IA
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. J. RES. 178
Disapproving Orders Nos. 888 and 889 of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 1, 1996
Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey introduced the following joint resolution; which
was referred to the Committee on Commerce
JOINT RESOLUTION
Disapproving Orders Nos. 888 and 889 of the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission.
Whereas the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued
Orders Nos. 888 and 889 adopting new rules to promote
wholesale competition through open access nondiscrim-
inatory transmission services by public utilities and to en-
able the recovery of stranded costs by public utilities and
transmitting utilities (RM95–8–000 and RM94–7–001);
Whereas these rules will open wholesale electric power mar-
kets to increased competition, thereby lowering energy
prices for millions of Americans;
Whereas Congress supports the intent of these rules to re-
duce electric costs through increased wholesale competi-
tion;
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Whereas Congress is concerned about the adverse environ-
mental effects that the resulting change in generation
dispatch will have on certain regions of the country;
Whereas open access to transmission will enable low-cost elec-
tric generators, many of which are older, coal-fired plants
subject to minimal pollution control requirements, to in-
crease power production and sell electricity to customers
throughout the United States;
Whereas the environmental analysis by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission found that open access, without
mitigation, will result in increases in emissions of nitro-
gen oxides (NOX), carbon dioxide, particulates, and other
pollutants;
Whereas the benefits of interregional competition among elec-
tric utilities promise to be shared nationally, but the
NOX emissions and ozone transported from the upwind
regions will disproportionately impact the Ozone Trans-
port Region in the Northeastern United States;
Whereas additional emissions resulting from these rules will
exacerbate the already existing ozone nonattainment
problem in the Ozone Transport Region;
Whereas States in the Ozone Transport Region are already
implementing stringent and costly measures to reduce
their own emissions, including cleaner fuels, tough auto-
mobile inspection programs, and stringent stationery
source emissions reductions, at a great expense to the
economy in the Northeast;
Whereas continuing ozone noncompliance through additional
NOX emissions and ozone as a result of these rules raises
the possibility of additional pollution-control costs and
economic sanctions that will stifle development and
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threaten the economic well-being of residents and busi-
nesses in the Ozone Transport Region;
Whereas measures to mitigate the increased release of NOX
and ozone should be promulgated in conjunction with the
deregulation of the electric utility industry;
Whereas it is less costly to the economy as a whole to address
NOX and ozone mitigation at the source of the emissions
rather than impose additional regulation on people of the
Northeast;
Whereas even with environmental mitigation at the source,
there remains the potential for an enormous economic
benefit through increased electric competition because of
these rules;
Whereas on February 8, 1996, 20 Members of Congress
wrote to the Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, urging the Commission to support mitiga-
tion strategies that address the potential environmental
impacts of energy deregulation;
Whereas on February 13, 1996, the Ozone Transport Com-
mission called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Com-
mission to work with the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy and the States to ensure equitable environmental re-
quirements and to mitigate comprehensively and concur-
rently any adverse impacts on ground level ozone associ-
ated with the implementation of the open access rule and
related actions;
Whereas on February 20, 1996, the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency formally stated that this rule should be
adopted only if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis-
sion makes an appropriate commitment to mitigation of
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potential environmental harm as part of the final rules;
and
Whereas the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Or-
ders Nos. 888 and 889, as issued, do not include appro-
priate mitigation measures as requested by Members of
Congress, and the Environmental Protection Agency, and
the Ozone Transport Commission: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That Congress disapproves the rules submitted by the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relating to the
promotion of wholesale competition through open access
nondiscriminatory transmission services by public utilities,
and recovery of stranded costs by public utilities and
transmitting utilities, and such rule shall have no force
or effect.
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