With energy consumption being a key issue with this year's election, Obama has started putting together his own plans to focus on an untaped idea that would prove benificial.

Called an exchange, the plan would help lower the price of oil for consumers, increase the amount of oil in America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), increase energy security, and leave taxpayers paying less and being better set at about $1 billion.

The U.S. created the SPR in 1975, after the Arab oil embargo, the to protect against oil supply disruptions. The SPR's drawdown capability of 4.4 million barrels of oil per day greatly passes the daily production capacity of Iran, Iraq or Venezuela. So the benifits even out.

Being run by the Energy Department who will allogate pricing, "swaps" that help energy security, refiners and consumers should be a routine part of managing the SPR.

With both the House and Senate having considerered legislation to create such a swap, Obama has now adopted the idea as part of his energy plan.