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ments with the governments of Canada and Mexico to pro-
vide for effective compliance with reliability standards and 
the effectiveness of the Electric Reliability Organization 
in the United States and Canada or Mexico. 
‘‘(i) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—(1) The Electric Reli-
ability Organization shall have authority to develop and 
enforce compliance with reliability standards for only the 
bulk-power system. 
‘‘(2) This section does not authorize the Electric Reli-
ability Organization or the Commission to order the con-
struction of additional generation or transmission capacity 
or to set and enforce compliance with standards for ade-
quacy or safety of electric facilities or services. 
‘‘(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to pre-
empt any authority of any State to take action to ensure 
the safety, adequacy, and reliability of electric service 
within that State, as long as such action is not incon-
sistent with any reliability standard, except that the State 
of New York may establish rules that result in greater 
reliability within that State, as long as such action does 
not result in lesser reliability outside the State than that 
provided by the reliability standards. 
‘‘(4) Within 90 days of the application of the Electric 
Reliability Organization or other affected party, and after 
notice and opportunity for comment, the Commission shall
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issue a final order determining whether a State action is 
inconsistent with a reliability standard, taking into consid-
eration any recommendation of the Electric Reliability Or-
ganization. 
‘‘(5) The Commission, after consultation with the 
Electric Reliability Organization and the State taking ac-
tion, may stay the effectiveness of any State action, pend-
ing the Commission’s issuance of a final order. 
‘‘(j) REGIONAL ADVISORY BODIES.—The Commis-
sion shall establish a regional advisory body on the petition 
of at least two-thirds of the States within a region that 
have more than one-half of their electric load served within 
the region. A regional advisory body shall be composed or 
of one member from each participating State in the region, 
appointed by the Governor of each State, and may include 
representatives of agencies, States, and provinces outside 
the United States. A regional advisory body may provide 
advice to the Electric Reliability Organization, a regional 
entity, or the Commission regarding the governance of an 
existing or proposed regional entity within the same re-
gion, whether a standard proposed to apply within the re-
gion is just, reasonable, not unduly discriminatory or pref-
erential, and in the public interest, whether fees proposed 
to be assessed within the region are just, reasonable, not 
unduly discriminatory or preferential, and in the public
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interest and any other responsibilities requested by the 
Commission. The Commission may give deference to the 
advice of any such regional advisory body if that body is 
organized on an Interconnection-wide basis. 
‘‘(k) APPLICATION TO ALASKA AND HAWAII.—The 
provisions of this section do not apply to Alaska or Ha-
waii.’’. 
Subtitle D—PUHCA Amendments 
SEC. 16041. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Public Utility 
Holding Company Act of 2003’’. 
SEC. 16042. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this subtitle: 
(1) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ of a company means 
any company, 5 percent or more of the outstanding 
voting securities of which are owned, controlled, or 
held with power to vote, directly or indirectly, by 
such company. 
(2) The term ‘‘associate company’’ of a com-
pany means any company in the same holding com-
pany system with such company. 
(3) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission. 
(4) The term ‘‘company’’ means a corporation, 
partnership, association, joint stock company, busi-
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ness trust, or any organized group of persons, 
whether incorporated or not, or a receiver, trustee, 
or other liquidating agent of any of the foregoing. 
(5) The term ‘‘electric utility company’’ means 
any company that owns or operates facilities used 
for the generation, transmission, or distribution of 
electric energy for sale. 
(6) The terms ‘‘exempt wholesale generator’’ 
and ‘‘foreign utility company’’ have the same mean-
ings as in sections 32 and 33, respectively, of the 
Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 
U.S.C. 79z–5a, 79z–5b), as those sections existed on 
the day before the effective date of this subtitle. 
(7) 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 or distribution 
to tenants or employees of the company operating 
such facilities for their own use and not for resale) 
of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light, or 
power. 
(8) The term ‘‘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-
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rities of a public utility company or of a holding 
company of any public utility company; and 
(B) any person, determined by the Com-
mission, after notice and opportunity for hear-
ing, to exercise directly or indirectly (either 
alone or pursuant to an arrangement or under-
standing with one or more persons) such a con-
trolling influence over the management or poli-
cies of any public utility company or holding 
company as to make it necessary or appropriate 
for the rate protection of utility customers with 
respect to rates that such person be subject to 
the obligations, duties, and liabilities imposed 
by this subtitle upon holding companies. 
(9) The term ‘‘holding company system’’ means 
a holding company, together with its subsidiary com-
panies. 
(10) The term ‘‘jurisdictional rates’’ means 
rates established by the Commission for the trans-
mission of electric energy in interstate commerce, 
the sale of electric energy at wholesale in interstate 
commerce, the transportation of natural gas in inter-
state commerce, and the sale in interstate commerce 
of natural gas for resale for ultimate public con-
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sumption for domestic, commercial, industrial, or 
any other use. 
(11) The term ‘‘natural gas company’’ means a 
person engaged in the transportation of natural gas 
in interstate commerce or the sale of such gas in 
interstate commerce for resale. 
(12) The term ‘‘person’’ means an individual or 
company. 
(13) The term ‘‘public utility’’ means any per-
son who owns or operates facilities used for trans-
mission of electric energy in interstate commerce or 
sales of electric energy at wholesale in interstate 
commerce. 
(14) The term ‘‘public utility company’’ means 
an electric utility company or a gas utility company. 
(15) The term ‘‘State commission’’ means any 
commission, board, agency, or officer, by whatever 
name designated, of a State, municipality, or other 
political subdivision of a State that, under the laws 
of such State, has jurisdiction to regulate public util-
ity companies. 
(16) 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