Title: PURPA Modernization Act of 2019
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
PURPA Modernization Act of 2019
This bill addresses the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) one-mile rule and the mandatory purchase obligation for electric utility companies to purchase energy from certain facilities.
The bill directs FERC to publish a final rule that allows any person or entity to provide a rebuttable presumption to the one-mile rule. Under the one-mile rule, facilities are considered to be located at the same site as the facility for which qualification is sought if they are located within one mile of such facility. Specified factors must be taken into consideration by FERC when it determines whether two facilities are located at the same site.
The bill authorizes an electric utility company to waive the mandatory purchase obligation if additional power is not required to meet customers' electricity needs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1502 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 Representatives 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 FACILITIES.

    (a) Rebuttable Presumption.--The Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission shall, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, publish in 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 capacity, 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 paragraph (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 enactment of this Act) to rebut the presumption 
        described in subsection (a).
            (2) Factors to be considered.--In determining whether a 
        facility is considered to be located at the same site as the 
        facility for which qualification is sought, the Commission 
        shall take into account, to the extent practicable, the 
        following factors:
                    (A) The extent to which the owners or operators of 
                the facilities are affiliated or associated with each 
                other, or are under the control of the same company or 
                person.
                    (B) The extent to which the owners or operators of 
                the facilities have treated the facilities as a single 
                project for purposes of other regulatory filings or 
                applications.
                    (C) Whether the facilities use the same energy 
                resource.
                    (D) Whether the facilities have a common generator 
                lead line or connect at the same or nearby 
                interconnection points or substations.
                    (E) The extent to which the owners or operators of 
                the facilities have a common land lease or land rights 
                with respect to land on which the facilities are 
                located.
                    (F) The extent to which the owners or operators of 
                the facilities have common financing with respect to 
                the facilities.
                    (G) The extent to which the facilities are part of 
                a common development plan or permitting effort, even if 
                the interconnection of the facilities occurs at 
                separate points.
            (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 useful 
                thermal energy; and
                    (B) on a million British thermal unit basis, uses 
                at least 80 percent of its total annual aggregate net 
                output of electric energy and useful thermal energy for 
                onsite industrial, commercial, or institutional 
                purposes, rather than for sale.
    (c) Affiliation and Association.--The Commission 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 meaning 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 percent or more of 
        the outstanding voting securities of the owner or operator; or
            (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 
        controlling influence over the management of the owner or 
        operator.

SEC. 3. NONDISCRIMINATORY ACCESS.

    Section 210(m) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 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 nondiscriminatory access to 
                transmission and interconnection services and wholesale 
                markets described in subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C) of 
                paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) does not apply 
                to a qualifying small power production facility that, 
                as of the date of enactment of this paragraph--
                            ``(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 energy 
                        and useful thermal energy for onsite 
                        industrial, commercial, or institutional 
                        purposes, rather than for sale.''.

SEC. 4. RECOGNITION OF STATE OR LOCAL DETERMINATIONS.

    Section 210(m) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 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 facility that is not a qualifying small power 
        production facility described in paragraph (8)(B) if the 
        appropriate State regulatory agency or non-regulated electric 
        utility finds, and submits to the Commission a written 
        determination, that--
                    ``(A) the electric utility has no need to purchase 
                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, consistent 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 energy 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.''.
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