Date: 1986-08-15
Speaker: RALPH M. HALL (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. on behalf of my Subcommittee Chairman ED MARKEY. I am pleased to bring before the House a conference committee report on the Conservation Services Reform Act (Rept. No. 99787). This report represents the culmination of a sustained effort by the House and Senate that began in the 98th Congress to bring about needed changes in the Residential Conservation Program and the Commercial and Apartment Conservation Service Programcommonly known as the RCS and CACS Programs. The House bill. H.R. 969. was introduced on February 6 of last year by me and my good friend from California. CARLOS MOORHEAD. Hearings were held in September by the Energy Conservation and Power Subcommittee and the bill was reported from the Energy and Commerce Committee in December. The Conservation Service Reform Act continues the RCS Program through June 1989 and broadens it to include certain types of multifamily housing. The bill provides increased flexibility to States or utilities to develop and implement alternatives to the Federal RCS Program. The CACS Program is repealed. effective on date of enactment. In addition to continuing the RCS Program. this legislation gives utilities the option of developing alternative energy conservation programs instead of being limited by the current requirements of Federal law under the RCS Program. While the current RCS Program specifies home energy audits to be the only method for achieving residential energy conservation. the act requires that for an alternative utility program to be approved. it must be designed to save more energy than is being saved under the current RCS Program. Utilities are free to choose any method or combination of methods that will save more energy than the RCS Program. Under the alternative State program. the appropriate State officials under State law may develop and implement a State plan in lieu of RCS. The alternative State program in many ways is similar to the alternative utility program. However. the State program must be designed to achieve an energy savings of at least 2 percent. It gives the States an opportunity to achieve greater savings than under the RCS Program. Utilities are required to participate in the alternative State plan. The act extends the last date for which utilities are required to issue announcements to all eligible customers on the availability of the RCS Program from January 1. 1985 to June 30. 1989. However. no utility will be required to issue more than one more program announcement. Finally. Mr. Speaker. the bill deals with a concern raised by a number of small contractors in the business of Installing. servicing. and maintaining energy conservation equipment with respect to alleged anticompetitive activities by the utilities in connection with their audit activities. In order to provide a forum and a remedy for resolution of these complaints. the act provides that anticompetitive complaints be filed with the appropriate State official or agency. In most cases this is the State public utility commission. It is our intention that these complaints be resolved at the State level. under State law and procedure. However. if the State fails to begin a proceeding within 6 months. or finds that it does not have authority to act under State law. then a request for review may be filed with the Federal Trade Commission. Thus. the small contractors are assured of a forum for the resolution of their complaint. I believe that these provisions provide a fair and equitable solution to the problems that have been raised by the small business community and have been pleased to work with them on this issue. In closing. I want to take this opportunity to thank Chairman DINGELL and Mr. MARKEY for their hard work in moving this legislationMr. LUKEN for his cooperation in working with us on the small contractor provisionsand of course my original cosponsor.