"This is not an intent to strip away consumer protection," Sen. Alfonse M.
D'Amato (R-NY) told
a Senate panel about S. 1317, a bipartisan bill to repeal the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUHCA).
D'Amato, chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, received nods from federal and state regulators at the June 6 hearing, although each voiced reservations. Three utility chiefs spoke in favor of the legislation.
Consumer advocates took the opposite tack. John Hughes of the Coalition for Customer Choice in Electricity remained unconvinced that state commissions and Elizabeth A. Moler, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) chair, could take on the PUHCA duties now performed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
"The fact of life is she's going to need a lot of extra resources," Hughes said. "And I'm not convinced this Congress in this current climate is prepared to do that. . . . [And] at the state level. . . many [PUCs], if not most of them, are undergoing severe shortages of resources."
D'Amato nevertheless intends to move his
bill to mark up, two steps prior to Senate floor consideration.
As proposed, S. 1317 would: 1) give the FERC access to company books and records relevant to consumer rates, 2) give PUCs access to records of affiliate companies, and 3) allow the FERC or PUCs to determine whether a utility may recover, in rates, costs from affiliates.