Topeka ? A key part of the energy bill before Congress would repeal a consumer provision that has been at the center of a political firestorm involving Westar Energy Inc., the largest electric utility in Kansas.

The provision is called the Public Utility Holding Company Act, a Depression-era statute that limited and regulated the kinds of business in which electric utilities could engage.

In 2002, Westar executives sought to get the act changed by contributing to key congressional Republicans, according to internal company memos. But repeal at that time failed after it was announced that Westar was under federal investigation.

But under the new energy bill, the act would be repealed within 12 months.

The consumer watchdog group Public Citizen has called for a Senate filibuster to defeat the bill, in part because of repeal of this provision, which it said would result in less regulation and higher electric rates.

The bill “is a shameful sell-out to energy lobbyists and executives who care only about padding their own bottom line and lining their own pockets at the expense of the U.S. Treasury, the people who pay the bills and our precious environment,” said Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen president.

Westar, which has since undergone new management, has said it was no longer interested in whether the act was repealed.

U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said he supported the energy bill because it would benefit the state by increasing demand for the use of Kansas-made ethanol in gasoline.

Brownback disagreed that repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act would increase electric bills. “The notion that you drive up rates is counter to our experience. Regulation generally drives up prices,” he said.