I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6974 
To direct the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration to 
reduce rates for firm electric service customers due to shortfalls in 
generation from certain Bureau of Reclamation hydroelectric facilities, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 11, 2024 
Ms. MALOY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To direct the Administrator of the Western Area Power 
Administration to reduce rates for firm electric service 
customers due to shortfalls in generation from certain 
Bureau of Reclamation hydroelectric facilities, 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 ‘‘Hydropower Delivery 
Rate-reduction Offset Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘HYDRO Act 
of 2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) the sale of hydropower from Federal facili-
ties at cost-based rates to project use and firm elec-
tric service customers has financed Federal projects 
and programs that are not strictly necessary for, or 
related to, the production of hydropower; 
(2) maintaining a mutually beneficial contrac-
tual relationship with project use and firm electric 
service customers is beneficial for the integrity of 
the Federal hydropower program; 
(3) long-term drought conditions in the Western 
United States have produced untenable conditions 
for the delivery of hydropower; and 
(4) the conditions referred to in paragraph (3) 
make the recovery of costs unrelated to the produc-
tion of Federal hydropower inconsistent with sound 
business principles. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO THE ADMINIS-
TRATOR OF THE WESTERN AREA POWER AD-
MINISTRATION. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the Administrator of the Western Area 
Power Administration (referred to in this Act as the 
‘‘Administrator’’) has the discretion to exclude 
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nonpower-related costs from power rate repayment 
studies; and 
(2) the Administrator should exercise the dis-
cretion of the Administrator— 
(A) to reduce unnecessary expenditures 
during periods of extreme drought; and 
(B) to exclude costs from hydropower rates 
that are inconsistent with an equitable alloca-
tion or assignment of nonpower-related costs to 
project use and firm electric service rates. 
SEC. 4. HYDROPOWER DROUGHT MITIGATION. 
(a) NOTIFICATION
OF
PREDICTED
AVAILABLE 
POWER.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, and each January 
1 thereafter, the Administrator shall notify project 
use and firm electric service customers of each of the 
Bureau of Reclamation projects described in para-
graph (2) of the quantity of energy predicted to be 
available for delivery from the applicable Bureau of 
Reclamation project during the 1-year period begin-
ning on the date of the notification, based on the 
most recent August 24-month study of the Bureau 
of Reclamation. 
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(2) DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS.—The Bureau 
of Reclamation projects referred to in paragraph (1) 
are the following: 
(A) The Colorado River Storage Project, 
the Collbran Project, and the Rio Grande 
Project (collectively referred to in this Act as 
the ‘‘Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects’’). 
(B) The Boulder Canyon Project. 
(C) The Parker-Davis Project. 
(b) CONDITIONS WARRANTING RATE REDUCTION.— 
(1) SALT
LAKE
CITY
AREA
INTEGRATED 
PROJECTS.—If a notification under subsection (a)(1) 
indicates that the annual quantity of energy pro-
duced by the Salt Lake City Area Integrated 
Projects is predicted to be less than 4,900,000 
MWh, the Administrator shall reduce rates for each 
project use and firm electric service customer of the 
Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects in each 
monthly invoice for firm electric service until such 
time as the expected annual energy production re-
turns to levels equal to or greater than 4,900,000 
MWh. 
(2) BOULDER CANYON PROJECT.—If a notifica-
tion under subsection (a)(1) indicates that the an-
nual quantity of energy produced by the Boulder 
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Canyon Project is predicted to be less than 
3,600,000 MWh, the Administrator shall reduce 
rates for each project use and firm electric service 
customer of the Boulder Canyon Project in each 
monthly invoice for firm electric service until such 
time as the expected annual energy production re-
turns to levels equal to or greater than 3,600,000 
MWh. 
(3) PARKER-DAVIS PROJECT.—If a notification 
under subsection (a)(1) indicates that the annual 
quantity of energy produced by the Parker-Davis 
Project is expected to be less than 1,400,000 MWh, 
the Administrator shall reduce rates for each project 
use and firm electric service customer of the Parker- 
Davis Project in each monthly invoice for project use 
and firm electric service until such time as the ex-
pected annual energy production returns to levels 
equal to or greater than 1,400,000 MWh. 
(c) RATE REDUCTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of calculating 
a rate reduction required under subsection (b), the 
Administrator shall reduce rates for each project use 
and firm electric service customer in accordance with 
the principles described in sections 2 and 3. 
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(2) LIMITATION
ON
RATE
REDUCTION.—The 
Administrator may not reduce rates as required 
under subsection (b) by an aggregate amount great-
er than any unobligated balances associated with the 
projects described in subsection (a)(2). 
(d) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.—Subsections 
(a) through (c) shall cease to be effective on December 
31, 2031. 
SEC. 5. EFFECT. 
(a) COST RECOVERY.—Nothing in this Act preempts 
the obligations of the Administrator to set rates to recover 
costs as may be required by law. 
(b) FUNDING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act author-
izes additional appropriations for the Western Area 
Power Administration. 
(2) USE OF EXISTING FUNDS.—The Adminis-
trator shall use any funds authorized and appro-
priated to the Western Area Power Administration 
on an annual basis to carry out the duties of the Ad-
ministrator under this Act. 
(c) NO RETROACTIVE RATES.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the Administrator shall not recover 
any rate reduction provided pursuant to this section in fu-
ture rates. 
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