I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2645
To provide for the restructuring of the electric power industry.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 29, 1999
Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms.
BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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 1999’’.
(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 Exemption rescinded from Equal Credit Opportunity Act.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 received a commer-
cial rate for electricity, as opposed to a residential
or industrial rate. ‘‘Small commercial customers’’
are commercial customers with a monthly peak de-
mand less than 1,000 kW, and ‘‘large commercial
customers’’ 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 sub-
sidiary 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 dis-
tributor 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 (ex-
cluding incinerated municipal solid waste or black
liquor), dedicated biomass energy crops, landfill gas,
geothermal, 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
operated for the benefit of those receiving retail elec-
tricity (usually distribution and supply) and other
services from the cooperative, many of which have
received loans from the Administrator of the Rural
Electrification Administration or the Rural Utilities
Service under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936.
(42) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Energy.
(43) The term ‘‘seller’’ means a retail electricity
distributor or a retail electricity supplier.
(44) The term ‘‘State’’ means any State, admit-
ted to the union, the District of Columbia, and any
organized territory of the United States.
(45) The term ‘‘State regulatory authority’’
means the regulatory body of a State or municipality
having sole jurisdiction to regulate rates and charges
for the distribution of electricity to consumers within
the State or municipality.
(46) The term ‘‘subsidiary company’’ of a hold-
ing company means—
(A) any company 10 percent or more of
the outstanding voting securities of which are
directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held
with power to vote, by such holding company;
and
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 con-
cerning the sale, or other transfer of ownership of the elec-
tric 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.
(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 pool, 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 sup-
pliers at the expense of the distributor or the sup-
plier.
(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 histor-
ical 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 par-
ticular performance area and a State regulatory au-
thority 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-
tomers with income of 150 percent of Federal pov-
erty guidelines or less pay, on average, over ten per-
cent of their annual income for electricity (15 per-
cent if the household uses electricity as the primary
heating source), the distributor shall expand or ini-
tiate programs to assist the affected customer class-
es in the payment of their electric bill, to reduce the
amount of the bill with energy efficiency programs,
or both.
(c) PENALTY.—A penalty shall be established for dis-
tributors that fail to achieve the baseline performance level
in any year with a dollar amount specified for each point
in the index that is below the baseline performance level.
The maximum penalty shall be determined by the State
regulatory authority after taking into account the recent
history of the distributor in achieving reasonable service
quality and reliability. The dollar amount of penalty in any
one year may vary with the degree of deterioration of per-
formance by the distributor, but the entire penalty shall
be assessed if the distributor’s performance in any one
year shows a 30 percent deterioration in performance in
the overall index. A distributor shall not be awarded in-
creased earnings for performance above the baseline level
in any item.
(d) CREDIT
OR REBATE.—Any penalties incurred
under the index may be returned to all customers in the
form of a one-time credit or rebate or paid to customers
affected by the degradation of service, such as a failure
to install new service on time, or both. In either case, in
any year in which penalties are triggered, the distributor
shall inform its customers of its failure to achieve the
baseline level of service quality in a manner approved by
the State regulatory authority.
(e) REPORT.—Annually the Energy Information Ad-
ministration shall make publicly available for free a report
(including all supporting documentation) showing the
scores of each retail electricity distributor and each retail
electricity supplier for every item measured by the index.
The report and all supporting data and documentation
must be posted on the Internet for free downloading in
a form usable with off-the-shelf spreadsheet and database
software.
SEC. 107. CITIZEN UTILITY BOARDS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Unless already in existence,
each State shall create a not-for-profit membership cor-
poration to be known as the ‘‘Citizens’ Utility Board,
Inc.’’ herein referred to as the State CUB. An existing
not-for-profit membership corporation located in a State
may become the State CUB provided it meets all the re-
quirements of this section.
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the State
CUB shall consist of all residential consumers of elec-
tricity or natural gas 16 years of age or older who have
contributed to the State CUB an annual membership fee,
provided, that any person may resign from membership.
(c) DUTIES, RIGHTS, AND POWERS OF THE STATE
CUB.—(1) The State CUB shall—
(A) represent and promote the interests of a
State’s residential consumers of electricity or natural
gas. All actions by the State CUB under this section
shall be directed toward such duty;
(B) inform, insofar as possible, all residential
consumers of electricity or natural gas about the
State CUB including the procedure for obtaining
membership in the State CUB;
(C) establish an annual membership fee which
shall be set at a level that provides sufficient fund-
ing for the State CUB to effectively perform its
powers and duties, and is affordable for as many
electricity or natural gas consumers as is possible,
but nevertheless is not less than five dollars; and
(D) have all rights and powers accorded gen-
erally to, and be subject to all duties imposed gen-
erally upon, not-for-profit membership corporations
under the laws of a State.
