservation regulations. Gov. Ed Rendell has pledged to sign the measure.

“We have put a tremendous amount of time into making this bill good for ratepayers and good for Pennsylvania, but our job is not finished,” said Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton.

The unfinished work she mentioned deals with electric rate caps, which are set to be phased out in 2010 and 2011. As recently as Tuesday evening, Boscola and other senators were trying to introduce amendments to the bill, House Bill 2200, that would either continue the rate caps or phase them out more gradually.

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HARRISBURG (Oct. 8 ) – House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, D-Greene, shot back at his former chief of staff, Michael Manzo, late Wednesday afternoon, calling Manzo’s remarks “absolutely false” just hours after Manzo testified in court that DeWeese knew Democratic legislative staff received illegal taxpayer-funded bonuses for conducting campaign work.

“He [Manzo] has lied to his wife, he’s lied to his girlfriend, he’s lied to investigators, he’s lied to me,” DeWeese said. “His motives are suspect and his opinions are just not credible.”

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