I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 971
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to protect
the Nation’s electricity ratepayers by ensuring that rates charged by
qualifying small power producers and qualifying cogenerators do not
exceed the incremental cost to the purchasing utility of alternative electric
energy at the time of delivery, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 3, 1999
Mr. WALSH (for himself, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. SWEENEY, Mr.
TOWNS, and Mr. BOEHLERT) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
to protect the Nation’s electricity ratepayers by ensuring
that rates charged by qualifying small power producers
and qualifying cogenerators do not exceed the incremen-
tal cost to the purchasing utility of alternative electric
energy at the time of delivery, 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 ‘‘Electric Power Con-
sumer Rate Relief Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) certain courts have found that States are
preempted under the Public Utility Regulatory Poli-
cies Act of 1978 from engaging in certain ratepayer
protection activities critical to ensuring reasonable
rates for in-State ratepayers;
(2) those courts have found that, although
States have the authority initially to establish rates
charged by qualifying small power producers and
qualifying cogenerators to local electric utilities, that
such States thereafter are preempted by that Act
from ensuring over time that rates—
(A) are just and reasonable to the retail
electric consumers of purchasing electric utili-
ties and are in the public interest; and
(B) do not exceed the incremental cost to
such purchasing electric utilities of alternative
electric energy at the time of delivery;
(3) other courts have found that States are pre-
empted from monitoring effectively the operating
and efficiency performance of in-State cogeneration
and small power production facilities for the purpose
of determining whether such facilities meet Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission standards for quali-
fying cogenerators; and
(4) that Act should be amended to clarify the
intent of Congress that States have the authority—
(A) to ensure that rates charged by quali-
fying small power producers and qualifying co-
generators to purchasing electric utilities—
(i) are just and reasonable to the elec-
tric consumers of such purchasing electric
utilities and in the public interest; and
(ii) do not exceed the incremental cost
to such purchasing electric utilities of al-
ternative electric energy at the time of de-
livery; and
(B) to establish effective programs for
monitoring the operating and efficiency per-
formance of in-State cogeneration and small
power production facilities for the purpose of
determining whether such facilities meet Fed-
eral Energy Regulatory Commission standards
for qualifying cogenerators.
SEC. 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF RULES.
Section 210(f)(1) of the Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a–3(f)(1)) is amended
as follows:
(1) By striking ‘‘(1) Beginning’’ and inserting
the following:
‘‘(1) BY STATE REGULATORY AUTHORITIES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning’’.
(2) By adding at the end the following:
‘‘(B) 
REQUIREMENTS.—Notwithstanding
any other provision of this section, a State reg-
ulatory authority may ensure that rates charged
by qualifying small power producers and quali-
fying cogenerators—
‘‘(i) are just and reasonable to the
electric consumers of the purchasing elec-
tric utility and in the public interest; and
‘‘(ii) do not exceed the incremental
cost at the time of delivery to the purchas-
ing utility of alternative electric energy and
capacity.
‘‘(C) MONITORING.—A State regulatory
authority may establish programs for monitor-
ing the operating and efficiency performance of
in-State cogeneration and small power produc-
tion facilities for the purpose of determining
whether the facilities meet standards estab-
lished by the Commission for qualifying facili-
ties.
‘‘(D) 
AMENDMENT
OF
CONTRACT.—A
State regulatory authority may require that any
contract entered into before the date of enact-
ment of this paragraph be amended to conform
to any requirements imposed under subpara-
graph (B).’’.
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