I 

107TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1101 

To repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, to enact the 

Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1999, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2001 

Mr. PICKERING (for himself, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. 

SESSIONS, Mr. WICKER, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. BARTLETT of 

Maryland, Mr. SCARBOROUGH, Mr. BOYD, Mr. TERRY, Mr. THORNBERRY, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. NORWOOD, 

and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, 

to enact the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 

1999, 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 ‘‘Public Utility Holding 

5 Company Act of 2001’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 

2 1935 was intended to facilitate the work of Federal 

3 and State regulators by placing certain constraints 

4 on the activities of holding company systems; 

5 (2) developments since 1935, including changes 

6 in other regulation and in the electric and gas indus7 tries, have called into question the continued rel8 evance of the model of regulation established by that 

9 Act; 

10 (3) there is a continuing need for limited Fed11 eral and State regulation in order to ensure the rate 

12 protection of utility customers; and 

13 (4) limited Federal regulation is necessary to 

14 supplement the work of State commissions for the 

15 continued rate protection of electric and gas utility 

16 customers. 

17 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

18 (1) to eliminate unnecessary regulation, yet 

19 continue to provide for consumer protection by facili20 tating existing rate regulatory authority through im21 proved Federal and State commission access to 

22 books and records of all companies in a holding com23 pany system, to the extent that such information is 

24 relevant to rates paid by utility customers, while afVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:40 Apr 21, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\PICKUP\H1101.IH H1101

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1 fording companies the flexibility required to compete 

2 in the energy markets; and 

3 (2) to address protection of electric and gas 

4 utility customers by providing for Federal and State 

5 access to books and records of all companies in a 

6 holding company system that are relevant to utility 

7 rates. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 For purposes of this Act: 

10 (1) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ of a company means 

11 any company 5 percent or more of the outstanding 

12 voting securities of which are owned, controlled, or 

13 held with power to vote, directly or indirectly, by 

14 such company. 

15 (2) The term ‘‘associate company’’ of a com16 pany means any company in the same holding com17 pany system with such company. 

18 (3) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

19 Energy Regulatory Commission. 

20 (4) The term ‘‘company’’ means a corporation, 

21 partnership, association, joint stock company, busi22 ness trust, or any organized group of persons, 

23 whether incorporated or not, or a receiver, trustee, 

24 or other liquidating agent of any of the foregoing. 


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1 (5) The term ‘‘electric utility company’’ means 

2 any company that owns or operates facilities used 

3 for the generation, transmission, or distribution of 

4 electric energy for sale. 

5 (6) The terms ‘‘exempt wholesale generator’’ 

6 and ‘‘foreign utility company’’ have the same mean7 ings as in sections 32 and 33, respectively, of the 

8 Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as 

9 those sections existed on the day before the effective 

10 date of this Act. 

11 (7) The term ‘‘gas utility company’’ means any 

12 company that owns or operates facilities used for 

13 distribution at retail (other than the distribution 

14 only in enclosed portable containers or distribution 

15 to tenants or employees of the company operating 

16 such facilities for their own use and not for resale) 

17 of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light, or 

18 power. 

19 (8) The term ‘‘holding company’’ means— 

20 (A) any company that directly or indirectly 

21 owns, controls, or holds, with power to vote, 10 

22 percent or more of the outstanding voting secu23 rities of a public utility company or of a holding 

24 company of any public utility company; and 


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1 (B) any person, determined by the Com2 mission, after notice and opportunity for hear3 ing, to exercise directly or indirectly (either 

4 alone or pursuant to an arrangement or under5 standing with one or more persons) such a con6 trolling influence over the management or poli7 cies of any public utility company or holding 

8 company as to make it necessary or appropriate 

9 for the rate protection of utility customers with 

10 respect to rates that such person be subject to 

11 the obligations, duties, and liabilities imposed 

12 by this Act upon holding companies. 

13 (9) The term ‘‘holding company system’’ means 

14 a holding company, together with its subsidiary com15 panies. 

16 (10) The term ‘‘jurisdictional rates’’ means 

17 rates established by the Commission for the trans18 mission of electric energy in interstate commerce, 

19 the sale of electric energy at wholesale in interstate 

20 commerce, the transportation of natural gas in inter21 state commerce, and the sale in interstate commerce 

22 of natural gas for resale for ultimate public con23 sumption for domestic, commercial, industrial, or 

24 any other use. 


