II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1369

To enhance the benefits of the national electric system by encouraging and

supporting State programs for renewable energy sources, universal electric service, affordable electric service, and energy conservation and efficiency, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 14, 1999

Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. SCHUMER,

Mr. KERRY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. DODD, and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To enhance the benefits of the national electric system by

encouraging and supporting State programs for renewable energy sources, universal electric service, affordable

electric service, and energy conservation and efficiency,

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Energy Act of

5 1999’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) the generation of electricity is unique in its

4 combined influence on the security, environmental

5 quality, and economic efficiency of the United

6 States;

7 (2) the generation and sale of electricity has a

8 direct and profound impact on interstate commerce;

9 (3) the Federal Government and the States

10 have a joint responsibility for the maintenance of

11 public purpose programs affected by the national

12 electric system;

13 (4) notwithstanding the public’s interest in and

14 enthusiasm for programs that enhance the environ15 ment, encourage the efficient use of resources, and

16 provide for affordable and universal service, the in17 vestments in those public purposes by existing

18 means continues to decline;

19 (5) the dependence of the United States on for20 eign sources of fossil fuels is contrary to our na21 tional security; alternative, sustainable energy

22 sources must be pursued as the United States moves

23 into the 21st century;

24 (6) emissions from electric power generating fa25 cilities are today the largest industrial source re-
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1 sponsible for persistent public health and environ2 mental problems;

3 (7) consumers have a right to certain informa4 tion in order to make objective choices on their elec5 tric service providers; and

6 (8) net metering of small systems for self-gen7 eration of electricity is in the public interest in order

8 to encourage private investment in renewable energy

9 resources, stimulate economic growth, and enhance

10 the continued diversification of the energy resources

11 used in the United States.

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

13 In this Act:

14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis15 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ16 mental Protection Agency.

17 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Na18 tional Electric System Public Benefits Board estab19 lished under section 5.

20 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

21 means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

22 (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Na23 tional Electric System Public Benefits Fund estab24 lished by section 6.
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1 (5) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘‘renew2 able energy’’ means electricity generated from a re3 newable energy technology.

4 (6) RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY.—The

5 term ‘‘renewable energy technology’’ means wind,

6 biomass (including organic waste but excluding in7 cinerated municipal solid waste), or a geothermal,

8 solar thermal, or photovoltaic source.

9 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

10 the Secretary of Energy.

11 SEC. 4. EMISSIONS STANDARDS AND ALLOCATIONS.

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

13 (1) COVERED GENERATION FACILITY.—The

14 term ‘‘covered generation facility’’ means an electric

15 generation facility (other than a nuclear facility)

16 with a nameplate capacity of 15 megawatts or great17 er that uses a combustion device to generate elec18 tricity for sale.

19 (2) GENERATING PLANT.—The term ‘‘gener20 ating plant’’ means 1 or more covered generation fa21 cilities located at a single site.

22 (3) COGENERATION.—The term ‘‘cogeneration’’

23 means a process of simultaneously generating elec24 tricity and thermal energy in which a portion of the

25 energy value of fuel consumed is recovered as heat
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1 that is used to meet heating or cooling loads outside

2 the generation facility.

3 (4) POLLUTANT.—The term ‘‘pollutant’’

4 means—

5 (A) carbon dioxide;

6 (B) mercury;

7 (C) nitrogen oxide;

8 (D) sulfur dioxide; or

9 (E) any other substance that the Adminis10 trator may identify by regulation as a substance

11 the emission of which into the air from a com12 bustion device used in the generation of elec13 tricity endangers public health or welfare.

14 (b) NATIONWIDE EMISSIONS STANDARDS.—

15 (1) SCHEDULE.—Not later than July 1, 2001,

16 the Administrator shall promulgate a final regula17 tion that establishes a schedule of limits on the

18 quantity of each pollutant that all covered genera19 tion facilities in the aggregate nationwide shall be

20 permitted to emit in each calendar year beginning in

21 calendar year 2002.

