Bush mulls energy plan for Congress: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Bush administration is worried
about high natural gas prices this winter and is looking at new
initiatives to bring energy prices down, White House economic
adviser Al Hubbard said on Wednesday.

“We’re still concerned about the high cost of energy,”
Hubbard told CNBC television. “The president is especially
concerned about the cost of natural gas and what it’s going to
mean to the American homeowner.”

U.S. households heating primarily with natural gas are
expected to spend some $281, or 38 percent, more for fuel this
winter, the Energy Information Administration said this week.

Natural gas futures peaked at a record $14.75 per million
British thermal units in early October after two hurricanes
crippled production in the Gulf of Mexico. On Wednesday, gas
futures traded at $13.70 per million Btus. Just prior to
Hurricane Katrina in late August, prices were below $10.

Hubbard added, “We’re working very hard to come up with new
ideas, new initiatives, for the president to present to
Congress to improve our energy independence and to reduce the
price of energy.”

He did not elaborate, or say whether proposals could come
in President George W. Bush’s State of the Union address to
Congress in January.

In recent weeks, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said the White
House was preparing a new U.S. energy plan that might include
creating emergency stockpiles of natural gas and gasoline.