Press Release

LPPC Supports Barton Bill Advancing to Committee,
Notes Several Issues Still Need Work

        Nonetheless, in the opinion of the LPPC, H.R. 2944, the Electricity Competition and Reliability Act, is still flawed in several key areas, including:

• The bill does not give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission adequate authority to deal with utility mergers and market power;

• There are very serious problems with the Tennessee Valley Authority provisions of the bill; and

• The retail reciprocity provisions of the bill should be left to the states, rather than being a federal mandate.

Edwards made it clear in his letter to Chairman Barton that despite the LPPC's concerns, the LPPC supports advancing the bill out of the Energy and Power Subcommittee. "We believe the Manager's Amendment takes substantial steps toward your goal and ours of encouraging competition and providing all consumers with reliable electric service," said Edwards.

####

The Large Public Power Council (LPPC) is an association of the nation's 21 largest public power utilities. It serves millions of customers in some of the largest and fastest-growing areas of the country and counts some of America's biggest corporations among its customers.