“A bill to amend the Federal Power Act to exempt consumer-regulated electric utilities from Federal regulation, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, incorporating the meanings of "bulk-power system," "Electric Reliability Organization," and "reliability standard" from section 215(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824o(a))—which governs the establishment and enforcement of mandatory reliability standards for the U.S. electric grid by a Commission-certified Electric Reliability Organization (ERO). The section further defines (1) "consumer-regulated electric utility (CREU)" as an electric generation and supply system established after enactment exclusively to serve new electric loads not previously served by any retail supplier, which may own, construct, and operate generation, storage, transmission, distribution, and retail supply facilities; sell electricity at retail to eligible CREU customers; and must be physically islanded from regulated utilities, the bulk-power system, and the Bulk Electric System (as defined by the ERO), with no connection for primary or backup supply and independent operation; and (2) "eligible CREU customer" as any entity purchasing retail electricity exclusively from a CREU through its facilities within physically islanded premises separate from regulated utilities, the bulk-power system, and the Bulk Electric System.
This section exempts consumer-regulated electric utilities from regulation under the Federal Power Act (FPA; 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.), including (1) rate regulation; (2) corporate or financial oversight; (3) transmission or distribution regulation; (4) reliability standards under FPA section 215 (16 U.S.C. 824o); (5) interconnection requirements; (6) participation in regional transmission planning or cost allocation; and (7) merger, consolidation, acquisition, or disposition approval under FPA section 203 (16 U.S.C. 824b). Such utilities are not considered public utilities under the FPA, are not part of the bulk-power system or Bulk Electric System (as defined by the Electric Reliability Organization), and are not required to register with or comply with reliability standards of the Electric Reliability Organization unless they voluntarily elect to connect to the bulk-power system.
This section exempts consumer-regulated electric utilities (CREUs) that begin operations on or after enactment from all Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Department of Energy regulation, including all reliability standards and other requirements under section 215 of the Federal Power Act (i.e., the provision certified by FERC to the Electric Reliability Organization for establishing and enforcing mandatory reliability standards for the bulk-power system), any other provision of that Act, or other federal law. For these purposes, a CREU begins operations on the date it first generates, transmits, distributes, or sells electricity. The exemption terminates immediately if the CREU connects to the bulk-power system or any other electric transmission or distribution system for primary or backup supply, at which point the CREU ceases to qualify as such and becomes subject to all applicable federal regulation. (Thus, new isolated CREUs may operate without federal oversight until interconnection.)
This section exempts consumer-regulated electric utilities (as defined in section 2 of the DATA Act of 2026) from all requirements of Section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). (As background, Section 210 of PURPA requires electric utilities to offer to connect with and purchase electric energy from qualifying cogeneration facilities and small power production facilities, which include renewable energy and waste-to-energy projects below specified size thresholds.)
This section revises exemptions from the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 (PUHCA)—which regulates holding companies that own public utility companies, including registration, reporting, and transaction approval requirements—by redesignating the existing exemptions for governmental entities as subsection (a) In general and adding subsection (b) to exempt any holding company solely by reason of its ownership or control of a consumer-regulated electric utility (as defined in section 2 of the DATA Act of 2026) from provisions of this subtitle. (Thus, such holding companies are not subject to PUHCA regulation.)
This section authorizes consumer-regulated electric utilities to construct and operate facilities within existing public rights-of-way, subject to the same permitting, restoration, and public-safety requirements applicable to public utilities under the Federal Power Act. It limits review of such applications exclusively to the adequacy of (1) right-of-way restoration and (2) storm-response planning.