Commentary: Pro & Con

Fortnightly Magazine - July 15 1995
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Ferd. C. Meyer

Senior V.P. & General Counsel

EEI Annual Meeting 2024 - June 18-20

Central & South West Corp.

While I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Hawes's conclusion that outright repeal of the 1935 Act (PUHCA) is needed, I disagree with his conclusion that the odds are currently against repeal.

The general enthusiasm for deregulation in Congress and the Administration (as noted by Mr. Hawes), and the compelling case for repeal, will, I believe, overcome arguments opposing repeal of a statute that is the embodiment of unnecessary and burdensome regulation. The 1935 Act is obsolete and unaffordable. Its continued existence, as Mr. Hawes notes, can no longer be justified. It impairs the financial health of the electric utility industry by imposing unnecessary costs, hinders the evolution of the industry, and frustrates new state and federal policies (em all to the detriment of the very same investors and consumers whom the 1935 Act was intended to protect.

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