(2) In addition, the State CUB shall have the fol-
lowing rights and powers:
(A) To solicit and accept gifts, loans, grants or
other aid in order to support activities concerning
the interests of residential consumers of electricity
or natural gas, except that the State CUB may not
accept gifts, loans or other aid from any person or
company that generates, transmits, distributes, or
supplies electricity or natural gas, or from any direc-
tor, employee or agent or member of the immediate
family of a director, employee or agent of any com-
pany that generates, transmits, distributes, or sup-
plies electricity or natural gas.
(B) To seek tax-exempt status under State and
Federal law.
(C) To conduct, support, and assist research,
surveys, investigations, planning activities, con-
ferences, demonstration projects, and public infor-
mation activities concerning the interests of residen-
tial consumers of electricity or natural gas. The
State CUB may accept grants, contributions, and
legislative appropriations for such activities.
(D) To contract for services which cannot rea-
sonably be performed by its employees.
(E) To represent the interests of residential
consumers of electricity or natural gas before regu-
latory agencies, legislative bodies and other public
bodies.
(F) To initiate, to intervene as a party, to
maintain, or to otherwise participate on behalf of
residential consumers of electricity or natural gas in
any proceeding that affects the interests of residen-
tial consumers of electricity or natural gas.
(G) To support or oppose ballot propositions
concerning matters that it determines may affect the
interests of residential consumers of electricity or
natural gas.
(3) The State CUB shall have, in addition to the
rights and powers enumerated in this section, such other
incidental rights and powers as are reasonably necessary
for the effective representation and protection of the inter-
ests of residential consumers of electricity or natural gas.
(4) The State CUB shall not sponsor, endorse, or
otherwise support, nor shall it oppose, any political party
or the candidacy of any person for public office.
(d) STATE-ASSISTED FUNDRAISING BY THE STATE
CUB.—(1) The State CUB shall have the authority to
prepare and furnish to any State agency an enclosure that
the State agency shall include within any mailing des-
ignated by the State CUB. The State CUB shall provide
the agency with any such enclosure at a time reasonably
in advance of the mailing. The State CUB may not require
any State agency to mail an enclosure more than four
times in any calendar year.
(2) Enclosures furnished by the State CUB under
this section shall be limited to soliciting information and
money from consumers and explaining—
(A) the purpose, history, nature, activities, and
achievements of the State CUB;
(B) that the State CUB is open to membership
by residential consumers;
(C) that the State CUB is not connected to any
utility company or governmental agency;
(D) that the State CUB is a not-for-profit cor-
poration directed by its consumer members;
(E) the procedure for contributing to or becom-
ing a member of the State CUB; and
(F) the yearly membership fee.
(3) Prior to furnishing an enclosure to a State agency
for mailing, the State CUB shall seek and obtain the ap-
proval of the appropriate State authority of the content
of the enclosure. The State authority shall approve the en-
closure if it determines that the enclosure—
(A) is not false or misleading, and
(B) contains and is limited to the information
permitted by this section. The State authority shall
be deemed to have approved the enclosure unless it
disapproves the enclosure within fourteen days of re-
ceipt.
(4) The State CUB shall reimburse each State agen-
cy for all reasonable incremental costs incurred by the
State agency in complying with this section above the
agency’s normal mailing and handling costs, provided
that—
(A) the State agency shall first furnish the
State CUB with an itemized accounting of such ad-
ditional costs; and
(B) the State CUB shall not be required to re-
imburse the State agency for postage costs if the
weight of the State CUB’s enclosure does not in-
crease the cost of the State agency mailing. If the
State CUB’s enclosure increases the cost of the
State agency mailing, then it will be required to re-
imburse the State agency for postage cost over and
above what the agency’s postage cost would have
been without the State CUB’s enclosure.
SEC. 108. OFFICE OF CONSUMER COUNSEL.
The Federal Power Act is hereby amended by adding
the following new section after section 320:
‘‘SEC. 320A. OFFICE OF CONSUMER COUNSEL.
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established
within the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission an Of-
fice of the Consumer Counsel. The Office shall be under
the direction and supervision of the Consumer Counsel.
The Consumer Counsel shall be appointed by the Commis-
sion for a term of not less than 5 years, which term may
be renewed at the discretion of the Commission.
