I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2734
To allow local government entities to serve as nonprofit aggregators of
electricity services on behalf of their citizens.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 5, 1999
Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. MCCARTHY of Mis-
souri, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, and Mr.
TIERNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Commerce
A BILL
To allow local government entities to serve as nonprofit
aggregators of electricity services on behalf of their citizens.
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 ‘‘Community Choice for
Electricity Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘aggregation’’ means the pur-
chase or acquisition of retail electricity on behalf of
two or more consumers.
(2) The term ‘‘electric utility franchise’’ means
rights granted to a utility company by a local gov-
ernment which provide conditions under which the
utility conducts its operations and services within
the boundaries of the local government.
(3) The term ‘‘municipal electric utility’’ means
a city, county, irrigation district, drainage district,
public utility district, or other political subdivision or
agency 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.
(4) The term ‘‘opt-out aggregation plan’’ means
aggregation in which all customers within the juris-
diction of a local government unit are automatically
included unless they affirmatively choose a supplier
other than the supplier designated by the local gov-
ernment unit.
(5) The term ‘‘retail electric consumer’’ means
any person who purchases or offers to purchase any
retail electric supply.
(6) The term ‘‘rural electric cooperative’’ means
an enterprise or organization owned by and operated
for the benefit of those receiving retail electricity
(usually distribution and supply) and other services
from the cooperative.
(7) The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa,
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, and Indian tribes as defined in section 102(2)
of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of
1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a(2)).
(8) The term ‘‘State regulatory authority’’
means any State agency which has ratemaking au-
thority with respect to the provision of local electric
energy distribution services by any local distribution
company.
(9) The term ‘‘supplier’’ means any person who
produces, generates, manufactures, aggregates, mar-
kets, brokers, sells, or otherwise supplies electric en-
ergy.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Many States are deregulating retail sales of
electricity.
(2) Deregulation of retail sales of electricity
must benefit all customers, including residential and
small business customers.
(3) In States that have deregulated retail sales
of electricity, large industrial and commercial cus-
tomers are winning the best deals, and few choices
are yet available to residential and small business
consumers.
(4) It is likely that most residential customers
will not actively choose a new electricity supplier and
instead will remain customers of their current elec-
tricity supplier for years to come;
(5) All customers, especially residential and
small business customers, will often find it difficult
and frustrating to find the time and sufficient infor-
mation to fully evaluate competing offers from elec-
tricity suppliers.
(6) Aggregation into larger buying groups will
enable consumers to achieve greater leverage and
thus better prices and services in electricity markets.
(7) Community choice is a particular type of
aggregation in which a local government negotiates
a contract for electric energy on behalf of all citizens
within its boundaries. Residents or businesses in the
community who prefer to choose their own electricity
suppliers would be free to ‘‘opt out’’.
(8) All consumers taking part in community
choice aggregation can benefit, including large cus-
tomers, who can still receive price differentiation
based on their larger usage.
(9) Local governments are experienced in work-
ing with technical consultants to negotiate contracts
and deliver services to their citizens.
(10) Local governments are accountable to their
constituents through elections, open meetings laws,
fair bidding laws, and conflict of interest laws.
(11) Because local governments exercising com-
munity choice must include all electricity customers
within the jurisdiction who want to participate, all
citizens and businesses who so choose can benefit,
while other types of retail electricity suppliers will
seek to serve the more profitable customers or spe-
cific types of customers.
(12) Local governments can provide an electric
load that has diversity and may be attractive to elec-
tricity suppliers.
(13) In States that have deregulated retail sales
of electricity, citizens should be able to use tradi-
tional public processes to determine whether their
local 
governments 
should 
act 
as 
nonprofit
aggregators for their communities.
(14) In States in which they hold franchise
powers for electricity, local governments should be
able to use their franchise to exercise community
choice.
SEC. 4. AGGREGATION.
Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or
State law, and subject to legitimate and nondiscriminatory
State requirements imposed on retail electric suppliers, a
group of customers or any entity, including a unit of State
or local government, acting on behalf of such group may
acquire retail electric energy on an aggregate basis if the
group of customers is served by one or more local distribu-
tion companies that are subject to retail competition.
SEC. 5. COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION.
Title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
of 1978 is amended by adding the following new section
at the end thereof:
‘‘SEC. 609. COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION.
‘‘(a) COMMUNITY CHOICE AGGREGATION OF ELEC-
TRIC LOAD.—Any State that permits any group of retail
electric consumers to choose among competing suppliers
of electric energy shall permit any general purpose local
government unit for any political subdivision of the State,
or group of such general purpose units of local government
acting together, to offer to act as an agent for all pur-
chasers that are within such group of retail electric con-
sumers and that are located within the boundaries of such
political subdivision for the purpose of purchasing electric
energy on an aggregate basis if such local government, or
group of local governments, comply with the requirements
of subsection (b).
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) APPROVAL BY VOTE.—A local government
shall be covered by the provisions of subsection (a)
only if such government has approved the aggrega-
tion of electric energy purchases by a vote of its
elected governing body or by a vote of its citizens.
Two or more local governments shall be covered by
the provisions of subsection (a) only if such govern-
ments have approved the aggregation of electric en-
ergy purchases by a vote of the elected governing
body or by a vote of the citizens of each local gov-
ernment.
‘‘(2) PARTICIPATION NOT MANDATORY.—A local
government shall be covered by the provisions of
subsection (a) only if all retail electric consumers
permitted to choose among competing suppliers of
electric energy that are located within the bound-