It won’t be a debate as much as a dialogue. The top four presidential candidates from both parties have been invited to Houston in two months to discuss their energy platform.

The event is called “America’s Energy Security: Houston’s Presidential Summit” and will be broadcast live from the George R. Brown Convention Center on a cable news channel on Nov. 13.

“[Energy] impacts every consumer, every citizen in this country, said Tracye McDaniel, executive vice president, Greater Houston Partnership. “More importantly, it’s a concern as a voter. We need to hear from our potential presidential candidates.”

The Partnership developed the idea and sent invitations to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards and Bill Richardson for the Democrats along with Rudy Guiliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney and John McCain for the Republicans.

Each candidate will have 15 minutes of one-on-one time with a nationally known moderator to explain his or her platform on America’s energy future before a local audience of 3,500.

“I don’t know how many people could answer the question of ‘Where is your particular candidate and what is that position on our energy future?’ With this summit we’ll be able to address that issue,” said McDaniel.

The GHP would not yet disclose either which candidates have accepted the invitation or the identity of the cable channel that has agreed to broadcast the event.

Presidential candidates have not come to Houston for a debate or dialogue for more than a quarter century.

The Partnership said the last debate took place in 1980 between Republican presidential candidates Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Four years earlier in 1976, vice presidential candidates Bob Dole and Walter Mondale debated in Houston as well.