I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4798
To provide for the restructuring of the electric power industry.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 10, 1998
Mr. KUCINICH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To provide for the restructuring of the electric power
industry.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited the ‘‘Elec-
tricity Consumer, Worker, and Environmental Protection
Act of 1998’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Severability.
Sec. 5. Enforcement.
TITLE I—FEDERAL STANDARDS FOR ELECTRICITY SERVICE
Sec. 101. Worker protections.
Sec. 102. Consumer privacy.
Sec. 103. Payment plans.
Sec. 104. Bills.
Sec. 105. Dispute resolution.
Sec. 106. Distribution service and supply service quality standards.
Sec. 107. Citizen utility boards.
Sec. 108. Office of Consumer Counsel.
Sec. 109. Prohibition of power plant bailouts.
Sec. 110. Prohibition of affiliate abuses and cross-subsidies.
Sec. 111. Mergers.
Sec. 112. Pollution standards.
Sec. 113. National Electric Public Benefit Board.
Sec. 114. National Electric Public Benefit Fund.
Sec. 115. Renewable energy portfolio standards.
Sec. 116. Net-metering and interconnection standards.
Sec. 117. Civil liability.
TITLE II—STATE STANDARDS FOR ELECTRICITY SERVICE
Sec. 201. State certification for retail deregulation.
Sec. 202. Prohibition of cost shifting.
Sec. 203. Prohibition of affiliate abuses and cross-subsidies.
Sec. 204. Prohibition of excessive generation market power.
Sec. 205. Basic service.
Sec. 206. Aggregation of consumers.
Sec. 207. Worker protections.
Sec. 208. Licensing and disclosure requirements for retail suppliers.
Sec. 209. Regulation of distribution companies.
Sec. 210. Change of supplier.
Sec. 211. Distribution service disconnections and supply terminations.
Sec. 212. Credit and collection practices.
Sec. 213. Unfair trade practices.
Sec. 214. Meters.
Sec. 215. Exemption rescinded from Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
Sec. 216. Consumer remedies.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
øTo be supplied¿
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ of a specific company
means any company 5 percent or more of whose out-
standing voting securities are owned, controlled, or
held with power to vote, directly or indirectly, by
such specific company.
(3) The term ‘‘aggregator’’ means any person
that purchases or acquires retail electricity on behalf
of two or more consumers.
(4) The term ‘‘ancillary services’’ shall have the
same meaning assigned to it by the Commission.
(5) The term ‘‘antitrust law’’ includes ‘‘an Act
to protect Trade and Commerce against unlawful re-
straint and monopolies approved July 2, 1890’’ (The
Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1–7); sections seventy-three
to seventy-seven, inclusive of an Act entitled ‘‘An
Act to reduce taxation, to provide revenue for the
Government and for other purposes of August 27,
1894’’ (The Wilson Tariff Act, 15 U.S.C. 8–11; sec-
tion 77 of The Wilson Tariff Act was not codified);
an Act to supplement existing laws against unlawful
restraint and monopolies, and for other purposes,
approved October 15, 1914 (The Clayton Act, 15
U.S.C. 12–22 and 27, and 29 U.S.C. 52 and 53);
and an Act to create a Federal Trade Commission,
to define its powers and duties, and for other pur-
poses approved September 26, 1914 (The Federal
Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.)
(6) The term ‘‘associate company’’ of a com-
pany means any company in the same holding com-
pany system with such company.
(7) The term ‘‘basic service’’ means the supply
and delivery of electricity to a consumer in instances
where the consumer is unable or unwilling to choose
a supplier in States that have deregulated retail
sales of electricity.
(8) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the National
Electric Public Benefit Board established under sec-
tion 113.
(9) The term ‘‘class’’ or ‘‘customer class’’
means a group of customers with similar character-
istics (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, etc.),
identified for the purpose of setting a rate for elec-
tric service.
(10) The term ‘‘commercial customer’’ means a
company that has traditionally receives a commercial
rate for electricity, as opposed to a residential or in-
dustrial rate. ‘‘Small commercial customers’’ are
commercial customers with a monthly peak demand
less than 1,000 kW, and ‘‘large commercial cus-
tomers’’ include all other commercial customers.
