Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3288 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R11576 GRM-D
2	2	By: Keffer H.B. No. 3288
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to regulation of congestion charges in the electricity
8	8	market.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 13.003(a), Utilities Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(a) The office:
13	13	(1) shall assess the effect of utility rate changes
14	14	and other regulatory actions on residential consumers in this
15	15	state;
16	16	(2) shall advocate in the office's own name a position
17	17	determined by the counsellor to be most advantageous to a
18	18	substantial number of residential consumers;
19	19	(3) may appear or intervene, as a party or otherwise,
20	20	as a matter of right on behalf of:
21	21	(A) residential consumers, as a class, in any
22	22	proceeding before the commission, including an alternative dispute
23	23	resolution proceeding; and
24	24	(B) small commercial consumers, as a class, in
25	25	any proceeding in which the counsellor determines that small
26	26	commercial consumers are in need of representation, including an
27	27	alternative dispute resolution proceeding;
28	28	(4) may initiate or intervene as a matter of right or
29	29	otherwise appear in a judicial proceeding:
30	30	(A) that involves an action taken by an
31	31	administrative agency in a proceeding, including an alternative
32	32	dispute resolution proceeding, in which the counsellor is
33	33	authorized to appear; or
34	34	(B) in which the counsellor determines that
35	35	residential electricity consumers or small commercial electricity
36	36	consumers are in need of representation;
37	37	(5) is entitled to the same access as a party, other
38	38	than commission staff, to records gathered by the commission under
39	39	Section 14.204;
40	40	(6) is entitled to discovery of any nonprivileged
41	41	matter that is relevant to the subject matter of a proceeding or
42	42	petition before the commission;
43	43	(7) may represent an individual residential or small
44	44	commercial consumer with respect to the consumer's disputed
45	45	complaint concerning utility services that is unresolved before the
46	46	commission;
47	47	(8) may recommend legislation to the legislature that
48	48	the office determines would positively affect the interests of
49	49	residential and small commercial consumers; [and]
50	50	(9) may advise persons who are interested parties for
51	51	purposes of Section 37.054 on procedural matters related to
52	52	proceedings before the commission on an application for a
53	53	certificate of convenience and necessity filed under Section
54	54	37.053; and
55	55	(10) shall advocate for the allocation of congestion
56	56	charges in a power region to ensure timely upgrades and development
57	57	of sufficient transmission and distribution systems designed to
58	58	provide for congestion relief.
59	59	SECTION 2. Section 39.001, Utilities Code, is amended by
60	60	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d-1) and (d-2) to
61	61	read as follows:
62	62	(a) The legislature finds that the production and sale of
63	63	electricity is not a monopoly warranting regulation of rates,
64	64	operations, and services and that the public interest in
65	65	competitive electric markets requires that, except for
66	66	transmission and distribution services and for the recovery of
67	67	stranded costs, electric services, congestion charges, and the
68	68	[their] prices of electric services and congestion charges should
69	69	be determined by customer choices and the normal forces of
70	70	competition. As a result, this chapter is enacted to protect the
71	71	public interest during the transition to and in the establishment
72	72	of a fully competitive electric power industry.
73	73	(d-1) The legislature finds that congestion charges impede
74	74	fair competition for all retail customer classes, do not protect
75	75	the public interest, disrupt competitive energy services in certain
76	76	power regions, and arbitrarily discriminate against certain
77	77	consumers based on their geographic location.
78	78	(d-2) A regulatory authority, other than the governing body
79	79	of a municipally owned electric utility that has not opted for
80	80	customer choice or the body vested with the power to manage and
81	81	operate a municipally owned electric utility that has not opted for
82	82	customer choice, shall ensure that the rules it adopts and the
83	83	orders it issues are designed to:
84	84	(1) correct the disruptive effects congestion charges
85	85	have on the competitive market; and
86	86	(2) impose the least impairment to competition
87	87	practicable.
88	88	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.