United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2008-05-01 monographic deposited born digital 15 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-752T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-752T P0b002ee18037a069 f:d08752t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-752T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-752T GAO-08-752T Audit oversight Auditing standards Corporate audits Corporate mergers Electric energy Electric utilities Federal law Federal regulations Independent regulatory commissions Internal controls Natural gas Public utilities Reporting requirements Utility rates Testimony A81944 Under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA 1935) and other laws, federal agencies and state commissions have traditionally regulated utilities to protect consumers from supply disruptions and unfair pricing. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) repealed PUHCA 1935, removing some limitations on the companies that could merge with or invest in utilities, and leaving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which already regulated utilities, with primary federal responsibility for regulating them. Because of the potential for new mergers or acquisitions between utilities and companies previously restricted from investing in utilities, there has been considerable interest in whether cross-subsidization--unfairly passing on to consumers the cost of transactions between utility companies and their "affiliates"--could occur. GAO was asked to testify on its February 2008 report, Utility Oversight: Recent Changes in Law Call for Improved Vigilance by FERC (GAO-08-289), which (1) examined the extent to which FERC changed its merger review and post merger oversight since EPAct to protect against cross-subsidization and (2) surveyed state utility commissions about their oversight. In this report, GAO recommended that FERC adopt a risk-based approach to auditing and improve its audit reports, among other things. The FERC Chairman disagreed with the need for our recommendations, but GAO maintains that implementing them would improve oversight. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-752T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-752T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-752T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-752T.pdf GAO-08-752T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-752T Testimony GAO-08-752T; Utility Regulation: Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight; Audit oversight Auditing standards Corporate audits Corporate mergers Electric energy Electric utilities Federal law Federal regulations Independent regulatory commissions Internal controls Natural gas Public utilities Reporting requirements Utility rates