(11) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Fed-
eral Energy Regulatory Commission.
(12) The term ‘‘company’’ means a corporation,
not-for-profit organization, joint stock company,
partnership, association, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a
receiver or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of
the foregoing.
(13) The terms ‘‘consumer’’ and ‘‘customer’’
mean a person, government, corporation, or a com-
pany that purchases retail electricity for ultimate
consumption.
(14) The term ‘‘corporation’’ means any cor-
poration, not-for-profit organization, joint-stock com-
pany, partnership, association, rural electric coopera-
tive, municipal utility, business trust, organized
group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a
receiver or receivers, trustee or trustees of any of
the foregoing.
(15) The term ‘‘distribution company’’ means
any company that owns or operates facilities used to
deliver retail electricity for ultimate consumption.
(16) The term ‘‘distribution facilities’’ means
facilities used to provide retail electricity for ulti-
mate consumption.
(17) The term ‘‘distributor’’ means a retail
electricity distributor.
(18) The term ‘‘electric generator’’ means a
person generating electricity.
(19) The term ‘‘electric utility company’’ means
any company that owns or operates facilities used
for the generation, transmission, or distribution of
electricity for sale.
(20) The term ‘‘end-use consumer’’ means a
person that purchases electricity based on metered
use but does not resell electricity based on metered
use.
(21) The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the National
Electric Public Benefit Fund established by section
113.
(22) The term ‘‘gas utility company’’ means
any company that owns or operates facilities used
for distribution at retail (other than the distribution
only in enclosed portable containers) of natural or
manufactured gas for heat, light, or power.
(23) The term ‘‘high-level nuclear waste’’
means nuclear fuel that has undergone nuclear fis-
sion, or any nuclear fuel contaminated by nuclear
fuel that has undergone nuclear fission.
(24) The term ‘‘holding company system’’
means a holding company together with its subsidi-
ary companies.
(25) The term ‘‘investor-owned company’’
means any company whose shares are owned by pri-
vate individuals or companies.
(26) The term ‘‘large hydroelectric facility’’
means a facility which has a power production ca-
pacity which, together with any other facilities lo-
cated at the same site, is greater than 80
megawatts.
(27) The term ‘‘load pocket’’ means a portion
of the generation, transmission, and distribution net-
work in which most of the electricity consumed by
electric loads is supplied by generating plants lo-
cated close to the loads, because transmission con-
straints limit the amount of electricity available from
more distant generating plants.
(28) The term ‘‘low-level nuclear waste’’ means
radioactive waste not classified as high-level radio-
active waste, transuranic waste, spent nuclear fuel,
or byproduct materials as defined in section 11e(2)
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.
2021). This definition shall apply notwithstanding
any declaration by the Federal Government or any
State that any radioactive material is exempt from
any regulatory control.
(29) The term ‘‘municipal utility’’ means a city,
county, irrigation district, drainage district, public
utility district, or other political subdivision or agen-
cy of a State competent under the laws thereof to
carry on the business of a retail electricity distribu-
tor and/or a retail electricity supplier.
(30) The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual or
corporation.
(31) The term ‘‘public utility company’’ means
an electric utility company or gas utility company
but does not mean a qualifying facility as defined in
the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, or an ex-
empt wholesale generator or a foreign utility com-
pany defined in the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
(32) The term ‘‘public utility holding company’’
means—
(A) any company that directly or indirectly
owns, controls, or holds with power to vote, 10
percent or more of the outstanding voting secu-
rities of a public utility company or of a holding
company of any public utility company; and
(B) any person, determined by the Securi-
ties and Exchange Commission, after notice and
opportunity for hearing, to exercise directly or
indirectly (either alone or pursuant to an ar-
rangement or understanding with one or more
persons) such a controlling influence over the
management or policies of any public utility or
holding company as to make it necessary or ap-
propriate for the protection of consumers with
respect to rates that such person be subject to
the obligations, duties, and liabilities imposed in
this title upon holding companies.
(33) The term ‘‘regulated service’’ means a
wholesale or retail service of which the price or rate
is regulated by a Federal, State, or local agency or
board.
