[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 338 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 338

 To prospectively repeal section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory 
                         Policies Act of 1978.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 7, 1997

   Mr. Stearns (for himself, Mr. Towns, Mr. Solomon, Mr. McHale, Mr. 
  Manton, Mr. Murtha, Mr. Houghton, and Mr. Boehlert) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prospectively repeal section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory 
                         Policies Act of 1978.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Ratepayer Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) implementation of section 210 of the Public Utility 
        Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a-3) resulted in 
        many consumers paying excessive rates for electricity;
            (2) the Energy Policy Act of 1992 gives nonregulated 
        producers of electricity additional access to the wholesale 
        electric market through transmission access and exemption from 
        the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935; and
            (3) in light of the competitive wholesale electric 
        marketplace brought about by the Energy Policy Act of 1992, 
        section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 
        1978 need no longer exist.

SEC. 3. PROSPECTIVE REPEAL.

    (a) New Contracts.--After January 7, 1997, no electric utility 
shall be required to enter into a new contract or obligation to 
purchase or to sell electric energy or capacity pursuant to section 210 
of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978.
    (b) Existing Rights and Remedies Not Affected.--Nothing in this 
section affects the rights or remedies of any party with respect to the 
purchase or sale of electric energy or capacity from or to a facility 
determined to be a qualifying small power production facility or a 
qualifying cogeneration facility under section 210 of the Public 
Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 pursuant to any contract or 
obligation to purchase or to sell electric energy or capacity in effect 
on January 7, 1997, including the right to recover the costs of 
purchasing such electric energy or capacity.
    (c) Interpretations and Actions Taken.--Nothing in this Act may be 
deemed or construed as implying congressional ratification of any 
interpretation of, or any action taken pursuant to, the Public Utility 
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978.

SEC. 4. RECOVERY OF COSTS.

    In order to assure recovery by electric utilities purchasing 
electric energy or capacity from a qualifying facility pursuant to any 
legally enforceable obligation entered into or imposed pursuant to 
section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 prior 
to January 7, 1997, of all costs associated with such purchases, the 
Commission shall promulgate and enforce such regulations as may be 
required to assure that no utility shall be required directly or 
indirectly to absorb the costs associated with such purchases from a 
qualifying facility. Such regulations shall be treated as a rule 
enforceable under the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a-825r).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``Commission'' means the Federal Energy 
        Regulatory Commission;
            (2) the term ``electric utility'' means any person, State 
        agency, or Federal agency, which sells electric energy;
            (3) the term ``qualifying small power production facility'' 
        has the same meaning as provided in section 3(17)(C) of the 
        Federal Power Act;
            (4) the term ``qualifying cogeneration facility'' has the 
        same meaning as provided in section 3(18)(A) of the Federal 
        Power Act; and
            (5) the term ``qualifying facility'' means either a small 
        power production facility or a qualifying cogeneration 
        facility.
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