By:  Gallegos                                         S.B. No. 1858

         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.

         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to monitoring and regulation of electric utilities in the

 1-2     provision of energy efficiency products and services.

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

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 2.216, Public Utility Regulatory Act of

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

 1-6     to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 2.216.  DISCRIMINATION; RESTRICTION ON COMPETITION.

 1-8     (a)  A public utility may not discriminate against any person or

 1-9     corporation that sells or leases equipment or performs services in

1-10     competition with the public utility, nor may any public utility

1-11     engage in any other practice that tends to restrict or impair such

1-12     competition.

1-13           (b)  The commission shall monitor and by rule shall regulate

1-14     the relationships among utilities and the affiliates, partners, and

1-15     ventures of utilities to ensure that a utility or a utility's

1-16     affiliates, partners, and ventures do not gain an unfair advantage

1-17     over an unaffiliated person competing in the same market to provide

1-18     customers with products or services related to energy efficiency.

1-19           (c)  The commission by rule shall ensure that a utility's

1-20     incentive programs or other programs related to energy efficiency

1-21     technology or services that are directly or indirectly financed by

 2-1     rate payments:

 2-2                 (1)  allow a customer freely to choose the provider of

 2-3     the energy efficiency technology or service;

 2-4                 (2)  allow a provider of energy efficiency technology

 2-5     or service to determine the provider's offerings of product or

 2-6     service;

 2-7                 (3)  promote open, continuous, and transparent market

 2-8     competition among all providers of energy efficiency technology or

 2-9     service; and

2-10                 (4)  do not place a provider of energy efficiency

2-11     technology or service at a competitive disadvantage regarding

2-12     similar products or services offered by the utility.

2-13           SECTION 2.  The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall

2-14     adopt rules under Section 2.216, Public Utility Regulatory Act of

2-15     1995 (Article 1446c-0, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as amended

2-16     by this Act, not later than December 31, 1997.

2-17           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-18     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-19     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-20     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-21     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-22     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-23     passage, and it is so enacted.