(34) The term ‘‘renewable energy’’ means elec-
tricity generated from organic waste biomass (not
including municipal solid waste or black liquor),
dedicated biomass energy crops, landfill gas, geo-
thermal, solar, or wind resources.
(35) The term ‘‘renewable energy credit’’ means
a tradable certificate of proof that one kilowatt-hour
of renewable energy was generated by any person.
(36) The term ‘‘retail deregulation’’ means any
action taken by a State, with respect to retail elec-
tricity service, that reduces the public control and
oversight of business practices that affect the public
interest.
(37) The term ‘‘retail electricity’’ means elec-
tricity and ancillary services sold for ultimate con-
sumption.
(38) The term ‘‘retail electricity distributor’’
means any person who delivers retail electricity to
consumers regardless of whether the consumers pur-
chase such electricity from the distributor or an al-
ternative supplier. A retail electricity distributor may
also be a retail electricity supplier.
(39) The term ‘‘retail electricity service’’ means
the production, generation, retail transmission, dis-
tribution, 
aggregation, 
retail 
marketing, 
retail
brokering, retail selling, or other retail supplying of
electricity, but does not mean transmission in inter-
state commerce.
(40) The term ‘‘retail electricity supplier’’
means any person that sells retail electricity to con-
sumers, including without limitation regulated utility
companies or affiliates or associates of such compa-
nies, companies unaffiliated or not associated with
regulated utility companies, municipal utilities, coop-
erative utilities, local governments, and special dis-
tricts.
(41) The term ‘‘rural electric cooperative’’
means an enterprise or organization owned by and
local distribution facilities as determined by the
Commission.
(50) The term ‘‘universal service’’ means any
State or Federal program that ensures safe, afford-
able, and reliable access to retail electricity services
by any consumer regardless of age, race, creed,
color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status,
sexual orientation, lawful source of income, amount
of income, disability, or familial status or location of
domicile or business, or whether the consumer is lo-
cated in an economically distressed geographic area.
(51) The term ‘‘wholesale electricity’’ means
electricity and ancillary services sold for resale.
(52) The term ‘‘wholesale electricity supplier’’
means any person that sells wholesale electricity.
(53) The term ‘‘voting security’’ means any se-
curity presently entitling the owner or holder thereof
to vote in the direction or management of the affairs
of a company.
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such
provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held in-
valid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of
such provision to persons or circumstances other than
those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected
thereby.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—If any individual or corporation
or any other retail electricity distributor or supplier fails
to comply with the requirements of this Act, any aggrieved
person may bring an action against such entity to enforce
the requirements of this Act in the appropriate Federal
district court.
(b) COURT ACTION.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, any person seeking redress from an order,
rule, or other action taken pursuant to the Act by the
Commission, or any other Federal agency, or a regulatory
board created by this Act may file a petition for review
of such order, rule, or other action within 30 days in the
United States Court of Appeals where such person resides
or in the United States Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia circuit.
(c) STATE LAW.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, any person seeking redress from an order,
rule, or other action taken pursuant to the Act by a State
agency may appeal the order, rule, or other action in ac-
cordance with State law.
TITLE I—FEDERAL STANDARDS
FOR ELECTRICITY SERVICE
SEC. 101. WORKER PROTECTIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Workers of companies that in-
stall, operate, and maintain generation, transmission, or
distribution facilities, or any person or company that en-
ters into a contract to perform these functions, shall have
the requisite knowledge, skills, and competence to perform
these functions in a safe and responsible manner in order
to provide safe and reliable service. Given the critical ne-
cessity for trained and qualified personnel to operate all
segments of the electric utility industry, the provisions of
the 1994 National Skills Standards Act and title V of the
Goals 2000: Educate America Act shall take effect for all
electric utility workers within 180 days after the effective
date of this Act.
(b) GENERATING PLANTS.—All generating plants
shall be subject to State and Federal general industry re-
quirements as established by the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration and shall undergo periodic govern-
ment inspection.
