By Kubiak                                        H.B. No. 737

      75R3959 DWS-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to resale of certain electric power.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Subtitle B, Title II, Public Utility Regulatory

 1-5     Act of 1995 (Article 1446c-0, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is

 1-6     amended by adding Section 2.058 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 2.058.  RESALE OF FIRM POWER.  Notwithstanding any law

 1-8     to the contrary, a person that purchases firm power from a public

 1-9     utility by a contract with a term of 10 years or more, in an amount

1-10     of 350 megawatts or more of capacity, and at a price based on the

1-11     cost of a specific power plant of that utility may resell the power

1-12     to any other person, other than a person served by an electric

1-13     cooperative corporation or a municipally owned utility, without

1-14     becoming subject to any rate or licensing regulatory requirements.

1-15     The reseller is entitled to delivery of the resold power by any

1-16     public utility to the reseller's customer over the utility's

1-17     transmission and distribution lines on rates, terms, and conditions

1-18     that are agreed to by the reseller and utility or, absent this

1-19     agreement, that are just, reasonable, nondiscriminatory, and

1-20     reasonably comparable to the rates, terms, and conditions provided

1-21     by the public utility under Sections 2.056 and 2.057 of this Act.

1-22           SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-23     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-24     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-1     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-2     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

 2-3     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

 2-4     passage, and it is so enacted.