TVA Customer Protection Act of 1998

Summary: TVA Customer Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Federal Power Act to treat the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as a public utility subject to regulation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). 
Exempts TVA facilities from the requirement of prior FERC approval for any disposition of property if proper disclosure has been made, and all disposition proceeds are applied towards TVA debt reduction. 
Prohibits FERC from permitting TVA to impose any rate or charge, or any rule or regulation pertaining to a rate or charge, for costs incurred in the conduct of TVA activities or operations outside the United States.  Deems any such rate, charge, rule, or regulation to be unjust, unreasonable, and unlawful.  Mandates an annual TVA report to FERC detailing its activities outside the United States. 
Prohibits TVA electric power sales to a retail customer within a distributor service area assigned by law, unless:  (1) the customer was purchasing electric power directly from TVA on the date of enactment of this Act; (2) the distributor purchases firm power from TVA that is no more than 50 percent of its total retail sales; or (3) the distributor agrees that TVA may sell power to the customer. Subjects TVA retail electric power sales to applicable State law. 
Subjects TVA to the same filing and disclosure requirements as pertain to other public utilities. 
Amends the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 to subject TVA to the antitrust laws. 
Denies TVA any power to rent, sell, or otherwise provide construction equipment or services to, or perform contract construction work for, any public or private entity, except for certain electrical contractors, customers, distributors, and governmental entities engaged in electrical utility work on a TVA electrical utility project.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``TVA Customer Protection Act of 
1998''.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION IN DEFINITION OF PUBLIC UTILITY.

    (a) In General.--Section 201(e) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
824(e)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the 
following: ``, and includes the Tennessee Valley Authority''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 201(f) of the Federal Power Act 
(16 U.S.C. 824(f)) is amended by striking ``foregoing, or any 
corporation'' and inserting ``foregoing (other than the Tennessee 
Valley Authority) or any corporation''.

SEC. 3. DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY.

    Section 203 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824b) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) TVA Exception.--This section does not apply to a disposition 
of the whole or any part of the facilities of the Tennessee Valley 
Authority if--
            ``(1) the Tennessee Valley Authority discloses to the 
        Commission (on a form, and to the extent, that the Commission 
        shall prescribe by regulation) the sale, lease, or other 
        disposition of any part of its facilities that--
                    ``(A) is subject to the jurisdiction of the 
                Commission under this Part; and
                    ``(B) has a value of more than $50,000; and
            ``(2) all proceeds of the sale, lease, or other disposition 
        under paragraph (1) are applied by the Tennessee Valley 
        Authority to the reduction of debt of the Tennessee Valley 
        Authority.''.

SEC. 4. FOREIGN OPERATIONS; PROTECTIONS.

    Section 208 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824g) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Tennessee Valley Authority.--
            ``(1) Limit on charges.--
                    ``(A) No authorization or permit.--The Commission 
                shall issue no order under this Act that has the effect 
                of authorizing or permitting the Tennessee Valley 
                Authority to make, demand, or receive any rate or 
                charge, or impose any rule or regulation pertaining to 
                a rate or charge, that includes any costs incurred by 
                or for the Tennessee Valley Authority in the conduct of 
                any activities or operations outside the United States.
                    ``(B) Unlawful rate.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Any rate, charge, rule, 
                        or regulation described in subparagraph (A) 
                        shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to 
                        be unjust, unreasonable, and unlawful.
                            ``(ii) No limitation on authority.--Clause 
                        (i) does not limit the authority of the 
                        Commission under any other provision of law to 
                        regulate and establish just and reasonable 
                        rates and charges for the Tennessee Valley 
                        Authority.
            ``(2) Annual report.--The Tennessee Valley Authority shall 
        annually--
                    ``(A) prepare and file with the Commission, in a 
                form that the Commission shall prescribe by regulation, 
                a report setting forth in detail any activities or 
                operations engaged in outside the United States by or 
                on behalf of the Tennessee Valley Authority; and
                    ``(B) certify to the Commission that the Tennessee 
                Valley Authority has neither recovered nor sought to 
                recover the costs of activities or operations engaged 
                in outside the United States by or on behalf of the 
                Tennessee Valley Authority in any rate, charge, rule, 
                or regulation on file with the Commission.''.

SEC. 5. TVA POWER SALES.

