By: Fraser S.B. No. 1494
(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2005; March 21, 2005, read
first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce;
April 6, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 6, 2005,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1494 By: Fraser
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the unbundling of electric utilities in the transition
to competitive retail electric markets.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 39.051, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
follows:
(c) An electric utility may accomplish the separation
required by Subsection (b) either through the creation of separate
nonaffiliated companies or separate affiliated companies owned by a
common holding company or through the sale of assets to a third
party. An electric utility may create separate transmission and
distribution utilities. Notwithstanding any other provision of
this chapter, an electric utility that on September 1, 2005, has not
finalized unbundling may also meet the requirements of Subsection
(b) for its existing generation business activities in the Electric
Reliability Council of Texas if it meets and maintains compliance
with the following requirements:
(1) the electric utility has no more than 400
megawatts of Texas jurisdictional capacity from generating units
within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas that have not been
mothballed or retired;
(2) the electric utility has a contract or contracts
with separate nonaffiliated companies or separate affiliated
companies for the sale of all of the output from its generating
units that have not been mothballed or retired with a contract term
that is no shorter than 20 years or the life of the generating
units, whichever is shorter; and
(3) the electric utility has a separate division
within the electric utility for its generation business activities.
(c-1) A separate division described by Subsection (c)(3) is
subject to Subsection (d) and, for the purposes of this chapter, is
considered a separate affiliated power generation company and a
competitive affiliate.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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