Critics, including the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), claim Kaines proposed amendments to an energy bill would sharply limit the ability of the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to consider conservation and other electricity-saving measures as alternatives to the construction of transmission lines.

The governor's staff strongly disagrees.

But confronted with a storm of mounting opposition from conservationists, Kaine on Tuesday announced he would drop the amendments, a sudden and embarrassing turnabout for the governor.

Virginia's legislative process, however, prohibits Kaine from withdrawing or "pulling" the amendments before a vote, as the governor's spokesman, Gordon Hickey, said his boss planned to do.