‘‘(b) FINDINGS.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated in each fiscal year to the Office of Consumer
Counsel $10,000,000, adjusted for inflation.
‘‘(c) STAFFING.—Staffing for the Office of Consumer
Counsel may include attorneys, economists, utility ana-
lysts, engineers, human services experts, and other staff,
professional and nonprofessional, and may include consult-
ants to provide advice, analysis, testimony, and represen-
tation of the Consumer Counsel before the Commission.
‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Consumer Counsel shall rep-
resent the energy using and consuming public in pro-
ceedings before the Commission that may affect wholesale
or retail electric or gas service, prices, and practices. The
Consumer Counsel may intervene in any proceeding under
this Act.
‘‘(e) REPORTS.—The Consumer Counsel shall annu-
ally report to the Commission and the Congress on the
impact of wholesale and retail deregulation in the elec-
tricity and gas industries on the using and consuming
public, and on affordable access to such services, and shall
make recommendations for policies to address such prob-
lems in these areas as the Consumer Counsel shall iden-
tify.
‘‘(f) REMOVAL.—The Consumer Counsel may be re-
moved by the Commission for cause, after a hearing on
any allegations giving rise to such cause.’’.
SEC. 109. PROHIBITION OF POWER PLANT BAILOUTS.
(a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any Fed-
eral or State authority to require consumers to subsidize,
directly or indirectly, the costs of owning or operating any
power plant owned by an investor-owned company.
(b) EXEMPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to
any facility or power plant that qualifies for support from
the National Electric Public Benefit Fund or that pro-
duces renewable energy credits.
(c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section af-
fects the rights and remedies of any party with respect
to the purchase of electricity or capacity from or to a facil-
ity determined to be a qualifying small power production
facility or a qualifying cogeneration facility under section
210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
pursuant to any contract or obligation to purchase or to
sell electricity or capacity, including the right to recover
the costs of purchasing such electricity or capacity.
(d) ESCROW.—On the effective date of this Act, every
investor-owned company that holds a license to operate a
nuclear reactor shall place in escrow $1,000,000,000 per
reactor to cover costs for nuclear reactor decommissioning,
$500,000,000 per reactor for low-level radioactive waste
disposal, and $500,000,000 per reactor for high-level ra-
dioactive waste disposal.
SEC. 110. PROHIBITION OF AFFILIATE ABUSES AND CROSS-
SUBSIDIES.
It shall be unlawful for any State-regulated investor-
owned electric utility company, or associated holding com-
pany or any subsidiary thereof, to own directly or indi-
rectly any voting security of any company that provides
a nonregulated service, or that provides any type of service
outside the United States, or to provide any nonregulated
service.
SEC. 111. MERGERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—No transactions subject to section
203 of the Federal Power Act shall be deemed to be con-
sistent with the public interest within the meaning of sec-
tion 203 if the Commission finds that the transaction may
create or maintain a situation inconsistent with the anti-
trust laws in any product and geographic market in which
electricity or capacity is offered for sale to wholesale or
retail customers in the form of—
(1) generation capacity;
(2) transmission capacity; or
(3) electricity.
(b) PROBABLE EFFICIENCIES.—Probable efficiencies,
including savings and benefits resulting from a merger,
will not be weighed against the effects of a merger that
may substantially lessen competition in any geographic
market for electricity if such efficiencies could be achieved
by means other than the merger.
(c) PLAN.—Any claim by applicants that a merger
will produce probable efficiencies, including benefits and
savings, must be supported by a plan accounting for such
efficiencies, and explaining how they will be allocated
among the merging utilities wholesale, retail, and trans-
mission customers.
(d) OPEN ACCESS.—No merger of transmission-own-
ing public utilities or disposition of transmission facilities
shall be deemed to be consistent with the public interest
within the meaning of section 203 of the Federal Power
Act, unless the applicants agree to offer comparable open
access transmission with single system pricing.
(e) REDUCTION OF TRANSMISSION CAPACITY.—No
transaction subject to section 203 of the Federal Power
Act shall be deemed to be consistent with the public inter-
est within the meaning of section 203 if it would result
in a reduction of transmission capacity presently available
for use by transmission customers.
(f) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 203(a) of the Federal
Power Act is amended by inserting after the first sentence
the following: ‘‘It shall be unlawful for a holding company
in a holding company system that includes an electric util-
ity company to directly or indirectly purchase, acquire, or
take any security of any electric utility company or of a
holding company in a holding company system that in-
cludes an electric utility company, without first having se-
cured an order of the Commission authorizing it to do so.’’