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1 (11) The term ‘‘natural gas company’’ means a 

2 person engaged in the transportation of natural gas 

3 in interstate commerce or the sale of such gas in 

4 interstate commerce for resale. 

5 (12) The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual or 

6 company. 

7 (13) The term ‘‘public utility’’ means any per8 son who owns or operates facilities used for trans9 mission of electric energy in interstate commerce or 

10 sales of electric energy at wholesale in interstate 

11 commerce. 

12 (14) The term ‘‘public utility company’’ means 

13 an electric utility company or a gas utility company. 

14 (15) The term ‘‘State commission’’ means any 

15 commission, board, agency, or officer, by whatever 

16 name designated, of a State, municipality, or other 

17 political subdivision of a State that, under the laws 

18 of such State, has jurisdiction to regulate public util19 ity companies. 

20 (16) The term ‘‘subsidiary company’’ of a hold21 ing company means— 

22 (A) any company, 10 percent or more of 

23 the outstanding voting securities of which are 

24 directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held 


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1 with power to vote, by such holding company; 

2 and 

3 (B) any person, the management or poli4 cies of which the Commission, after notice and 

5 opportunity for hearing, determines to be sub6 ject to a controlling influence, directly or indi7 rectly, by such holding company (either alone or 

8 pursuant to an arrangement or understanding 

9 with one or more other persons) so as to make 

10 it necessary for the rate protection of utility 

11 customers with respect to rates that such per12 son be subject to the obligations, duties, and li13 abilities imposed by this Act upon subsidiary 

14 companies of holding companies. 

15 (17) The term ‘‘voting security’’ means any se16 curity presently entitling the owner or holder thereof 

17 to vote in the direction or management of the affairs 

18 of a company. 

19 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY HOLDING COM20 PANY ACT OF 1935. 

21 The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 

22 U.S.C. 79a et seq.) is repealed, effective 12 months after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 5. FEDERAL ACCESS TO BOOKS AND RECORDS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each holding company and each 

3 associate company thereof shall maintain, and shall make 

4 available to the Commission, such books, accounts, memo5 randa, and other records as the Commission deems to be 

6 relevant to costs incurred by a public utility or natural 

7 gas company that is an associate company of such holding 

8 company and necessary or appropriate for the protection 

9 of utility customers with respect to jurisdictional rates for 

10 the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce, 

11 the sale of electric energy at wholesale in interstate com12 merce, the transportation of natural gas in interstate com13 merce, and the sale in interstate commerce of natural gas 

14 for resale for ultimate public consumption for domestic, 

15 commercial, industrial, or any other use. 

16 (b) AFFILIATE COMPANIES.—Each affiliate of a hold17 ing company or of any subsidiary company of a holding 

18 company shall maintain, and make available to the Com19 mission, such books, accounts, memoranda, and other 

20 records with respect to any transaction with another affil21 iate, as the Commission deems to be relevant to costs in22 curred by a public utility or natural gas company that is 

23 an associate company of such holding company and nec24 essary or appropriate for the protection of utility cus25 tomers with respect to jurisdictional rates. 


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1 (c) HOLDING COMPANY SYSTEMS.—The Commission 

2 may examine the books, accounts, memoranda, and other 

3 records of any company in a holding company system, or 

4 any affiliate thereof, as the Commission deems to be rel5 evant to costs incurred by a public utility or natural gas 

6 company within such holding company system and nec7 essary or appropriate for the protection of utility cus8 tomers with respect to jurisdictional rates. 

9 (d) CONFIDENTIALITY.—No member, officer, or em10 ployee of the Commission shall divulge any fact or infor11 mation that may come to his or her knowledge during the 

12 course of examination of books, accounts, memoranda, or 

13 other records as provided in this section, except as may 

14 be directed by the Commission or by a court of competent 

15 jurisdiction. 

16 SEC. 6. STATE ACCESS TO BOOKS AND RECORDS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the written request of a 

18 State commission having jurisdiction to regulate a public 

19 utility company in a holding company system, and subject 

20 to such terms and conditions as may be necessary and ap21 propriate to safeguard against unwarranted disclosure to 

22 the public of any trade secrets or sensitive commercial in23 formation, a holding company or its associate company or 

24 affiliate thereof, wherever located, shall produce for inVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:40 Apr 21, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\PICKUP\H1101.IH H1101

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1 spection books, accounts, memoranda, and other records 

2 that— 

3 (1) have been identified in reasonable detail in 

4 a proceeding before the State commission; 

5 (2) the State commission deems are relevant to 

6 costs incurred by such public utility company; and 

7 (3) are necessary for the effective discharge of 

8 the responsibilities of the State commission with re9 spect to such proceeding. 