22 (2) LIMIT.—The nationwide emissions standard

23 for calendar year 2005 and each year thereafter es24 tablished under paragraph (1) shall be not greater

25 than—
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1 (A) for carbon dioxide, 1,914,000,000

2 tons;

3 (B) for mercury, 5 tons;

4 (C) for nitrogen oxide, 1,660,000 tons; and

5 (D) for sulfur dioxide, 3,580,000 tons.

6 (3) ADJUSTMENT.—The Administrator may ad7 just the schedule established under paragraph (1),

8 within the limits established by paragraph (2), if the

9 Administrator determines that an adjustment would

10 be in the best interests of the public health and wel11 fare.

12 (c) GENERATION PERFORMANCE STANDARD.—

13 (1) ANNUAL DETERMINATION.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October

15 1 of each year, the Administrator, in consulta16 tion with the Commission, shall determine the

17 generation performance standard for carbon di18 oxide, mercury, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur diox19 ide emissions per megawatt-hour of electric pro20 duction by covered generation facilities for the

21 next calendar year.

22 (B) METHOD.—The Administrator shall

23 determine by regulation the method to be used

24 in determining an estimate under subparagraph

25 (A).
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1 (2) FORMULA.—The generation performance

2 standard shall be determined by dividing the annual

3 nationwide emissions standard as established under

4 subsection (b) by the Administrator’s estimate of the

5 nationwide megawatt-hour production for the next

6 calendar year by all covered generation facilities.

7 (d) INDIVIDUAL EMISSIONS ALLOCATION.—The

8 quantity of each pollutant that a covered generation facil9 ity shall be permitted to emit during a calendar year shall

10 be equal to—

11 (1) the facility’s annual generation of mega12 watt-hours of electricity multiplied by the generation

13 performance standard as established in subsection

14 (c); plus

15 (2) the facility’s annual generation of thermal

16 energy used to meet heating and cooling loads re17 sulting from the cogeneration process, which shall be

18 expressed by the Administrator in units of measure19 ment that provide a reasonable comparison between

20 energy generated in the form of electricity and en21 ergy generated in the form of thermal energy and

22 then multiplied by the generation performance

23 standard as established under subsection (c).

24 (e) OZONE SEASON.—In determining the individual

25 emissions allocation for a covered generation facility under
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1 subsection (d), the quantity of nitrogen oxide emitted by

2 covered generation facility and the number of megawatt3 hours of electricity generated by the covered generation

4 facility during the period May 1 through September 30

5 of each year shall each be multiplied by 3.

6 (f) MONITORING.—

7 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM.—The Admin8 istrator shall establish a system for the accurate

9 monitoring of the quantity of each pollutant that a

10 covered generation facility emits during a year.

11 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The monitoring system

12 under paragraph (1) shall require—

13 (A) installation on each combustion device

14 of a continuous monitoring system for each pol15 lutant; or

16 (B) use of an alternative mechanism that

17 the Administrator determines will provide data

18 with precision, reliability, accessibility, and

19 timeliness that are equal to or greater than

20 those that would be achieved by a continuous

21 emissions monitoring system.

22 (g) EMISSIONS CREDITS.—

23 (1) COMPARISON OF ACTUAL COMBUSTION DE24 VICE OUTPUTS WITH INDIVIDUAL EMISSION ALLOCA25 TIONS.—At the end of each year, the Administrator
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1 shall compare the quantity of a pollutant emitted by

2 a generation facility during the year with the indi3 vidual emissions allocation as established under sub4 section (d) applicable to the covered generation facil5 ity for the year.

6 (2) ISSUANCE OF EMISSIONS CREDITS.—Not

7 later than April 1 of each year, the Administrator

8 shall issue to a covered generation facility 1 emis9 sions credit for each ton by which the quantity of a

10 pollutant emitted by the covered generation facility

11 during the preceding year was less than the indi12 vidual emissions allocation as established under sub13 section (d) applicable to the covered generation facil14 ity.

