By: Hughes, Frost, Hopson, Merritt, Pickett H.B. No. 2644
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to delay in the deregulation of certain electric
utilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter J to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J. STATUS OF COMPETITION IN CERTAIN NON-ERCOT AREAS
Sec. 39.451. APPLICABILITY. (a) This subchapter applies
to an investor-owned electric utility:
(1) that is operating solely outside of ERCOT in areas
of this state that were included in the Southwest Power Pool on
January 1, 2004;
(2) that was not affiliated with the Southeastern
Electric Reliability Council on January 1, 2004; and
(3) to which Subchapter I does not apply.
(b) The legislature finds that circumstances exist that
require that areas served by an electric utility described by
Subsection (a) not be transitioned to full retail customer choice
at this time.
Sec. 39.452. REGULATION OF UTILITY AND TRANSITION TO
COMPETITION. (a) Until the later of January 1, 2010, or the date on
which an electric utility subject to this subchapter is authorized
by the commission to implement customer choice, the rates of the
electric utility shall be regulated under traditional cost of
service regulation and the electric utility is subject to all
applicable regulatory authority prescribed by this subtitle and
Subtitle A, including Chapters 14, 32, 33, 36, and 37. Until the
date on which an electric utility subject to this subchapter
implements customer choice, the provisions of this chapter do not
apply to that electric utility, other than this subchapter,
Sections 39.904 and 39.905, and the provisions relating to the duty
to obtain a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality for an electric generating facility and to reduce emissions
from an electric generating facility.
(b) On or after January 1, 2010, the commission may require
an electric utility subject to this subchapter to file a transition
to competition plan with the commission. The transition to
competition plan must identify how electric utilities subject to
this subchapter intend to achieve full customer choice, including
an evaluation of the transmission facilities, an explanation of how
certification of the power region under Section 39.152 will be
achieved, auctioning rights to generation capacity, or any other
measure that is consistent with the public interest. The utility
must also include in the transition to competition plan a provision
to establish a price to beat for residential customers and
commercial customers having a peak load of 1,000 kilowatts or less.
The commission may prescribe additional information or provisions
that must be included in the plan. The commission shall approve,
modify, or reject a plan within 180 days after the date of a filing
under this section unless a hearing is requested by any party to the
proceeding. If a hearing is requested, the 180-day deadline will be
extended one day for each day of the hearing. The transition to
competition plan may be updated or amended, subject to commission
approval, until the applicable power region is certified as a
qualifying power region under Section 39.152 and the plan is
approved.
(c) On implementation of customer choice, an electric
utility subject to this subchapter is subject to the provisions of
this subtitle and Subtitle A to the same extent as other electric
utilities, including the provisions of Chapter 37 concerning
certificates of convenience and necessity.
Sec. 39.453. CUSTOMER CHOICE AND RELEVANT MARKET AND
RELATED MATTERS. The commission may not authorize customer choice
until the later of January 1, 2010, or the date the applicable power
region has been certified as a qualifying power region under
Section 39.152.
Sec. 39.454. EXISTING RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. This
subchapter may not be construed to:
(1) interfere with or abrogate the rights or
obligations of any party, including a retail or wholesale customer,
to a contract with an investor-owned electric utility, federal
power marketer, federal power marketing agency, river authority,
municipally owned utility, or electric cooperative;
(2) interfere with or abrogate the rights or
obligations of a party under a contract or agreement concerning
certificated utility service areas; or
(3) result in a change in wholesale power costs to
wholesale customers in this state purchasing electricity under
wholesale power contracts the pricing provisions of which are based
on formulary rates, fuel adjustments, or average system costs.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.