[House Report 116-649]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


116th Congress  }                                             {    Report
                          HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session     }                                             {   116-649

======================================================================



 
           WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION TRANSPARENCY ACT

                                _______
                                

 December 15, 2020.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Grijalva, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 4444]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 4444) to require the Administrator of the 
Western Area Power Administration to establish a pilot project 
to provide increased transparency for customers, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 4444 is to require the Administrator of 
the Western Area Power Administration to establish a pilot 
project to provide increased transparency for customers.

                 BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\See also Richard J. Campbell, Cong. Research. Serv., R45548, The 
Power Marketing Administrations: Background and Current Issues (2019), 
of which some of the above text is excerpts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) is one of the 
U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) four Power Marketing 
Administrations (PMAs), regionally-based entities which market 
the energy produced at hydropower facilities owned by the 
Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers, and a small 
number of additional federal facilities.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Congressional Research Service, The Power Marketing 
Administrations: Background and Current Issues (Mar. 1, 2019) (R45548) 
(online at crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R45548).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In accordance with federal law, PMAs must sell their power 
at the lowest possible rates consistent with sound business 
practices, while high enough to recover the costs of the 
initial federal investment in hydropower and transmission 
facilities.\3\ Most of the power marketed by the PMAs is 
relatively inexpensive,\4\ but rate increases over the past 
several years have led some WAPA wholesale power customers to 
express concerns.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Ibid.
    \4\U.S. Energy Information Administration, Federal Power Marketing 
Administrations operate across much of the United States (June 12, 
2013) (online at www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=11651).
    \5\Senate bill targets Western power agency probed by Republic; 
Flake, McCain seek more transparency, The Arizona Republic (Apr. 26, 
2017) (online at www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-
investigations/2017/04/26/senate-bill-targets-western-power-agency-
probed-republic-flake-mccain-seek-more-transparency/100904360/).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Additionally, some power customers have raised concerns 
with the size of WAPA's unobligated balances of funds, which it 
maintains as a reserve to safeguard against unanticipated costs 
that could impact its ability to deliver power. Unanticipated 
costs can arise due to economic downturns as well as 
environmental factors such as drought and flooding, which may 
affect the function of power generating dams and introduce 
financial risk.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\Government Accountability Office, ``2013 Sequestration and 
Shutdown, Selected Agencies Generally Managed Unobligated Balances in 
Reviewed Accounts, but Balances Exceeded Target Levels in Two Accounts 
(GAO-16-26).'' http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-26.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In a 2015 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office 
(GAO) determined that the unobligated balances in WAPA's 
Construction, Rehabilitation, Operation, and Maintenance (CROM) 
account exceeded the level necessary to maintain certain 
activities and manage risk.\7\ WAPA concurred with GAO's 
findings and released a plan in December 2016 to manage excess 
balances in the CROM account.\8\ In a 2018 investigation, DOE's 
Inspector General determined that WAPA had appropriately 
developed and implemented a strategy for managing its 
unobligated balances in fiscal year 2017, and had established a 
mechanism to monitor and report the balances.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\Ibid.
    \8\ Western Area Power Administration, Unobligated Balance Strategy 
FY2016-FY2020, Dec. 15, 2016. https://www.wapa.gov/About/financial/
reserve-balances-strategy.pdf.
    \9\ U.S. Department of Energy Office of Inspector General, Western 
Area Power Administration's Unobligated Balances from Various Funding 
Sources (July 10, 2018)(DOE-OIG-18-38) (online at www.energy.gov/ig/
downloads/inspection-report-doe-oig-18-38).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    H.R. 4444 establishes a seven-year pilot project requiring 
WAPA to publish an online database detailing the rates charged 
to customers for power and transmission service and the amount 
of energy sold, starting with fiscal year 2008 and continuing 
through the duration of the pilot. The database must also 
include a detailed accounting of all expenditures, capital 
costs, and staffing costs by region and at WAPA's headquarters 
office. Finally, the legislation directs WAPA to publish 
information on the anticipated level of unobligated balances 
that WAPA retains after the end of each fiscal year during the 
pilot project.
    In order to increase financial transparency, WAPA compiles 
some information on its rates, costs, and unobligated balances 
on a single page titled ``The Source'' on its website, 
originally released in 2016.\10\ WAPA notes that the 
information provided on this page was expanded based on a 
previous draft of the Senate companion to this bill, as well as 
conversations with its wholesale power customers.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\Western Area Power Administration, Financial Transparency (Feb. 
21, 2020) (online at www.wapa.gov/About/the-source/Pages/financial-
transparency.aspx).
    \11\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 4444 was introduced on September 20, 2019, by 
Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ). The bill was referred solely 
to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee 
to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. On 
February 12, 2020, the Natural Resources Committee met to 
consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous 
consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was adopted 
and ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives 
by unanimous consent.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of section 103(i) of H. Res. 6 of the 
116th Congress--the following hearing was used to develop or 
consider H.R. 4444: full committee markup held on February 12, 
2020.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                  COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND 
                        CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, February 21, 2020.
Hon. Raul M. Grijalva,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4444, the Western 
Area Power Administration Transparency Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kathleen 
Gramp.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

    
    

    H.R. 4444 would direct the Western Area Power 
Administration (WAPA) to make more information about its 
financial operations available to the public. WAPA is an agency 
within the Department of Energy that markets electricity 
produced at federally owned dams in several western states. 
WAPA's expenditures are funded by annual appropriations and are 
offset over time by income from the sale of electricity.
    Using information from WAPA, CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 4444 would cost less than $500,000 over the 
2020-2025 period because much of that work is being done under 
current law and primarily involves making existing data 
available in new formats.
    On December 9, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
1931, the Western Area Power Administration Transparency Act, 
as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources on October 23, 2019. The two bills are 
similar and CBO's estimated costs are the same for both bills.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Kathleen Gramp. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
    2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goals and 
objectives of this bill are to require the Administrator of the 
Western Area Power Administration to establish a pilot project 
to provide increased transparency for customers.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of 
the federal government known to be duplicative of another 
program.

                  APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

               PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes to existing 
law.

        SUPPLEMENTAL, MINORITY, ADDITIONAL, OR DISSENTING VIEWS

    None.