10 (b) EFFECT ON STATE LAW.—Nothing in this section 

11 shall preempt applicable State law concerning the provi12 sion of books, records, or any other information, or in any 

13 way limit the rights of any State to obtain books, records, 

14 or any other information under Federal law, contract, or 

15 otherwise. 

16 (c) COURT JURISDICTION.—Any United States dis17 trict court located in the State in which the State commis18 sion referred to in subsection (a) is located shall have ju19 risdiction to enforce compliance with this section. 

20 SEC. 7. EXEMPTION AUTHORITY. 

21 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall pro23 mulgate a final rule to exempt from the requirements of 

24 section 5 any person that is a holding company, solely with 

25 respect to one or more— 


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1 (1) qualifying facilities under the Public Utility 

2 Regulatory Policies Act of 1978; 

3 (2) exempt wholesale generators; or 

4 (3) foreign utility companies. 

5 (b) OTHER AUTHORITY.—If, upon application or 

6 upon its own motion, the Commission finds that the books, 

7 records, accounts, memoranda, and other records of any 

8 person are not relevant to the jurisdictional rates of a pub9 lic utility company, or if the Commission finds that any 

10 class of transactions is not relevant to the jurisdictional 

11 rates of a public utility company, the Commission shall 

12 exempt such person or transaction from the requirements 

13 of section 5. 

14 SEC. 8. AFFILIATE TRANSACTIONS. 

15 Nothing in this Act shall preclude the Commission 

16 or a State commission from exercising its jurisdiction 

17 under otherwise applicable law to determine whether a 

18 public utility company may recover in rates any costs of 

19 an activity performed by an associate company, or any 

20 costs of goods or services acquired by such public utility 

21 company from an associate company. 

22 SEC. 9. APPLICABILITY. 

23 No provision of this Act shall apply to, or be deemed 

24 to include— 

25 (1) the United States; 


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1 (2) a State or any political subdivision of a 

2 State; 

3 (3) any foreign governmental authority not op4 erating in the United States; 

5 (4) any agency, authority, or instrumentality of 

6 any entity referred to in paragraph (1), (2), or (3); 

7 or 

8 (5) any officer, agent, or employee of any entity 

9 referred to in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) acting as 

10 such in the course of his or her official duty. 

11 SEC. 10. EFFECT ON OTHER REGULATIONS. 

12 Nothing in this Act precludes the Commission or a 

13 State commission from exercising its jurisdiction under 

14 otherwise applicable law to protect utility customers. 

15 SEC. 11. ENFORCEMENT. 

16 The Commission shall have the same powers as set 

17 forth in sections 306 through 317 of the Federal Power 

18 Act (16 U.S.C. 825d–825p) to enforce the provisions of 

19 this Act. 

20 SEC. 12. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act prohibits a 

22 person from engaging in or continuing to engage in activi23 ties or transactions in which it is legally engaged or au24 thorized to engage on the effective date of this Act, if that 


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1 person continues to comply with the terms of any such 

2 authorization, whether by rule or by order. 

3 (b) EFFECT ON OTHER COMMISSION AUTHORITY.— 

4 Nothing in this Act limits the authority of the Commission 

5 under the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) 

6 (including section 301 of that Act) or the Natural Gas 

7 Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.) (including section 8 of that 

8 Act). 

9 SEC. 13. IMPLEMENTATION. 

10 Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Commission shall— 

12 (1) promulgate such regulations as may be nec13 essary or appropriate to implement this Act; and 

14 (2) submit to the Congress detailed rec15 ommendations on technical and conforming amend16 ments to Federal law necessary to carry out this Act 

17 and the amendments made by this Act. 

18 SEC. 14. TRANSFER OF RESOURCES. 

19 All books and records that relate primarily to the 

20 functions transferred to the Commission under this Act 

21 shall be transferred from the Securities and Exchange 

22 Commission to the Commission. 

23 SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

24 This Act shall take effect 12 months after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such funds 

3 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

4 SEC. 17. CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO THE FEDERAL 

5 POWER ACT. 

6 Section 318 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 

7 825q) is repealed. 

Æ 


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