15 (3) SUBMISSION OF EMISSIONS CREDITS.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than July 1

17 of each year, a covered generation facility that

18 emitted a greater quantity of a pollutant than

19 the individual emissions allocation applicable to

20 the covered generation facility during the pre21 ceding year shall submit to the Administrator 1

22 emissions credit for each ton by which the

23 quantity of the pollutant emitted was greater

24 than the individual emissions allocation as es25 tablished under subsection (d).
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1 (B) PENALTY.—The owner or operator of

2 a covered generation facility that is required to

3 submit an emissions credit under subparagraph

4 (A) that fails to submit the emissions credit

5 shall pay to the Administrator a civil penalty

6 in an amount equal to—

7 (i) $100 for each ton of carbon diox8 ide emissions in excess of the individual

9 emissions allocation applicable to the facil10 ity under subsection (d) for which a carbon

11 dioxide emissions credit has not been sub12 mitted under subparagraph (A);

13 (ii) $2500 for each pound of mercury

14 emissions in excess of the individual emis15 sions allocation applicable to the facility

16 under subsection (D) for which a mercury

17 emissions credit has not been submitted

18 under subparagraph (A);

19 (iii) $15,000 for each ton of nitrogen

20 oxide emissions in excess of the individual

21 emissions allocation applicable to the facil22 ity under subsection (d) for which a nitro23 gen oxide emissions credit has not been

24 submitted under subparagraph (A); and
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1 (iv) $2,500 for each ton of sulfur di2 oxide emissions in excess of the individual

3 emissions allocation applicable to the facil4 ity under subsection (d) for which a sulfur

5 dioxide emissions credit has not been sub6 mitted under subparagraph (A).

7 (C) PENALTY ADJUSTMENT.—The Admin8 istrator shall annually adjust the penalty speci9 fied in subparagraph (B) for inflation based on

10 the Consumer Price Index.

11 (4) USE OF EMISSIONS CREDITS.—A covered

12 generation facility may—

13 (A) retain an emissions credit from year to

14 year for future submission to the Administrator

15 under paragraph (3); or

16 (B) on notice to the Administrator, sell or

17 otherwise transfer an emissions credit to an18 other person.

19 (h) GENERATING PLANTS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may per21 mit the average rate of emissions of nitrogen oxide

22 or sulfur dioxide at a generating plant over any 365-

23 day period to exceed the generation performance

24 standard established under subsection (c) if the gen-
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1 erating plant has a sufficient quantity of emissions

2 credits.

3 (2) SIGNIFICANT ADVERSE LOCAL IMPACTS.—

4 (A) STUDY.—

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the average rate

6 of emissions of nitrogen oxide or sulfur di7 oxide at a generating plant exceeds 125

8 percent of the generation performance

9 standard established under subsection (c)

10 in any calendar year, the Administrator

11 shall review the generating plant to deter12 mine whether emissions in excess of 125

13 percent of the generation performance

14 standard may reasonably be anticipated to

15 cause or contribute to any significant ad16 verse local impacts, including degradation

17 of the environment or public health, either

18 independently of or in combination with

19 other emissions.

20 (ii) PUBLIC COMMENT; TIMING.—A

21 determination under clause (i)—

22 (I) shall be made after public no23 tice and opportunity for public com24 ment; and
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1 (II) shall be published in final

2 form not later than 240 days after the

3 end of the calendar year in which the

4 average rate of emissions of nitrogen

5 oxide or sulfur dioxide at a generating

6 plant exceeds 125 percent of the

7 standard.

8 (B) ADDITIONAL REVIEW.—If the Admin9 istrator determines under subparagraph (A)

10 that excess emissions from a generating plant

11 cannot reasonably be anticipated to cause or

12 contribute to significant adverse local impacts,

13 and the average rate of emissions of nitrogen

14 oxide or sulfur dioxide from the generating

15 plant exceeds 125 percent of the generation

16 performance standard established under sub17 section (c) in any calendar year, any person

18 may petition the Administrator to conduct an

19 additional study under subparagraph (A).

20 (C) PROHIBITION.—

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Adminis22 trator determines that nitrogen oxide or

23 sulfur dioxide emissions from a generating

24 plant in excess of 125 percent of the gen25 eration performance standard established
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1 under subsection (c) may reasonably be an2 ticipated to cause or contribute to signifi3 cant adverse local impacts, it shall be un4 lawful for the generating plant to emit ni5 trogen oxide or sulfur dioxide in excess of

6 125 percent of the general performance

7 standard.

