State Energy Office could come back

State legislature is deciding whether the Energy Office should be re-established. It was disbanded by Governor Tom Ridge in 1995. With House Bill 786, State Representative Camille George says the savings are apparent. Instead of having several agencies control different aspects of Energy, it will all have one common place without state bureaucracy slowing it down. It would be run through the Department of Environmental Protection, and backers said it would draw from existing staff, thereby creating no new additional cost for the state. As the Environmental & Energy Committee Chairman, he calls his frustration of dealing with several agencies "alphabet soup". Between the DEP, DCED and DPW, he says it's difficult to deal with all of those groups on similar issues. The bill is now pending in Senate.