PURPA PLUS Act

Bill: 114-s-1233
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR]
Introduced: 2015-05-06
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Alternative and renewable resources

Electric power generation and transmission

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

Intergovernmental relations

Public utilities and utility rates

State and local government operations
Latest action: action_date: 2015-05-14
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.

Summaries:
action_date: 2015-05-06
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>PURPA's Legislative Upgrade to State Authority Act or the PURPA PLUS Act</b></p> <p>Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, with respect to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authority to prescribe rules requiring electric utilities to offer to sell and purchase electric energy to and from any qualifying cogeneration or small power production facility.</p> <p>Permits state regulatory authorities or nonregulated electric utilities, acting under state authority, to set rates exceeding the incremental cost of alternative electric energy for purchases from any such qualifying facility of up to two megawatts capacity. (Current law requires FERC to set rates that do not exceed the incremental cost to the electric utility of alternative electric energy.)</p>

tv_txt: II 114th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1233 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 6, 2015 Mr. Wyden introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to expand the electric rate-setting authority of States.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the PURPA’s Legislative Upgrade to State Authority Act or PURPA PLUS Act . 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 824a–3 )— (A) established a new class of nonutility generators known as qualifying cogeneration facilities and qualifying small power production facilities ; and (B) encouraged the development of alternate sources of energy with the requirement that utilities purchase energy offered by qualifying facilities; (2) since the date of enactment of that section, materials and designs for qualifying facility technologies have advanced and placed renewable resources and cogeneration facilities within the reach of more consumers, including technologies such as— (A) solar photovoltaic panels; (B) small wind turbines; (C) storage technologies to support renewable energy; (D) small hydroelectric generators on existing dams, diversions, and conduits; (E) hydrokinetic generators; (F) gas microturbines; (G) steam-cycle turbines; (H) Stirling engines; (I) fuel cells; and (J) biomass boilers; (3) States need additional regulatory flexibility and authority to be able to incentivize the qualifying facilities; and (4) the avoided cost caps on qualifying facilities should be removed so that States can set the rates for qualifying facilities of not more than 2 megawatts capacity. 3. State authority to incentivize qualifying facilities Section 210(b) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 824a–3(b) ) is amended in the last sentence by inserting before the period at the end the following: , except that the rule shall provide that a State regulatory authority or nonregulated electric utility, acting under State authority, may set rates that exceed the incremental cost of alternative electric energy for purchases from any qualifying cogeneration facility or qualifying small power production facility of not more than 2 megawatts capacity .