8 (ii) PENALTY.—The Administrator

9 shall assess the owner or operator of a

10 generating plant that violates clause (i) a

11 civil penalty of $25,000 per day for each

12 day in which the average emission rate of

13 the generating plant over any 365-day pe14 riod exceeds the maximum emission rate

15 125 percent of the general performance

16 standard.

17 (i) POWERS.—The Administrator may promulgate

18 such regulations, conduct such investigations, and take

19 such other actions as are appropriate to implement this

20 section.

21 SEC. 5. NATIONAL ELECTRIC SYSTEM PUBLIC BENEFITS

22 BOARD.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish

24 a National Electric System Public Benefits Board to carry
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1 out the functions and responsibilities described in this sec2 tion.

3 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be composed

4 of—

5 (1) 1 representative of the Commission ap6 pointed by the Commission;

7 (2) 2 representatives of the Secretary appointed

8 by the Secretary;

9 (3) 2 persons nominated by the national organi10 zation representing State regulatory commissioners

11 and appointed by the Secretary;

12 (4) 1 person nominated by the national organi13 zation representing State utility consumer advocates

14 and appointed by the Secretary;

15 (5) 1 person nominated by the national organi16 zation representing State energy offices and ap17 pointed by the Secretary;

18 (6) 1 person nominated by the national organi19 zation representing energy assistance directors and

20 appointed by the Secretary; and

21 (7) 1 representative of the Environmental Pro22 tection Agency appointed by the Administrator.

23 (c) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary shall select a

24 member of the Board to serve as Chairperson of the

25 Board.
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1 (d) MANAGER.—

2 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Board shall by con3 tract appoint an electric systems public benefits

4 manager for a term of not more than 3 years, which

5 term may be renewed by the Board.

6 (2) COMPENSATION.—The compensation and

7 other terms and conditions of employment of the

8 manager shall be determined by a contract between

9 the Board and the individual or the other entity ap10 pointed as manager.

11 (3) FUNCTIONS.—The manager shall—

12 (A) monitor the amounts in the Fund;

13 (B) receive, review, and make rec14 ommendations to the Board regarding applica15 tions from States under section 6(b); and

16 (C) perform such other functions as the

17 Board may require to assist the Board in car18 rying out its duties under this Act.

19 SEC. 6. NATIONAL ELECTRIC SYSTEM PUBLIC BENEFITS

20 FUND.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish an

23 account or accounts at 1 or more financial institu24 tions, which account or accounts shall be known as

25 the ‘‘National Electric System Public Benefits
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1 Fund’’, consisting of amounts deposited in the fund

2 under subsection (c).

3 (2) STATUS OF FUND.—The wires charges col4 lected under subsection (c) and deposited in the

5 Fund—

6 (A) shall constitute electric system reve7 nues and shall not constitute funds of the

8 United States;

9 (B) shall be held in trust by the manager

10 of the Fund solely for the purposes stated in

11 subsection (b); and

12 (C) shall not be available to meet any obli13 gations of the United States.

14 (b) USE OF FUND.—

15 (1) FUNDING OF PUBLIC PURPOSE PRO16 GRAMS.—Amounts in the Fund shall be used by the

17 Board to provide matching funds to States for the

18 support of State public purpose programs relating

19 to—

20 (A) renewable energy sources;

21 (B) universal electric service;

22 (C) affordable electric service;

23 (D) energy conservation and efficiency; or

24 (E) research and development in areas de25 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D).
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1 (2) DISTRIBUTION.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except for amounts

3 needed to pay costs of the Board in carrying

4 out its duties under this section, the Board

5 shall instruct the manager of the Fund to dis6 tribute all amounts in the Fund to States to

7 fund public purpose programs under paragraph

8 (1).

9 (B) FUND SHARE.—

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

11 (iii), the Fund share of a public purpose

12 program funded under paragraph (1) shall

13 be 50 percent.

