By Longoria                                           H.B. No. 3188
         Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
         Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to monitoring and regulation of electric utilities in the
 1-3     provision of energy efficiency products and services.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 2.216, Public Utility Regulatory Act of
 1-6     1995 (Article 1446c-0, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended
 1-7     to read as follows:
 1-8           Sec. 2.216.  DISCRIMINATION; RESTRICTION ON COMPETITION.  (a)
 1-9     A public utility may not discriminate against any person or
1-10     corporation that sells or leases equipment or performs services in
1-11     competition with the public utility, nor may any public utility
1-12     engage in any other practice that tends to restrict or impair such
1-13     competition.
1-14           (b)  The commission shall monitor and by rule shall regulate
1-15     the relationships among utilities and the affiliates, partners, and
1-16     ventures of utilities to ensure that a utility or a utility's
1-17     affiliates, partners, and ventures do not gain an unfair advantage
1-18     over an unaffiliated person competing in the same market to provide
1-19     customers with electricity or with products or services related to
1-20     energy efficiency.
1-21           (c)  The commission by rule shall ensure that a utility's
1-22     incentive program or other program related to energy efficiency
 2-1     technology or service that is directly or indirectly financed by
 2-2     rate payments:
 2-3                 (1)  allows a customer freely to choose the provider of
 2-4     the energy efficiency technology or service;
 2-5                 (2)  allows a provider of energy efficiency technology
 2-6     or service to determine the provider's offerings of product or
 2-7     service;
 2-8                 (3)  promotes open, continuous, and clear market
 2-9     competition among all providers of energy efficiency technology or
2-10     service; and
2-11                 (4)  does not place a provider of energy efficiency
2-12     technology or service at a competitive disadvantage regarding
2-13     similar products or services.
2-14           SECTION 2.  The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall
2-15     adopt rules under Section 2.216, Public Utility Regulatory Act of
2-16     1995 (Article 1446c-0, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as amended
2-17     by this Act, not later than December 31, 1997.
2-18           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-19     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-20     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-21     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-22     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-23     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-24     passage, and it is so enacted.