Well, if you are asking who it SHOULD BE, cast our vote for John Rowe.

As explained in our editorial in our current issue of EnergyBiz, he has a unique grasp of where the power industry has been, where it may be headed - and where it should be headed. In a rountdtable discussion with the magazine early in the summer, Rowe commented on a host of issues awaiting action by the next administraiton and Congress.

  "If the next administration tries to make all these decisions in the most politically correct fashion, then Ithink we’re looking at 30 to 40 cents electricity and very radical structural changes."e continues: "Neither party has got its act together on how to combine environmental policy and energy policy."He said, "… there’s a real dichotomy between advocating what we think is good for America, which we all try to do in our own halting ways, and doing what we must do for our shareholders. That kind of continues to haunt this industry as it always has."

I like that candor. It is a longshot that any new president would tap a utility executive for energy secretary, no matter how wise the choice. Responses would probably, predictably, run along the lines of inserting a fox into a hen house.

Who is likely to get the nod? I mulled the question over with some energy types in Washington last week when I was in town for GridWeek. Obviously, they prefer to remain anonymous.

Some names mentioned included:

Betsy Moler, Exelon exectutive and former chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, who has been described as a free-market Democrat.

Mike Bloomberg, New York City mayor, who has lately taken some interesting stands calling for a push to make Gotham a model city for renewables among the largest cities in the world. Discount Mayor Mike, though, because he is now making moves to run for a third term as mayor next year.

Rep. Heather Wilson, who lost her primary race in New Mexico, is considered a possible McCain pick if the Arizonan likes the idea of giving the energy portfolio to a fellow Southwesterner.

Whoever gets the nod, the job could well take on unprecedented importance if Barack or John want to make national energy policy a BRIDGE TO SOMEWHERE.

"If the next president sets a course that deals with climate and energy supply issues in a decisive way, most of the country can have 15 to 20 cents per kilowatt-hour electricity and continue to have a high degree of reliability," Rowe said. "