14 (ii) PROPORTIONATE REDUCTION.—

15 To the extent that the amount of matching

16 funds requested by States exceeds the

17 maximum projected revenues of the Fund,

18 the matching funds distributed to the

19 States shall be reduced by an amount that

20 is proportionate to each State’s annual

21 consumption of electricity compared to the

22 aggregate annual consumption of elec23 tricity in the United States.

24 (iii) ADDITIONAL STATE FUNDING.—

25 A State may apply funds to public purpose
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1 programs in addition to the amount of

2 funds applied for the purpose of matching

3 the Fund share.

4 (3) PROGRAM CRITERIA.—The Board shall rec5 ommend eligibility criteria for public benefits pro6 grams funded under this section for approval by the

7 Secretary.

8 (4) APPLICATION.—Not later than August 1 of

9 each year beginning in 2000, a State seeking match10 ing funds for the following year shall file with the

11 Board, in such form as the Board may require, an

12 application—

13 (A) certifying that the funds will be used

14 for an eligible public purpose program; and

15 (B) stating the amount of State funds ear16 marked for the program.

17 (c) WIRES CHARGE.—

18 (1) DETERMINATION OF NEEDED FUNDING.—

19 Not later than August 1 of each year, the Board

20 shall determine and inform the Commission of the

21 aggregate amount of wires charges that it will be re22 quired to be paid into the Fund to pay matching

23 funds to States and the operating costs of the Board

24 in the following year.

25 (2) IMPOSITION OF WIRES CHARGE.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Decem2 ber 15 of each year, the Commission shall im3 pose a nonbypassable, competitively neutral

4 wires charge to be paid directly into the Fund

5 by the operator of the wire on electricity carried

6 through the wire (measured as it exits the

7 busbar at a generation facility) that affects

8 interstate commerce.

9 (B) AMOUNT.—The wires charge shall be

10 set at a rate equal to the lesser of—

11 (i) 2 mills per kilowatt-hour; or

12 (ii) a rate that is estimated to result

13 in the collection of an amount of wires

14 charges that is as nearly as possible equal

15 to the amount of needed funding deter16 mined under paragraph (1).

17 (3) DEPOSIT IN THE FUND.—The wires charge

18 shall be paid by the operator of the wire directly into

19 the Fund at the end of each month during the cal20 endar year for distribution by the electric systems

21 public benefits manager under section 5.

22 (4) PENALTIES.—The Commission may assess

23 against a wire operator that fails to pay a wires

24 charge as required by this subsection a civil penalty
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1 in an amount equal to not more than the amount of

2 the unpaid wires charge.

3 (d) AUDITING.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Fund shall be audited

5 annually by a firm of independent certified public

6 accountants in accordance with generally accepted

7 auditing standards.

8 (2) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—Representatives of

9 the Secretary and the Commission shall have access

10 to all books, accounts, reports, files, and other

11 records pertaining to the Fund as necessary to fa12 cilitate and verify the audit.

13 (3) REPORTS.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—A report on each audit

15 shall be submitted to the Secretary, the Com16 mission, and the Secretary of the Treasury, who

17 shall submit the report to the President and

18 Congress not later than 180 days after the

19 close of the fiscal year.

20 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—An audit report

21 shall—

22 (i) set forth the scope of the audit;

23 and

24 (ii) include—
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1 (I) a statement of assets and li2 abilities, capital; and surplus or def3 icit;

4 (II) a statement of surplus or

5 deficit analysis;

6 (III) a statement of income and

7 expenses;

8 (IV) any other information that

9 may be considered necessary to keep

10 the President and Congress informed

11 of the operations and financial condi12 tion of the Fund; and

13 (V) any recommendations with

14 respect to the Fund that the Sec15 retary or the Commission may have.

16 SEC. 7. RENEWABLE ENERGY PORTFOLIO STANDARDS.

17 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED GENERATION FACIL18 ITY.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered generation facil19 ity’’ means a nonhydroelectric facility that generates elec20 tric energy for sale.

