Description of Dingell Substitute Amendment on Electricity

The Dingell substitute amendment on electricity is identical to H.R. 1272. Unlike H.R. 6, the substitute amendment does not deregulate the electric industry, weaken consumer protections under the Federal Power Act, or repeal investor protections under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA). Instead, the amendment addresses the abuses detailed in an investigative report recently released by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on abuses in western power markets during 2000-2001, by increasing consumer and investor protections and ensuring that FERC carries out its responsibilities. Specifically, the amendment:

• provides FERC broad anti-fraud authority, for both electricity and natural gas markets;

• establishes audit trail requirements to improve FERC’s ability to conduct investigations and take enforcement actions;

• provides for greater transparency; by requiring reporting of information about transactions or quotations involving sales or transmission of electricity (or gas);

• increases penalties for civil and criminal offenses to levels in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002;

• requires FERC to issue rules to prevent affiliate abuse, authorizes FERC to refund electricity overcharges back to the date they commenced, and requires FERC to reform its policy on "market based" electricity rates; and

• directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to review PUHCA exemptions, to prevent another Enron.