SEC. 112. POLLUTION STANDARDS.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
(1) COVERED
GENERATION
FACILITY.—The
term ‘‘covered generation facility’’ means an electric
generation facility with a nameplate capacity of 15
megawatts or greater that uses a combustion device
or nuclear reactor to generate electricity for sale.
(2) COGENERATION.—The term ‘‘cogeneration’’
means a process of simultaneously generating elec-
tricity and thermal energy in which a portion of the
energy value of fuel consumed is recovered as heat
that is used to meet heating or cooling loads outside
the generation facility.
(3) 
POLLUTANT.—The 
term 
‘‘pollutant’’
means—
(A) nitrogen oxides;
(B) sulfur dioxide;
(C) carbon dioxide;
(D) mercury;
(E) high-level nuclear waste;
(F) low-level nuclear waste; or
(G) any other substance that the Adminis-
trator may identify by regulation as a substance
the emission of which from a combustion device
or nuclear reactor used in the generation of
electricity endangers public health or welfare.
(b) NATIONWIDE POLLUTION STANDARDS.—
(1) SCHEDULE.—Not later than July 1, 2001,
the Administrator shall promulgate a final regula-
tion that establishes a schedule of limits on the
amount of each pollutant that all covered generation
facilities in the aggregate nationwide shall be per-
mitted to pollute in each calendar year beginning in
calendar year 2002.
(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
(which represents a 79 percent decrease from
1990 emissions of 7,500,000 tons, and is in-
tended to result in an emission rate of 0.15
pounds of nitrogen oxides per million British
thermal units of primary energy consumed to
produce electricity).
(B) For sulfur dioxide, 3,580,000 tons
(which represents a 77 percent decrease from
1990 emissions of 15,800,000 tons, and is in-
tended to result in an emission rate of 0.30
pounds of sulfur dioxide per million British
thermal units of primary energy consumed to
produce electricity).
(C) For carbon dioxide, 1,710,000,000
tons (which represents a 10 percent decrease
from 1990 emissions of 1,920,000,000 tons),
decreasing each year after 2005 in equal incre-
ments to 1,425,000 tons by 2010 (which rep-
resents a 25 percent decrease from 1990 emis-
sions), decreasing each year after 2010 in equal
increments to 380,000,000 tons by 2030 (which
represents an 80 percent decrease from 1990
emissions).
(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.
(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.
(3) ADJUSTMENT.—The Administrator may ad-
just the schedule established under paragraph (1),
within the limits established by paragraph (2), if the
Administrator determines that an adjustment would
be in the best interests of the public health and wel-
fare.
(c) GENERATION POLLUTION STANDARD.—
(1) ANNUAL DETERMINATION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October
1 of each year, the Administrator, in consulta-
tion with the Commission, shall determine the
generation pollution standard for nitrogen ox-
ides, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and mer-
cury pollution in pounds per kilowatt-hour of
electric production by covered generation facili-
ties for the next calendar year; and high-level
nuclear waste in pounds per kilowatt-hour and
curies per kilowatt-hour and low-level nuclear
waste in cubic feet per kilowatt-hour and curies
per kilowatt-hour of electric production by cov-
ered generation facilities for the next calendar
year.
(B) METHOD.—The Administrator shall
determine by regulation the method to be used
in determining an estimate under subparagraph
(A).
(2) FORMULA.—The generation pollution stand-
ard shall be determined by dividing the annual na-
tionwide pollution standard as established under
subsection (b) by the Administrator’s estimate of the
nationwide kilowatt-hour production for the next cal-
endar year by all covered generation facilities.
(d) GENERATING PLANTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The average rate of pollut-
ants at any covered generation facility over any 30-
day period shall not exceed the generation perform-
ance standard established under subsection (c).
(2) PENALTY.—The owner or operator of a cov-
ered generation facility that emits in excess of the
maximum emission rate established under this sec-
tion shall be subject to a penalty of $100,000 per
day for each day in which the average emission rate
over any 30-day period exceeds the maximum emis-
sion rate.
(e) MONITORING.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM.—The Admin-
istrator shall establish a system for the accurate
monitoring of the amount of each pollutant that a
covered generation facility emits during a year.
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The monitoring system
under paragraph (1) shall require—
(A) installation on each covered generation
facility of a continuous monitoring system for
each pollutant; or
(B) use of an alternative mechanism that
the Administrator determines will provide data
with precision, reliability, accessibility, and
timeliness that are equal to or greater than