I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 941 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act to provide for disaster assistance for electric utility companies serving 
low-income households, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 10, 2009 
Mr. ALEXANDER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act to provide for disaster assistance 
for electric utility companies serving low-income house-
holds, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Low-Income Rate 
Payer Disaster Recovery Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. REPAIR, RESTORATION, AND REPLACEMENT OF 
DAMAGED FACILITIES OF ELECTRIC UTILITY 
COMPANIES SERVING LOW-INCOME HOUSE-
HOLDS. 
(a) CONDITIONS
FOR
CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 
406(a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(a)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (B) by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(C) subject to paragraph (4), to an owner 
or operator of a private or investor-owned elec-
tric utility company serving low-income house-
holds for the repair, restoration, reconstruction, 
or replacement of facilities of the owner or op-
erator damaged or destroyed by a major dis-
aster and for associated expenses incurred by 
the owner or operator.’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para-
graph (5); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR ASSISTANCE TO PRIVATE 
OR INVESTOR-OWNED ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANIES 
SERVING LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The President may 
make contributions to the owner or operator of 
a private or investor-owned electric utility com-
pany serving low-income households under 
paragraph (1)(C) only if— 
‘‘(i) the costs of repairing, restoring, 
reconstructing, or replacing its facilities 
damaged or destroyed by the major dis-
aster; exceed 
‘‘(ii) the amount that is— 
‘‘(I) 10 percent of the facilities’ 
total transmission and distribution 
rate base; less 
‘‘(II)(aa) in the case of a single 
major disaster, accumulated deprecia-
tion on the date of the disaster; or 
‘‘(bb) in the case of an aggrega-
tion under subparagraph (B), accu-
mulated depreciation on the date of 
the first major disaster included in 
such aggregation. 
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‘‘(B) AGGREGATION FOR PURPOSES OF DE-
TERMINING
COSTS.—For purposes of deter-
mining under this paragraph the costs of re-
pairing, restoring, or replacing the facilities of 
an owner or operator, the costs of damage from 
all previous major disasters during the 12- 
month period preceding the date of the declara-
tion of the major disaster for which the owner 
or operator is seeking contributions under para-
graph (1)(C) shall be aggregated. 
‘‘(C) APPLICATION DEADLINE.—An owner 
or operator may apply for contributions under 
paragraph (1)(C)— 
‘‘(i) in the case of a single major dis-
aster, not later than 60 months after the 
date of the declaration of the disaster; or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of an aggregation 
under subparagraph (B), not later than 60 
months after the date of the most recent 
major disaster for which the owner or op-
erator is seeking contributions. 
‘‘(D) AVAILABLE
FUNDING.—Subject to 
subparagraph (E), an owner or operator may 
apply for contributions under paragraph (1)(C) 
in the amount determined by multiplying— 
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‘‘(i) the amount by which the costs 
described in subparagraph (A)(i) attrib-
utable to the owner or operator exceed the 
amount described in subparagraph (A)(ii) 
attributable to the owner or operator; by 
‘‘(ii) the percent of retail residential 
customers comprised of low-income house-
holds served by the facilities of the owner 
or operator. 
‘‘(E) LIMIT ON FEDERAL ASSISTANCE FOR 
DISASTER RELIEF.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The total amount 
of contributions made to an owner or oper-
ator under paragraph (1)(C) may not ex-
ceed $50,000,000 in any 12-month period. 
‘‘(ii) 
PRESIDENTIAL
WAIVER.—For 
any major disaster occurring after the date 
of enactment of this clause, the President 
may waive the limit established by clause 
(i) if the President determines that the 
event is of an extraordinary nature; except 
that in no case may the total amount of 
contributions made to an owner or oper-
ator under paragraph (1)(C) exceed 100 
percent of the cost of repair, restoration, 
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reconstruction, or replacement of the dam-
aged facilities of the owner or operator. 
‘‘(F) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL OF AP-
PLICATIONS.—The President shall approve or 
disapprove an application for contributions sub-
mitted by an owner or operator for contribu-
tions under paragraph (1)(C) not later than 30 
days after the date of receipt of the applica-
tion.’’. 
(b) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 406(b)(2) of the Rob-
ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘public 
facility or private nonprofit facility’’ and inserting ‘‘public 
facility, private nonprofit facility, or private or investor- 
owned electric utility company serving low-income house-
holds’’. 
(c) 
LARGE
IN-LIEU
CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 
406(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(c)) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) FOR PRIVATE OR INVESTOR-OWNED ELEC-
TRIC
UTILITY
COMPANIES
SERVING
LOW-INCOME 
HOUSEHOLDS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which 
the owner or operator of a private or investor- 
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owned electric utility company serving low-in-
come households determines that the public wel-
fare would not best be served by repairing, re-
storing, reconstructing, or replacing the facility, 
the owner or operator may elect to receive, in 
lieu 
of 
a 
contribution 
under 
subsection 
(a)(1)(C), a contribution in an amount equal to 
75 percent of the available funding pursuant to 
subsection (a)(4)(D) or (a)(4)(E). 
‘‘(B) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds contributed 
to an owner or operator under this paragraph 
may be used by the owner or operator to— 
‘‘(i) repair, restore, or improve other 
private or investor-owned power facilities; 
‘‘(ii) construct a new private or inves-
tor-owned power facility; or 
‘‘(iii) fund hazard mitigation meas-
ures that the owner or operator determines 
to be necessary to meet a need for the 
services and functions of the owner or op-
erator in the area affected by the major 
disaster.’’. 
(d) ELIGIBLE COST.—Section 406(e)(1)(A) of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5172(e)(1)(A)) is amended by strik-
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ing ‘‘public facility or private nonprofit facility’’ and in-
serting ‘‘public facility, private nonprofit facility, or pri-
vate or investor-owned electric utility company serving 
low-income households’’. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—Section 406 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5172) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) PRIVATE OR INVESTOR-OWNED ELECTRIC 
UTILITY
COMPANY
SERVING
LOW-INCOME
HOUSE-
HOLDS.—The term ‘private or investor-owned elec-
tric utility company serving low-income households’ 
means a privately-owned or investor-owned electric 
utility company in which no less than 25 percent of 
its retail residential customers are low-income house-
holds. 
‘‘(2) COMPANY.—The term ‘company’ means a 
corporation, partnership, association, or joint stock 
company. 
‘‘(3) ELECTRIC UTILITY COMPANY.—The term 
‘electric utility company’ means any company that 
owns, operates, or leases facilities used for trans-
mission or distribution of electric energy for sale. 
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‘‘(4) LOW-INCOME
HOUSEHOLD.—The term 
‘low-income household’ means a household with a 
total annual household income that does not exceed 
the greater of— 
‘‘(A) an amount equal to 150 percent of 
the poverty level of a State; or 
‘‘(B) an amount equal to 60 percent of the 
State median income. 
‘‘(5) POVERTY
LEVEL.—The term ‘poverty 
level’ has the meaning given the term in section 
2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance 
Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622). 
‘‘(6) STATE MEDIAN INCOME.—The term ‘State 
median income’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy As-
sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622).’’. 
SEC. 3. REGULATIONS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security in con-
sultation with the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regu-
latory Commission shall promulgate regulations necessary 
to implement this Act and the amendments made by this 
Act. 
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SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
apply to a major disaster occurring after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
Æ 
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