I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1502 
To modernize the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 5, 2019 
Mr. WALBERG (for himself, Mr. GIANFORTE, and Mr. MITCHELL) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce 
A BILL 
To modernize the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 
1978, 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 ‘‘PURPA Modernization 
Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. LOCATION OF SMALL POWER PRODUCTION FACILI-
TIES. 
(a) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.—The Federal En-
ergy Regulatory Commission shall, not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, publish in 
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the Federal Register a final rule amending its regulations 
implementing section 3(17)(A)(ii) of the Federal Power 
Act (16 U.S.C. 796(17)(A)(ii)), regarding the method for 
determining whether facilities are considered to be located 
at the same site as the facility for which qualification is 
sought for the purpose of calculating power production ca-
pacity, to provide a rebuttable presumption that— 
(1) facilities located one mile or more away 
from each other are not located at the same site; 
and 
(2) facilities located within one mile of each 
other are located at the same site. 
(b) OVERCOMING THE PRESUMPTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), the Commission shall allow any person 
(as defined in section 385.102 of title 18, Code of 
Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of en-
actment of this Act) to rebut the presumption de-
scribed in subsection (a). 
(2) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In deter-
mining whether a facility is considered to be located 
at the same site as the facility for which qualifica-
tion is sought, the Commission shall take into ac-
count, to the extent practicable, the following fac-
tors: 
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(3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall 
not apply with respect to a facility that, as of the 
date of enactment of this Act— 
(A) produces both electric energy and use-
ful thermal energy; and 
(B) on a million British thermal unit basis, 
uses at least 80 percent of its total annual ag-
gregate net output of electric energy and useful 
thermal energy for onsite industrial, commer-
cial, or institutional purposes, rather than for 
sale. 
(c) AFFILIATION AND ASSOCIATION.—The Commis-
sion shall consider the owners or operators of facilities to 
be affiliated or associated for purposes of this section if 
they are affiliates or associate companies within the mean-
ing of those terms as defined in section 1262 of the Public 
Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16451). 
(d) CONTROL.—The Commission shall consider the 
owner or operator of a facility to be under the control of 
a company or person for purposes of this section if— 
(1) the company or person directly or indirectly 
owns, controls, or holds, with power to vote, 10 per-
cent or more of the outstanding voting securities of 
the owner or operator; or 
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(2) the Commission determines, after notice 
and opportunity for hearing, that the company or 
person exercises, directly or indirectly (either alone 
or pursuant to an arrangement or understanding 
with one or more companies or persons), a control-
ling influence over the management of the owner or 
operator. 
SEC. 3. NONDISCRIMINATORY ACCESS. 
Section 210(m) of the Public Utility Regulatory Poli-
cies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a–3(m)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) NONDISCRIMINATORY ACCESS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 
subsection, except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), a qualifying small power production facility 
with an installed generation capacity of 2.5 
megawatts or greater is presumed to have non-
discriminatory access to transmission and inter-
connection services and wholesale markets de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C) of 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) 
EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph 
(A) 
does not apply to a qualifying small power pro-
duction facility that, as of the date of enact-
ment of this paragraph— 
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‘‘(i) produces both electric energy and 
useful thermal energy; and 
‘‘(ii) on a million British thermal unit 
basis, uses at least 80 percent of its total 
annual aggregate net output of electric en-
ergy and useful thermal energy for onsite 
industrial, commercial, or institutional pur-
poses, rather than for sale.’’. 
SEC. 4. RECOGNITION OF STATE OR LOCAL DETERMINA-
TIONS. 
Section 210(m) of the Public Utility Regulatory Poli-
cies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a–3(m)), as amended by 
section 3, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(9) STATE OR LOCAL DETERMINATION.—After 
the date of enactment of this paragraph, no electric 
utility shall be required to enter into a new contract 
or obligation to purchase electric energy under this 
section from a qualifying small power production fa-
cility that is not a qualifying small power production 
facility described in paragraph (8)(B) if the appro-
priate State regulatory agency or non-regulated elec-
tric utility finds, and submits to the Commission a 
written determination, that— 
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‘‘(A) the electric utility has no need to pur-
chase electric energy from such qualifying small 
power production facility in the amounts to be 
offered within the timeframe proposed by the 
qualifying small power production facility, con-
sistent with the needs for electric energy and 
the timeframe for those needs as specified in an 
electric utility’s integrated resource plan, in 
order to meet its obligation to serve customers; 
or 
‘‘(B) the electric utility employs integrated 
resource planning and conducts a competitive 
resource procurement process for long-term en-
ergy resources that provides an opportunity for 
qualifying small power production facilities to 
supply electric energy to the electric utility in 
accordance with the integrated resource plan of 
the electric utility.’’. 
Æ 
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