LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 83RD LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 22, 2013

TO:	Honorable Byron Cook, Chair, House Committee on State Affairs
FROM:	Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB3166 by King, Susan (Relating to the authority of the Public Utility Commission of Texas to implement a temporary price cap in certain situations.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would amend the Utilities Code to require the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to establish by rule a method to implement a temporary shadow price cap of $500 per megawatt to prevent retail electric customers from absorbing unusually high congestion charges during a high congestion event. The bill would require the PUC to establish by rule criteria to define what circumstances qualify as extreme congestion events and what payment amounts qualify as unusually high congestion charges.

Based on information provided by the PUC, duties and responsibilities associated with implementing the provisions of the bill could be accomplished utilizing existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

473 Public Utility Commission of Texas

LBB Staff:

UP, AG, ED