Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB1194 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R4206 TRH-D
2	2	By: Dukes H.B. No. 1194
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the regulation of propane utility companies.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 101.002(b), Utilities Code, is amended
10	10	to read as follows:
11	11	(b) Gas utilities, including propane utilities, are by
12	12	definition monopolies in the areas they serve. As a result, the
13	13	normal forces of competition that regulate prices in a free
14	14	enterprise society do not operate. Public agencies regulate
15	15	utility rates, operations, and services as a substitute for
16	16	competition.
17	17	SECTION 2. Section 101.003, Utilities Code, is amended by
18	18	amending Subdivision (7) and adding Subdivision (11-a) to read as
19	19	follows:
20	20	(7) "Gas utility" includes a person or river authority
21	21	that owns or operates for compensation in this state equipment or
22	22	facilities to transmit or distribute combustible hydrocarbon
23	23	natural gas or synthetic natural gas for sale or resale in a manner
24	24	not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory
25	25	Commission under the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. Section 717 et
26	26	seq.). The term includes a lessee, trustee, or receiver of a gas
27	27	utility. The term includes a propane utility. The term does not
28	28	include:
29	29	(A) a municipal corporation;
30	30	(B) a person or river authority to the extent the
31	31	person or river authority:
32	32	(i) produces, gathers, transports, or sells
33	33	natural gas or synthetic natural gas under Section 121.004 or
34	34	121.005;
35	35	(ii) distributes or sells liquefied
36	36	petroleum gas; or
37	37	(iii) transports, delivers, or sells
38	38	natural gas for fuel for irrigation wells or any other direct
39	39	agricultural use;
40	40	(C) a person to the extent the person:
41	41	(i) sells natural gas for use as vehicle
42	42	fuel;
43	43	(ii) sells natural gas to a person who later
44	44	sells the natural gas for use as vehicle fuel; or
45	45	(iii) owns or operates equipment or
46	46	facilities to sell or transport natural gas for ultimate use as
47	47	vehicle fuel;
48	48	(D) a person not otherwise a gas utility who
49	49	furnishes gas or gas service only to itself, its employees, or its
50	50	tenants as an incident of employment or tenancy, if the gas or gas
51	51	service is not resold to or used by others; or
52	52	(E) a person excluded from being considered a gas
53	53	utility under Section 121.007.
54	54	(11-a) "Propane utility" means a person that owns or
55	55	operates for compensation in this state equipment or facilities to
56	56	transmit, store, or distribute propane gas for sale or resale. The
57	57	term includes a lessee, trustee, or receiver of a propane utility.
58	58	The term does not include a person not otherwise a propane utility
59	59	who furnishes propane gas service only to itself, its employees, or
60	60	its tenants as an incident of employment or tenancy, if the propane
61	61	gas service is not resold or used by others.
62	62	SECTION 3. Section 102.001(a), Utilities Code, is amended
63	63	to read as follows:
64	64	(a) The railroad commission has exclusive original
65	65	jurisdiction over the rates and services of a gas utility:
66	66	(1) that distributes natural gas, propane gas, or
67	67	synthetic natural gas in:
68	68	(A) areas outside a municipality; and
69	69	(B) areas inside a municipality that surrenders
70	70	its jurisdiction to the railroad commission under Section 103.003;
71	71	and
72	72	(2) that transmits, transports, delivers, or sells
73	73	natural gas, propane gas, or synthetic natural gas to a gas utility
74	74	that distributes the gas to the public.
75	75	SECTION 4. Section 104.2545, Utilities Code, is amended by
76	76	adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
77	77	(e) This section does not apply to a propane utility.
78	78	SECTION 5. Section 104.258, Utilities Code, is amended to
79	79	read as follows:
80	80	Sec. 104.258. DISCONNECTION OF NATURAL GAS OR PROPANE GAS
81	81	SERVICE. (a) In this section:
82	82	(1) "Extreme weather emergency" means a period during
83	83	which the previous day's highest temperature did not exceed 32
84	84	degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature is predicted to remain at or
85	85	below that level for the next 24 hours according to the nearest
86	86	National Weather Service reports.
87	87	(2) "Provider" means:
88	88	(A) a gas utility, as defined by Sections 101.003
89	89	and 121.001; [and]
90	90	(A-1) a propane utility, as defined by Section
91	91	101.003; and
92	92	(B) an owner, operator, or manager of a mobile
93	93	home park or apartment who purchases natural gas or propane gas
94	94	through a master meter for delivery to a dwelling unit in a mobile
95	95	home park or apartment house under Chapter 124.
96	96	(b) A provider may not disconnect natural gas or propane gas
97	97	service to a residential customer on a weekend day unless personnel
98	98	of the provider are available on that day to take payments and
99	99	reconnect service.
100	100	(c) A provider may not disconnect natural gas or propane gas
101	101	service to a residential customer during an extreme weather
102	102	emergency. The provider shall defer collection of the full payment
103	103	of bills that are due during an extreme weather emergency until
104	104	after the emergency is over and shall work with customers to
105	105	establish a pay schedule for deferred bills.
106	106	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.