(c) TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP.—(1) In the event of
a sale, purchase, or any other transfer of ownership of
one or more divisions or business units, generating sta-
tions, and/or generating units of an electric utility, the
electric utility’s contract and/or agreements with the ac-
quiring entity or persons shall require that the entity or
persons hire a sufficient number of nonsupervisory em-
ployees to operate and maintain the station, division or
unit by initially making offers of employment to the non-
supervisory workforce of the electric utility’s division, busi-
ness unit, generating station or generating unit at no less
than the wage rates, and substantially equivalent fringe
benefits and terms and conditions of employment, that are
in effect at the time of transfer of ownership of said divi-
sion, business unit, generating station and/or generating
units; and said wage rates and substantially equivalent
fringe benefits and terms and conditions of employment
shall continue for at least 30 months from the time of
said transfer of ownership unless the parties mutually
agree to different terms and conditions of employment
within that 30-month period. If there is litigation concern-
ing the sale, or other transfer of ownership of the electric
utility’s divisions, business units, generating station, or
generating units, the 30-month period will begin on the
date the acquiring entity or persons take control or man-
agement of the divisions, business units, generating sta-
tion or generating units of the electric utility.
(2) If a utility transfers ownership of one or more
divisions, business units, generating stations, and/or gen-
erating units of an electric utility to a majority-owned sub-
sidiary, that subsidiary shall continue to employ the util-
ity’s employees who were employed by the utility at such
division, business unit, or generating station at the time
of the transfer under the same terms and conditions of
employment as those employees enjoyed at the time of the
transfer.
(3) If ownership of the subsidiary is subsequently
sold or transferred to a third party, the transition provi-
sions of paragraph (1) shall apply.
(4) An electric utility company shall offer a transition
plan to those employees who are not offered jobs by the
acquiring entity if that entity has a need for fewer work-
ers.
SEC. 102. CONSUMER PRIVACY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A consumer shall have a right to
the privacy of billing, payment, and specific usage and ap-
pliance information that is obtained by the seller in the
normal course of business.
(b) CUSTOMER-SPECIFIC INFORMATION.—A seller
shall obtain the permission of the consumer in writing be-
fore releasing customer-specific information. A customer’s
permission cannot be provided with a clause in a contract
for the sale of electricity. Permission can only be obtained
in writing on a separate document. Any form provided to
the consumer to grant permission for the release of cus-
tomer-specific information must clearly specify the type of
recipient, the category of information proposed to be re-
leased, and how the consumer can rescind this permission
at any time.
(c) RESCISSION.—A consumer may rescind pre-
viously-granted permission at any time in writing to the
person who solicited the permission. A rescission is effec-
tive no later than three business days after the consumer
deposits it in the United States mail.
(d) GENERAL INFORMATION.—A seller may at any
time release generic information about a customer class
or its customers in general, such as load and usage data,
appliance penetration, demographic information, and pay-
ment experience. Generic customer information shall not
be released without permission of the affected customers
when the information concerns a customer class or group
of customers that is small enough to reveal the probable
usage, billing, or payment behavior of individual members
of the customer group or class. There shall be a rebuttable
presumption that a customer class or group with three or
fewer members meets this criteria. Furthermore, no seller
shall sell or release information within its possession that
would, if used as a basis to grant credit, result in a credit
decision on a prohibited basis set forth in the Federal
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.).
(e) CUSTOMER NAMES
AND ADDRESSES.—A dis-
tributor shall make available a list of its current customer
names and mailing addresses to any supplier upon request
and for a reasonable fee. The revenues received by a dis-
tributor for the sale of this information shall be included
in the determination of the distributor’s revenue require-
ment. The State regulatory authority may impute reve-
nues to the distributor to reflect the market value of the
information sold or provided to any supplier.
(f) LAW ENFORCEMENT.—Federal or State authori-
ties or any law enforcement agency may have access to
individual customer records without the permission of the
customer as necessary to conduct its regulatory duties and
supervise sellers for compliance with Federal and State
law and this Act. Federal or State authorities or any law
enforcement agency shall retain any such records in its
files as confidential and such records shall not be consid-
ered available to the public under any ‘‘right to know’’
or disclosure law without the written consent of the cus-
tomer.
(g) CREDIT HISTORY.—A seller may release a cus-
tomer’s credit history to a third party in an attempt to
collect an unpaid debt or to report on the customer’s pay-
ment history to a credit reporting agency under the terms
of applicable State and Federal law.