21 (b) REQUIRED RENEWABLE ENERGY.—Of the total

22 amount of electricity sold by covered generation facilities

23 during a calendar year, the amount generated by renew24 able energy sources shall be not less than—

25 (1) 2.5 percent in 2000;
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1 (2) 3.0 percent in 2001;

2 (3) 3.5 percent in 2002;

3 (4) 4.0 percent in 2003;

4 (5) 4.5 percent in 2004;

5 (6) 5.0 percent in 2005;

6 (7) 6.0 percent in 2006;

7 (8) 7.0 percent in 2007;

8 (9) 8.0 percent in 2008;

9 (10) 9.0 percent in 2009;

10 (11) 10.0 percent in 2010;

11 (12) 11.0 percent in 2011;

12 (13) 12.0 percent in 2012;

13 (14) 13.0 percent in 2013;

14 (15) 14.0 percent in 2014;

15 (16) 15.0 percent in 2015;

16 (17) 16.0 percent in 2016;

17 (18) 17.0 percent in 2017;

18 (19) 18.0 percent in 2018;

19 (20) 19.0 percent in 2019; and

20 (21) 20.0 percent in 2020 and each year there21 after.

22 (c) RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS.—

23 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF ENERGY SOURCES.—

24 The Commission shall establish standards and pro-
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1 cedures under which a covered generation facility

2 shall certify to a purchaser of electricity—

3 (A) the amount of the electricity that is

4 generated by a renewable energy source; and

5 (B) the amount of the electricity that is

6 generated by a source other than a renewable

7 energy source.

8 (2) ISSUANCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CRED9 ITS.—Not later than April 1 of each year beginning

10 in 2001, the Commission shall issue to a covered

11 generation facility 1 renewable energy credit for

12 each megawatt-hour of electricity sold by the covered

13 generation facility in the preceding calendar year

14 that was generated by a renewable source.

15 (3) SUBMISSION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

16 CREDITS.—Not later than July 1 of each year, a

17 covered generation facility shall submit credits to the

18 Commission in an amount equal to the total number

19 of megawatt-hours of electricity sold by the covered

20 generation facility in the preceding year multiplied

21 by the applicable renewable energy source require22 ment under subsection (a).

23 (4) USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS.—
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1 (A) TIME FOR USE.—A renewable energy

2 credit shall be used for the calendar year for

3 the renewable energy credit is issued.

4 (B) PERMITTED USES.—Until July 1 of

5 the year in which a renewable energy credit was

6 issued, a covered generation facility may—

7 (i) use the renewable energy credit to

8 make a submission to the Commission

9 under paragraph (3); or

10 (ii) on notice to the Commission, sell

11 or otherwise transfer a renewable energy

12 credit to another covered generation facil13 ity.

14 (d) RECORDKEEPING.—The Commission shall main15 tain records of all renewable energy credits issued and all

16 credits sold or exchanged.

17 (e) PENALTIES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may bring

19 an action in United States district court to impose

20 a civil penalty on any person that fails to comply

21 with subsection (a).

22 (2) AMOUNT OF PENALTY.—A person that fails

23 to comply with a requirement to submit renewable

24 energy credits under subsection (b)(3) shall be sub25 ject to a civil penalty of not more than 3 times the
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1 estimated national average market value (as deter2 mined by the Commission) for the calendar year

3 concerned of that quantity of renewable energy cred4 its.

5 (f) PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATORY POLICIES ACT OF

6 1978.—

7 (1) REPEAL OF COGENERATION AND SMALL

8 POWER PRODUCTION PROVISION.—Effective January

9 1, 2000, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act

10 of 1978 is amended by striking section 210 (16

11 U.S.C. 824a–3).

12 (2) EXISTING CONTRACTS.—The amendment

13 made by paragraph (1) shall not affect the contin14 ued validity and enforceability of contracts entered

15 into under section 210 of the Public Utility Regu16 latory Policies Act of 1978 before the date of enact17 ment of this Act.

