[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 971 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 971

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to protect 
 the Nation's electricity ratepayers by ensuring that rates charged by 
  qualifying small power producers and qualifying cogenerators do not 
 exceed the incremental cost to the purchasing utility of alternative 
    electric energy at the time of delivery, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 3, 1999

  Mr. Walsh (for himself, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Sweeney, Mr. 
   Towns, and Mr. Boehlert) introduced the following bill; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to protect 
 the Nation's electricity ratepayers by ensuring that rates charged by 
  qualifying small power producers and qualifying cogenerators do not 
 exceed the incremental cost to the purchasing utility of alternative 
    electric energy at the time of delivery, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Electric Power Consumer Rate Relief 
Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) certain courts have found that States are preempted 
        under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 from 
        engaging in certain ratepayer protection activities critical to 
        ensuring reasonable rates for in-State ratepayers;
            (2) those courts have found that, although States have the 
        authority initially to establish rates charged by qualifying 
        small power producers and qualifying cogenerators to local 
        electric utilities, that such States thereafter are preempted 
        by that Act from ensuring over time that rates--
                    (A) are just and reasonable to the retail electric 
                consumers of purchasing electric utilities and are in 
                the public interest; and
                    (B) do not exceed the incremental cost to such 
                purchasing electric utilities of alternative electric 
                energy at the time of delivery;
            (3) other courts have found that States are preempted from 
        monitoring effectively the operating and efficiency performance 
        of in-State cogeneration and small power production facilities 
        for the purpose of determining whether such facilities meet 
        Federal Energy Regulatory Commission standards for qualifying 
        cogenerators; and
            (4) that Act should be amended to clarify the intent of 
        Congress that States have the authority--
                    (A) to ensure that rates charged by qualifying 
                small power producers and qualifying cogenerators to 
                purchasing electric utilities--
                            (i) are just and reasonable to the electric 
                        consumers of such purchasing electric utilities 
                        and in the public interest; and
                            (ii) do not exceed the incremental cost to 
                        such purchasing electric utilities of 
                        alternative electric energy at the time of 
                        delivery; and
                    (B) to establish effective programs for monitoring 
                the operating and efficiency performance of in-State 
                cogeneration and small power production facilities for 
                the purpose of determining whether such facilities meet 
                Federal Energy Regulatory Commission standards for 
                qualifying cogenerators.

SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF RULES.

    Section 210(f)(1) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 
1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a-3(f)(1)) is amended as follows:
            (1) By striking ``(1) Beginning'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) By state regulatory authorities.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Beginning''.
            (2) By adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Requirements.--Notwithstanding any other 
                provision of this section, a State regulatory authority 
                may ensure that rates charged by qualifying small power 
                producers and qualifying cogenerators--
                            ``(i) are just and reasonable to the 
                        electric consumers of the purchasing electric 
                        utility and in the public interest; and
                            ``(ii) do not exceed the incremental cost 
                        at the time of delivery to the purchasing 
                        utility of alternative electric energy and 
                        capacity.
                    ``(C) Monitoring.--A State regulatory authority may 
                establish programs for monitoring the operating and 
                efficiency performance of in-State cogeneration and 
                small power production facilities for the purpose of 
                determining whether the facilities meet standards 
                established by the Commission for qualifying 
                facilities.
                    ``(D) Amendment of contract.--A State regulatory 
                authority may require that any contract entered into 
                before the date of enactment of this paragraph be 
                amended to conform to any requirements imposed under 
                subparagraph (B).''.
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