NEWS RELEASE
Committee on Energy and Commerce Democrats
Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member

Energy Policy Act Markup Continues
The Republican Electricity Title Hurts Consumers

Washington, D.C. – The Committee on Energy and Commerce, in its third day of markup on a comprehensive energy bill, is expected today to consider the electricity title. Democrats plan to offer amendments to replace electricity deregulation measures in the Republican-crafted bill with new provisions to prohibit fraud and abuse.

“In this title, the lessons of the past several years of volatility in electricity markets, which harmed consumers in California and other western states and eroded investor confidence in this critical industry, are ignored,” said Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member of the Committee and sponsor of the electricity substitute amendment. “This title represents a victory for various special interests at the expense of the consumers whom our federal energy laws are supposed to safeguard.”

Substitute Amendment on Electricity

The Republican bill would repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act, a law that protects consumers and investors from corporate abuses. The bill would also repeal other electricity provisions and override state and federal laws on siting power lines.

A substitute amendment by Congressman Dingell provides targeted, common sense reforms designed to ensure that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission have the tools and power they need to fulfill their roles to protect consumers and investors. The amendment would ban fraudulent or manipulative practices in the sale or transmission of electricity, or the sale of natural gas, and increase the civil and criminal penalties for fraud.

Electricity Refunds

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) will offer an amendment that requires FERC to order the refund of unjust and unreasonable electricity rates paid by the State of California in early 2001. FERC has declined to make these purchases part of an ongoing refund proceeding that covers other transactions made during the same time period. This amendment could result in $1 billion to $2 billion in refunds for California consumers.

Reliability Spending Caps

Congressman Ted Strickland (D-OH) will offer an amendment to remove arbitrary limits on private spending to improve the reliability of the nation's electric transmission system. The spending caps in the Republican bill will hobble implementation of consensus reforms needed to prevent future blackouts. A DOE Task Force that investigated the August 2003 blackout endorsed these reforms without spending caps. The caps are an ill-advised effort to offset industry tax breaks and unwarranted spending in other parts of the bill.

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