18 (3) CONTINUED JURISDICTION.—Notwith19 standing the amendment made by paragraph (1),

20 the Commission shall retain jurisdiction to—

21 (A) ensure the continued status of quali22 fying small power production facilities under

23 section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory

24 Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a–3); and
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1 (B) continue exemptions granted under

2 subsection (e) of that section before the date of

3 enactment of this Act.

4 (g) POWERS.—The Commission may promulgate

5 such regulations, conduct such investigations, and take

6 such other actions as are necessary or appropriate to im7 plement and obtain compliance with this section and regu8 lations promulgated under this section.

9 SEC. 8. SELF-GENERATION AND NET METERING.

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

11 (1) CUSTOMER-GENERATOR.—The term ‘‘cus12 tomer-generator’’ means a retail electric customer

13 that generates electricity measured by a net meter14 ing system.

15 (2) ELECTRIC COMPANY.—

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘electric

17 company’’ means a company that is engaged in

18 the business of distributing electricity to retail

19 electric customers.

20 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘electric com21 pany’’ includes an investor-owned utility, public

22 utility district, irrigation district, port district,

23 electric cooperative, or municipal electric utility.

24 (3) NET METERING.—The term ‘‘net metering’’

25 means the measuring of the difference between—
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1 (A) the quantity of electricity supplied by

2 an electric company to a customer-generator

3 during a billing period; and

4 (B) the quantity of electricity generated by

5 a customer-generator and fed back to the elec6 tric company by a net metering system during

7 the billing period.

8 (4) NET METERING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘net

9 metering system’’ means a facility for generation of

10 electricity that—

11 (A) is of not more than 100 kilowatts ca12 pacity;

13 (B) is interconnected and operates in par14 allel with the transmission and distribution sys15 tem of an electric company;

16 (C) is intended primarily to offset some or

17 all of the electricity requirements of a customer18 generator;

19 (D) is located on the premises of a cus20 tomer-generator; and

21 (E) employs a renewable energy source.

22 (b) REQUIREMENT TO ALLOW NET METERING.—An

23 electric company shall allow a retail electric customer to

24 interconnect and employ a net metering system using—
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1 (1) a kilowatt-hour meter capable of registering

2 the flow of electricity in 2 directions; or

3 (2) another type of comparably equipped meter

4 that would otherwise be applicable to the customer’s

5 usage but for the use of net metering.

6 (c) NET METERING ACCOUNTING.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Electric energy measure8 ments for a net metering system shall be calculated

9 in accordance with this subsection.

10 (2) RATES AND CHARGES.—An electric

11 company—

12 (A) shall charge a customer-generator

13 rates and charges that are identical to those

14 that would be charged other retail electric cus15 tomers of the electric company in the same rate

16 class; and

17 (B) shall not charge a customer-generator

18 any additional standby, capacity, interconnec19 tion, or other rate or charge.

20 (3) MEASUREMENT.—An electric company that

21 supplies electricity to a customer-generator shall

22 measure the quantity of electricity produced by the

23 customer-generator and the quantity of electricity

24 consumed by the customer-generator during a billing

25 period in accordance with normal metering practices.
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•S 1369 IS

1 (4) ELECTRICITY SUPPLIED EXCEEDING ELEC2 TRICITY GENERATED.—If the quantity of electricity

3 supplied by an electric company during a billing pe4 riod exceeds the quantity of electricity generated by

5 the customer-generator and fed back to the electric

6 distribution system during the billing period, the

7 electric company may bill the customer-generator for

8 the net quantity of electricity supplied by the electric

9 company, in accordance with normal metering prac10 tices.

11 (5) ELECTRICITY GENERATED EXCEEDING

12 ELECTRICITY SUPPLIED.—If the quantity of elec13 tricity generated by a customer-generator during a

14 billing period exceeds the quantity of electricity sup15 plied by the electric company during the billing

16 period—

17 (A) the electric company may bill the cus18 tomer-generator for the appropriate charges for

19 the billing period in accordance with paragraph

20 (1); and

21 (B) the customer-generator shall be cred22 ited for the excess kilowatt-hours generated

23 during the billing period, with the kilowatt-hour

24 credit appearing on the bill for the following

25 billing period.
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•S 1369 IS

1 (6) UNUSED CREDITS.—At the beginning of

2 each calendar year, any unused kilowatt-hour credits

3 accumulated by a customer-generator during the

4 previous calendar year shall expire without com5 pensation to the customer-generator.

