I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5722 
To amend the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission to review the decisions of the North American Electric 
Reliability Corporation affecting cost allocation under system support 
resources agreements. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2014 
Mr. BENISHEK (for himself and Mr. PETERS of Michigan) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Power Act to require the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission to review the decisions 
of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation 
affecting cost allocation under system support resources 
agreements. 
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 ‘‘Providing Opportuni-
ties to Work for Energy Reliability Act’’ or the ‘‘POWER 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REVIEW OF DECISIONS OF NORTH AMERICAN ELEC-
TRIC RELIABILITY CORPORATION AFFECT-
ING COST ALLOCATION UNDER SYSTEM SUP-
PORT RESOURCES AGREEMENTS. 
Section 205 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 
824d) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) REVIEW OF DECISIONS OF NORTH AMERICAN 
ELECTRIC RELIABILITY CORPORATION AFFECTING COST 
ALLOCATION
UNDER
SYSTEM
SUPPORT
RESOURCES 
AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) 
SYSTEM
SUPPORT
RESOURCES 
AGREEMENT.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘system 
support resources agreement’ means an 
agreement between the owner of a system 
support resources unit and a transmission 
organization that provides for— 
‘‘(I) operation of the system sup-
port resources unit for a period past 
the date on which the owner of the 
system support resources unit pro-
poses to suspend the operation of, or 
retire, the system support resources 
unit; 
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‘‘(II) the payments to be made to 
the owner of the system support re-
sources unit for the continued oper-
ation; and 
‘‘(III) the manner in which the 
costs for the continued operation will 
be recovered. 
‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘system 
support resources agreement’ includes the 
associated rate schedule, or any other allo-
cation of costs, for an agreement described 
in clause (i). 
‘‘(B) 
SYSTEM
SUPPORT
RESOURCES 
UNIT.—The term ‘system support resources 
unit’ means a generating unit that has been 
designated by a transmission organization as a 
system support resources unit on— 
‘‘(i) an application to the transmission 
organization by the owner of the unit to 
retire or suspend operation of the unit; and 
‘‘(ii) a determination by the trans-
mission organization that the operation of 
the unit is necessary to operate the trans-
mission system consistent with applicable 
reliability standards. 
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‘‘(C) TRANSMISSION ORGANIZATION.—The 
term ‘transmission organization’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 215(a). 
‘‘(2) REVIEW BY COMMISSION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 
review any decision by the North American 
Electric Reliability Corporation to approve a 
new balancing authority that would alter cost 
allocations under an existing system support re-
sources agreement. 
‘‘(B) SUSPENSION OF EFFECTIVENESS.— 
The new balancing authority described in sub-
paragraph (A) shall not take effect until ap-
proved by the Commission. 
‘‘(3) 
COST-BENEFIT
ANALYSIS.—Prior 
to 
issuing a decision under paragraph (4), the Commis-
sion shall publish a cost-benefit analysis of the pro-
posed decision described in paragraph (2)(A), includ-
ing the likely financial impact of the decision on 
ratepayers. 
‘‘(4) DECISION BY COMMISSION.— 
‘‘(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Commission 
shall— 
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