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WASHINGTON — The Senate blocked a House-passed energy bill today, but the vote in the House remains a yardstick for voters to measure the philosophy of the state's three congressional delegates running for the Senate next year.

Rep. Tom Udall, a Santa Fe Democrat, led the fight to include a mandate that privately owned utilities obtain 15 percent of their power from renewable resources - a measure opposed in places that don't have substantial wind or solar energy options.

He also strongly supported mandates for increased fuel efficiency and use of biofuels.

Rep. Heather Wilson, an Albuquerque Republican, supported the three new mandates but voted against the bill because it increases taxes on the oil and gas industry by $21 billion over the next 10 years.

Rep. Steve Pearce, a Hobbs Republican, did not support any of the mandates or the taxes, and also voted no.

As for the retiring incumbent they are seeking to replace, Albuquerque Republican Sen. Pete Domenici supports the fuel efficiency standard and biofuels mandate, like Wilson, but opposes a renewable electricity mandate, like Pearce.

Udall's position mirrors that of Sen. Jeff Bingaman, the Silver City Democrat who leads the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. But Bingaman could not push a renewable electricity mandate through the Senate and was surprised when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, decided to include one in the House package.

The House approved the energy bill 235-181 on Thursday, but following Domenici's lead, Republican senators blocked the bill from coming up for debate today.

Democrats fell seven votes short of the 60 needed to begin debate.

Domenici accused House Democratic leaders of reneging on agreements with the Senate when they insisted on adding the tax portion and the renewable electricity standard to the energy bill. He pledged to work with Democrats to send a bill with the fuel efficiency standard back to the House.

"We can either waste our time or do something meaningful," Domenici said.

Speaking for Senate Democrats, Bingaman acknowledged that the process of negotiations had "not been ideal," but he said the bill "contains a substantial amount of very good public policy."

White House officials have said President Bush would veto the bill if it included higher taxes and a renewable electricity standard.

The bill pays for some tax breaks for solar and wind power and purchases of energy-efficient cars and appliances largely by repealing about $21 billion in tax breaks and incentives in the energy bill Domenici and Bingaman pushed through in 2005.

Wilson said the tax increases on the oil and gas industry would mean New Mexicans will see an increase in home heating and travel costs and that the state could see a reduction in oil and gas royalties because producers will have fewer incentives to drill.

"This bill is not good for America, and it is not good for New Mexico," Wilson said.

Pearce called the bill "a grab bag of tax increases, unreasonable mandates and new regulations that will not create one unit of new energy. It does nothing to address gas price or home energy costs that are putting tremendous pressure on American families," he said.

But Udall noted, "This legislation reflects a bold vision with the scope needed to respond to many of the gravest threats facing our nation."

After the Senate vote today, Udall acknowledged that the renewable electricity standard will not be part of the final bill.

"It's unfortunate that a minority in the Senate chose to obstruct passage of such an important and historic measure," he said.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, said he was not willing to jettison the tax part of the bill because it extends tax incentives for wind and solar power.

Bingaman told reporters his staff would work with Domenici's staff through the weekend, and he hoped to have new proposals for the Senate to consider next week.