SEC. 103. PAYMENT PLANS.
All distributors and suppliers shall make available de-
ferred payment plans and equal monthly budget billing
plans.
SEC. 104. BILLS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—A bill issued by a retail electricity
distributor or supplier shall contain the following informa-
tion in a format understandable by the average customer:
(1) The identity of the person issuing the bill,
and if the bill is issued by a retail electricity dis-
tributor under contract with a supplier, the identity
of the supplier, respective addresses, and telephone
numbers where the customer can call or write with
inquiries.
(2) The type of meter in use by the customer,
the meter reading from the last bill, the current
meter reading, and the total kilowatt-hours used by
the customer for the billing period.
(3) If the bill is based on an estimated reading,
a conspicuous disclosure of this fact.
(4) Any additional services or products provided
since the issuance of the last bill.
(5) The nature of the service being offered, in-
cluding information about interruptibility or curtail-
ment of service.
(6) The variable price (in dollars per kilowatt-
hour, as appropriate) and the fixed price (in dollars,
as appropriate) of electricity, transmission services,
distribution services, taxes; any charges, fees or pen-
alties, and the price for other products or services
bought by or provided to the customer, all stated in
a manner that allows the customer to recalculate the
entire bill amount.
(7) A clear and understandable description of
all charges associated with the service being offered,
including access charges, back-up service charges,
and customer service charges, except that all dis-
tributors shall not itemize any program or charge in-
cluded in the rates for services provided by or in-
cluded in the rates of the distributor other than
those specifically authorized by the State authority
that regulates a distributor’s terms and conditions.
This itemization shall not include the costs of any
public benefit program authorized by any Federal or
State authority.
(8) Every supplier shall, on at least a monthly
basis, provide in billing inserts the following infor-
mation, in a clearly legible manner.
(A) a breakdown, on a percentage basis, of
the known sources of electricity sold or other-
wise supplied to the consumer. This breakdown
shall provide percentages of biomass power,
coal-fired power, hydropower, natural gas fired
power, nuclear power, oil-fired power, solar
power, wind power, power from municipal waste
incinerators, other resources, and unknown re-
sources purchased from other companies respec-
tively. When a supplier has obtained electricity
from a power poor, this fact shall be disclosed,
and the supplier shall disclose the generic cat-
egories (with percentages where applicable) of
power dispatched by the pool during the pre-
vious billing cycle—
(i) the percentage used shall be
rounded to the nearest whole number; and
(ii) any source of electricity in para-
graph (8)(A) that is not used shall be list-
ed in the table and depicted as ‘‘0 per-
cent’’.
(B) A pie-chart, which graphically depicts
the information in paragraph (8)(A), shall also
be provided—
(i) any source of electricity in para-
graph (8)(A) that is not used shall be list-
ed next to the pie-chart; and
(ii) each segment in the pie-chart
shall be depicted in the following colors:
biomass power—light brown; coal-fired
power—black; hydropower—blue; natural
gas-fired power—grey; nuclear power—red;
oil-fired power—dark brown; power from
municipal 
waste 
incinerators—orange;
solar power—yellow; wind power—green;
and other resources—white.
(C) A table shall be provided which depicts
the actual emissions of particulate matter be-
tween 10 micrometers and 2.5 micrometers in
diameter, particulate matter 2.5 micrometers or
less in diameter, carbon dioxide, nitrogen ox-
ides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, and high-level and
low-level nuclear waste attributable to the
sources of electricity identified in paragraph
(8)(A). The table shall also show the theoretical
emissions of such pollutants attributable to the
sources of electricity identified in paragraph
(8)(A), based on application of the Generation
Pollution Standards defined in subsection
112(c). The table shall also show the word
‘‘Good’’ if the actual emissions of such pollut-
ants are less than or equal to the theoretical
emissions, and the word ‘‘Bad’’ if the actual
emissions of such pollutants are greater than
the theoretical emissions—
(i) the particulate matter emissions,
carbon dioxide emissions, nitrogen oxides
emissions, and sulfur dioxide emissions
shall be stated in pounds;
(ii) the high-level nuclear waste shall
be stated in pounds and curies; and
(iii) the low-level nuclear waste shall
be stated in cubic feet and curies.