6 (d) SAFETY.—

7 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—

8 (A) INTERIM PROVISION.—A net metering

9 system using photovoltaic generation shall con10 form to applicable electrical safety, power qual11 ity, and interconnection requirements estab12 lished by the National Electrical Code, the In13 stitute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers,

14 and Underwriters Laboratories.

15 (B) REGULATION.—Not later than March

16 1, 2001, the Commission shall adopt electrical

17 safety, power quality, and interconnection re18 quirements for net metering systems that use

19 generation technology other than photovoltaic

20 technology.

21 (2) TESTING AND INSPECTION.—An electric

22 company may, at its own expense, and upon reason23 able written notice to a customer-generator, perform

24 such testing and inspection of a net metering system

25 as is necessary to demonstrate to the satisfaction of
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•S 1369 IS

1 the electric company that the system conforms to

2 applicable electric safety, power quality, and inter3 connection requirements.

4 (3) ADDITIONAL METERS.—An electric com5 pany may, at its own expense and with the written

6 consent of a customer-generator, install 1 or more

7 additional meters to monitor the flow of electricity in

8 each direction.

9 SEC. 9. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

11 (1) EMISSIONS DATA.—The term ‘‘emissions

12 data’’ means the type and amount of each pollutant

13 emitted or released by a generation facility in gener14 ating electricity.

15 (2) GENERATION DATA.—The term ‘‘generation

16 data’’ means the type of fuel (such as coal, oil, nu17 clear energy, or solar power) used by a generation

18 facility to generate electricity.

19 (b) DISCLOSURE SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall es20 tablish a system of disclosure that—

21 (1) enables retail consumers to knowledgeably

22 compare retail electric service offerings, including

23 comparisons based on generation source portfolios,

24 emissions data, and price terms; and

25 (2) considers such factors as—
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•S 1369 IS

1 (A) cost of implementation;

2 (B) confidentiality of information; and

3 (C) flexibility.

4 (c) REGULATION.—Not later than March 1, 2001,

5 the Secretary, in consultation with the Board, and with

6 the assistance of a Federal interagency task force that in7 cludes representatives of the Commission, the Federal

8 Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration,

9 and the Environmental Protection Agency, shall promul10 gate a regulation prescribing—

11 (1) the form, content, and frequency of disclo12 sure of emissions data and generation data of elec13 tricity by generation facilities to electricity whole14 salers or retail companies and by wholesalers to re15 tail companies;

16 (2) the form, content, and frequency of disclo17 sure of emissions data, generation data, and the

18 price of electricity by retail companies to ultimate

19 consumers; and

20 (3) the form, content, and frequency of disclo21 sure of emissions data, generation data, and the

22 price of electricity by generation facilities selling di23 rectly to ultimate consumers.

24 (d) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—The Secretary shall have

25 full access to the records of all generation facilities, elec-
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•S 1369 IS

1 tricity wholesalers, and retail companies to obtain any in2 formation necessary to administer and enforce this sec3 tion.

4 (e) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—The failure of a retail

5 company to accurately disclose information as required by

6 this section shall be treated as a deceptive act in commerce

7 under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15

8 U.S.C. 45).

9 (f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may promulgate

10 such regulations, conduct such investigations, and take

11 such other actions as are necessary or appropriate to im12 plement and obtain compliance with this section and regu13 lations promulgated under this section.

14 SEC. 10. STATE AND LOCAL LAW.

15 Nothing in this Act precludes a State or political sub16 division of a State from adopting and enforcing—

17 (1) any standard or limitation respecting emis18 sions of air pollutants; or

19 (2) any requirement respecting control or

20 abatement of air pollution;

21 except that a State or political subdivision may not adopt

22 or enforce any emission standard or limitation that is less

23 stringent than the requirements imposed under this Act.

Æ