    (a) In General.--Part II of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 215. TVA POWER SALES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Tennessee Valley Authority shall not sell 
electric power to a retail customer that will consume the power within 
the area that, on the date of enactment of this section, is assigned by 
law as the distributor service area, unless--
            ``(1) the customer (or predecessor in interest to the 
        customer) was purchasing electric power directly from the 
        Tennessee Valley Authority as a retail customer on that date;
            ``(2) the distributor is purchasing firm power from the 
        Tennessee Valley Authority in an amount that is equal to not 
        more than 50 percent of the total retail sales of the 
        distributor; or
            ``(3) the distributor agrees that the Tennessee Valley 
        Authority may sell power to the customer.
    ``(b) Retail Sales.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the rates, terms, and conditions of retail sales of electric power by 
the Tennessee Valley Authority that are not prohibited by this section 
shall be subject to regulation under State law applicable to public 
utilities in the manner and to the extent that a State commission or 
other regulatory authority determines appropriate.''.
    (b) Transition.--
            (1) Filing requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Tennessee Valley Authority 
        shall file all rates and charges for the transmission or sale 
        of electric energy and the classifications, practices, and 
        regulations affecting those rates and charges, together with 
        all contracts that in any manner affect or relate to contracts 
        that are required to be filed under Part II of the Federal 
        Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824 et seq.), as amended by subsection 
        (a), and that are in effect as of the date of enactment of this 
        Act.
            (2) No initial review.--A filing under this section that is 
        timely made under subsection (a) shall be accepted for filing 
        without initial review by the Federal Energy Regulatory 
        Commission.

SEC. 6. FILING AND FULL DISCLOSURE OF TVA DOCUMENTS.

    Part III of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 825 et seq.) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 319 through 321 as sections 
        320 through 322, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 318 the following:

``SEC. 319. FILING AND FULL DISCLOSURE OF TVA DOCUMENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Tennessee Valley Authority shall file and 
disclose the same documents and other information that other public 
utilities are required to file under this Act, as the Commission shall 
require by regulation.
    ``(b) Regulation.--
            ``(1) Timing.--The regulation under subsection (a) shall be 
        promulgated not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
        of this section.
            ``(2) Considerations.--In promulgating the regulation under 
        subsection (a), the Commission shall take into consideration 
        the practices of the Commission with respect to public 
        utilities other than the Tennessee Valley Authority.''.

SEC. 7. APPLICABILITY OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS.

    The Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C. 831 et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 16 the following:

``SEC. 17. APPLICABILITY OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS.

    ``(a) Definition of Antitrust Laws.--In this section, the term 
`antitrust laws' means--
            ``(1) an antitrust law (within the meaning of section (1) 
        of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12));
            ``(2) the Act of June 19, 1936 (commonly known as the 
        `Robinson Patman Act') (49 Stat. 1526, chapter 323; 15 U.S.C. 
        13 et seq.); and
            ``(3) section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
        U.S.C. 45), to the extent that the section relates to unfair 
        methods of competition.
    ``(b) Applicability.--Nothing in this Act modifies, impairs, or 
supersedes the antitrust laws.
    ``(c) Antitrust Laws.--
            ``(1) TVA deemed a person.--The Tennessee Valley Authority 
        shall be deemed to be a person, and not government, for 
        purposes of the antitrust laws.
            ``(2) Applicability.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
        of law, the antitrust laws (including the availability of any 
        remedy for a violation of an antitrust law) shall apply to the 
        Tennessee Valley Authority notwithstanding any determination 
        that the Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency or 
        instrumentality of the United States or is otherwise engaged in 
        governmental functions.''.

SEC. 8. SAVINGS PROVISION.

    (a) Definition of TVA Distributor.--In this section, the term ``TVA 
distributor'' means a cooperative organization or publicly owned 
electric power system that, on January 2, 1998, purchased electric 
power at wholesale from the Tennessee Valley Authority under an all-
requirements power contract.
    (b) Effect of Act.--Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by 
this Act--
            (1) subjects any TVA distributor to regulation by the 
        Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; or
            (2) abrogates or affects any law in effect on the date of 
        enactment of this Act that applies to a TVA distributor.

SEC. 9. PROVISION OF CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT, CONTRACTING, AND 
              ENGINEERING SERVICES.

    Section 4 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C. 
831c) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Provision of Construction Equipment, Contracting, and 
Engineering Services.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this Act, except as provided in this subsection, the 
        Corporation shall not have power to--
                    ``(A) rent or sell construction equipment;
                    ``(B) provide a construction equipment maintenance 
                or repair service;
                    ``(C) perform contract construction work; or
                    ``(D) provide a construction engineering service;
        to any private or public entity.
            ``(2) Electrical contractors.--The Corporation may provide 
        equipment or a service described in subparagraph (1) to a 
        private contractor that is engaged in electrical utility work 
        on an electrical utility project of the Corporation.
            ``(3) Customers, distributors, and governmental entities.--
        The Corporation may provide equipment or a service described in 
        subparagraph (1) to--
                    ``(A) a power customer served directly by the 
                Corporation;
                    ``(B) a distributor of Corporation power; or
                    ``(C) a Federal, State, or local government entity;
        that is engaged in work specifically related to an electrical 
        utility project of the Corporation.
            ``(4) Used construction equipment.--
                    ``(A) Definition of used construction equipment.--
                In this paragraph, the term `used construction 
                equipment' means construction equipment that has been 
                in service for more than 2,500 hours.
                    ``(B) In general.--The Corporation may dispose of 
                used construction equipment by means of a public 
                auction conducted by a private entity that is 
                independent of the Corporation.
                    ``(C) Debt reduction.--The Corporation shall apply 
                all proceeds of a disposition of used construction 
                equipment under subparagraph (B) to the reduction of 
                debt of the Corporation.''.