(9) A disclosure of the customer’s annual and
monthly usage for each of the previous 12 months
(or a shorter period for a customer who does not
have a 12-month history with the supplier). A dis-
tributor and supplier may coordinate this disclosure
to avoid duplication and enhance customer under-
standing.
(b) SERVICES OR PRODUCTS.—A seller may include
services or products on the customer’s bill other than for
the transmission, distribution and retail sale of electricity,
but any such service or product shall be clearly identified
and totaled separately from the sales of electricity.
(c) PENALTY.—The failure of a seller to accurately
disclose information as required by this section shall be
treated as a deceptive act in commerce under section 5
of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45).
SEC. 105. DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each seller shall maintain a writ-
ten policy to govern the receipt, investigation, and resolu-
tion of customer inquiries and complaints. This policy
shall be available to any customer upon request, including
requests that occur by a consumer on a walk-in basis dur-
ing normal business hours. Each distributor shall main-
tain and make publicly available on a walk-in basis during
normal business hours the written policies of each seller
that in any way uses the distribution facilities of the dis-
tribution. At a minimum this policy must include a method
to track complaints by category and the retention of com-
plaint records for a period of at least one year.
(b) COMPLAINTS.—A consumer may initiate com-
plaints against the distributor or against any seller that
in any way uses the distribution facilities of the distributor
through a filing at the distributor’s offices, or at the of-
fices of the seller, or at the offices of the State regulatory
authority. A consumer must be able to file a complaint
on a walk-in basis during normal business hours, in addi-
tion to any other complaint process established by the sell-
er or the State regulatory authority. If a seller has pro-
vided a good faith response to the customer and the cus-
tomer remains dissatisfied, the seller shall refer the cus-
tomer to the State regulatory authority’s toll-free number
for customer complaints. For a three-business-day period
after the referral, the seller shall not take any adverse ac-
tion with respect to the customer’s complaint. Upon re-
ceipt of any complaint from a customer who has attempted
to resolve the matter with the seller, the State authority
with jurisdiction shall promptly notify the seller who shall
take no further adverse action with respect to the disputed
amount prior to the State authority’s decision on the com-
plaint. The State authority may investigate and take
whatever action it deems appropriate to resolve the com-
plaint, including setting the terms for application for serv-
ice, payment arrangement, billing error or dispute, allega-
tion of violation of these rules or other matters within the
jurisdiction of the State authority.
(c) DISCONNECTIONS.—There shall be no disconnec-
tions from service (distribution or supply) while a com-
plaint is pending.
(d) ARBITRATION.—There shall be no mandatory ar-
bitration of complaints.
(e) RIGHT TO DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—No customer
can be forced to pay a disputed bill in order to assert a
customer’s right to dispute resolution.
SEC. 106. DISTRIBUTION SERVICE AND SUPPLY SERVICE
QUALITY STANDARDS.
(a) REPORTS.—On a monthly basis each seller shall
submit reports to the appropriate State regulatory author-
ity and to the Energy Information Administration that de-
scribe, document, and measure the quantity, quality, and
prices for distribution service and supply service.
(b) INDEX.—The data reported in subsection (a)
shall be used to create an index that shall track the per-
formance of sellers in selected performance areas on an
annual basis. The index shall be designed to conform to
the following minimum requirements:
(1) The index shall track a distributor’s and
supplier’s performance in a range of service quality
and reliability services for electricity consumers, in-
cluding without limitation, rates and prices for elec-
tricity service for all customers, variable charges, ac-
cess charges, back-up service charges, customer serv-
ice charges, customer satisfaction surveys, business
office and phone center performance, repair and in-
stallation of new service, connection and disconnec-
tion of service, delivery of State or federally man-
dated programs, duration and frequency of outages,
storm response, customer complaint ratio, accuracy
of meter readings and bills, as well as compliance
with specific service quality and credit and collection
rules applicable to both residential and business cus-
tomers.
(2) In addition to items specifically mentioned
in this Act, the National Association of State Utility
Consumer Advocates, the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and the Energy
Information Administration shall determine the spe-
cific items to be measured and reported by distribu-
tors and suppliers, with input by other government
and nongovernment organizations as needed.
