I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2597 
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish 
a market-oriented standard for clean electric energy generation, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2019 
Mr. LUJA´N (for himself, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. BLUNT 
ROCHESTER, and Mr. GALLEGO) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 
to establish a market-oriented standard for clean electric 
energy generation, 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 ‘‘Clean Energy Stand-
ard Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FEDERAL CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Public Utility Reg-
ulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 610. FEDERAL CLEAN ENERGY STANDARD. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es-
tablish a technology-neutral, market-oriented standard for 
electric energy generation that— 
‘‘(1) stimulates clean energy innovation and al-
lows the United States to achieve a net-zero emis-
sion electric sector at the lowest cost; 
‘‘(2) will guide power sector investment and 
provide regulatory certainty, while helping to ensure 
that the United States is the leader and dominant 
competitor in the global clean energy transition; and 
‘‘(3) will result in— 
‘‘(A) hundreds of billions of dollars in do-
mestic health and environmental benefits by the 
mid-21st century; and 
‘‘(B) save tens of thousands of lives in the 
United States. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) APPLICABLE
CARBON
INTENSITY.—The 
term ‘applicable carbon intensity’ means 0.4 metric 
tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt-hour. 
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‘‘(2) APPLICABLE
CLEAN
ENERGY
PERCENT-
AGE.—The term ‘applicable clean energy percent-
age’, with respect to a retail electricity supplier, 
means the clean energy percentage applicable to the 
retail electricity supplier for the relevant calendar 
year under subsection (c). 
‘‘(3) BASE QUANTITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘base quan-
tity’, with respect to a retail electricity supplier 
for a calendar year, means the total quantity of 
electric energy consumed by electric customers 
of the retail electricity supplier, expressed in 
megawatt-hours, during the calendar year, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(i) the quantity of electric energy 
sold by the retail electricity supplier to 
electric customers for purposes other than 
resale; and 
‘‘(ii) the quantity of behind-the-meter 
generation consumed by electric consumers 
served by the retail electricity supplier. 
‘‘(B) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of 
subparagraph (A), not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, the 
Secretary shall develop appropriate processes 
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for determining the quantity of behind-the- 
meter generation consumed by electric con-
sumers served by a retail electricity supplier, in-
cluding by requiring from the retail electricity 
supplier relevant documentation of behind-the- 
meter electric energy consumption, such as 
records associated with net-metering. 
‘‘(4) BASELINE PERCENTAGE.—The term ‘base-
line percentage’ means— 
‘‘(A) for a retail electricity supplier in op-
eration on the date of enactment of this section, 
the clean energy percentage of the retail elec-
tricity supplier calculated for the calendar year 
in which this section is enacted; and 
‘‘(B) for a retail electricity supplier that 
commences operation after the date of enact-
ment of this section, such clean energy percent-
age as the Secretary determines to be appro-
priate. 
‘‘(5) BEHIND-THE-METER
GENERATION.—The 
term ‘behind-the-meter generation’ means the gen-
eration of clean energy using a system that operates 
on the customer side of the applicable utility meter, 
subject to the condition that the retail electricity 
supplier serving the generator shall submit to the 
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