S 552 IS

To provide that no electric utility shall be required to enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase or to sell electricity or capacity under section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978.

March 15, 2001

Mr. GRAHAM introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

To provide that no electric utility shall be required to enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase or to sell electricity or capacity under 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 `Transition to Competition in the Electric Industry Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

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) amendments made by title VII of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (106 Stat. 2905) give 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 (15 U.S.C. 79 et seq.); 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 be in effect.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) COMMISSION- The term `Commission' means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

(2) ELECTRIC UTILITY- The term `electric utility' means a person, State agency, or Federal agency that sells electricity.

(3) QUALIFYING COGENERATION FACILITY- The term `qualifying cogeneration facility' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).

(4) QUALIFYING FACILITY- The term `qualifying facility' means--

(A) a qualifying small power production facility; and

(B) a qualifying cogeneration facility.

(5) QUALIFYING SMALL POWER PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term `qualifying small power production facility' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).

SEC. 4. PROSPECTIVE REPEAL.

(a) NEW CONTRACTS- No electric utility shall be required to enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase or to sell electricity or capacity under section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a-3).

(b) EXISTING RIGHTS AND REMEDIES- Nothing in this section affects the rights or remedies of any party with respect to the purchase or sale of electricity 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 (16 U.S.C. 824a-3) under any contract or obligation to purchase or to sell electricity or capacity in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, including the right to recover the costs of purchasing the electricity or capacity.

(c) INTERPRETATIONS AND ACTIONS TAKEN- Nothing in this Act implies congressional ratification of any interpretation of, or any action taken under, section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a-3).

SEC. 5. RECOVERY OF COSTS.

(a) REGULATION- To ensure recovery, by any electric utility that purchases electricity or capacity from a qualifying facility pursuant to any legally enforceable obligation entered into or imposed under section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a-3) before the date of enactment of this Act, of all costs associated with the purchases, the Commission shall promulgate and enforce such regulations as are required to ensure that no utility shall be required directly or indirectly to absorb the costs associated with the purchases.

(b) TREATMENT- A regulation under subsection (a) shall be treated as a rule enforceable under the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.).

END