(3) The index shall specify the source and re-
porting format of the data to be used by the dis-
tributors and suppliers in their filings with State
regulatory authorities and the Energy Information
Administration, and the State regulatory authorities
or the Energy Information Administration may
audit the data provided by the distributors or suppli-
ers at the expense of the distributor or the supplier.
(4) The index shall track the performance of
the sellers in selected performance areas on an an-
nual basis in comparison to a baseline performance
level that shall be set to reflect either recent histori-
cal performance of the seller, taking into account a
reasonable margin of error, or at a higher perform-
ance level if a State regulatory authority determines
that the seller’s recent historical performance is not
adequate. If the seller has not maintained historical
data sufficient to establish a baseline for a particu-
lar performance area and a State regulatory author-
ity determines that the performance area should be
measured, the State regulatory authority may au-
thorize the use of recent data from comparable sell-
ers.
(5) Each item in the index shall be worth an
equal number of points. Performance for one item
shall not offset performance in any other item in the
index. If the seller’s annual performance is equal to
or better than the baseline performance level, the
maximum number of points for that item shall be
awarded. If the seller’s performance is below the
level established as the baseline, a percentage of the
maximum points shall be awarded equal to the per-
centage deterioration in performance reported by the
seller. In other words, if the seller performs at 80
percent of the baseline performance level, 80 percent
of the maximum points will be awarded for that
item.
(6) A specific measurement shall be adopted to
assure the seller fulfills its Universal Service obliga-
tions. A distributor shall annually survey the ability
of its customers to afford electric service. The survey
shall specifically target customers with annual
household income of 150 percent of Federal poverty
guidelines or less but may also target higher income
households as well. The survey shall obtain data on
the affordability of electric service by measuring the
impact of low, average, and high use customers at
0–50 percent, 51–100 percent, and 101–150 percent
of Federal poverty guidelines, using the average
price charged for basic service during the 12-month
period prior to the survey. The distributor shall re-
port the results of this survey to the State regu-
latory authority and to the Energy Information Ad-
ministration, both of which will make them available
for free to the general public. When the results of
the survey indicate that one or more groups of cus-
(2) LIMIT.—The nationwide pollution standard
for calendar year 2005 and each year thereafter, un-
less otherwise specified, established under paragraph
(1) shall be not greater than the following:
(A) For nitrogen oxides, 1,660,000 tons.
(B) For sulfur dioxide, 3,580,000 tons.
(C) For carbon dioxide, 1,710,000,000
tons, decreasing each year after 2005 in equal
increments to 1,425,000,000 tons by 2010, de-
creasing each year after 2010 in equal incre-
ments to 380,000,000 tons by 2030.
(D) For mercury, the Administrator shall
determine a standard that allows for the elimi-
nation of mercury emissions by 2010.
(E) For high-level waste, the Adminis-
trator shall determine a standard that allows
for the reduction of the production of radiation
(in curies) by 5 percent from levels in 2000,
and 2 percent for each year after 2005 radi-
ation.
(F) For low-level nuclear waste, the Ad-
ministrator shall determine a standard that al-
lows for the reduction of the production of radi-
ation (in curies) by 25 percent from levels in
2000, and 5 percent for each year after 2005.
changes in suppliers. However, a supplier shall
not avoid the verification requirements by ask-
ing a customer to contact a supplier directly to
make any change in the supplier. A supplier
shall be required to comply with these verifica-
tion requirements for its own services. However,
a supplier shall not be required to perform any
verification requirements for any changes solic-
ited by another supplier.
(2) GIFTS.—A supplier shall not provide a gift
or inducement to a residential or small commercial
customer with a value in excess of $50 or provide
any gift or inducement more than once per 12-
month period to the same household or small busi-
ness.
(3) ADVERTISING.—A supplier shall not adver-
tise or disclose the price of electricity in such a man-
ner as to mislead a reasonable person into believing
that this portion of the bill will be the total bill
amount for the delivery of electricity to the cus-
tomer’s location. When advertising or disclosing the
price for electricity, the supplier shall also disclose
the distributor’s average current charges (including
transmission charges) for that customer class as ap-
proved by the State regulatory authority.