House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-VA) andEnergy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Dan Schaefer (R-CO) tried tojump-start interest in electricity restructuring on Capitol Hilllast week by issuing draft legislation that would mandate customerchoice at the state level by Jan 1, 2001, and would grandfather allstate retail-access programs that are in effect by the deadline.

“This is just a discussion draft. It’s still a work inprogress,” a Capitol Hill press aide told NGI. Bliley has askedcommittee members to take copies of the draft home during the July4th recess and review them carefully, she said. Some believesubcommittee markup could take place before lawmakers leave fortheir August recess.

“Rep. Schaefer has said this is not a perfect bill. There stillare corrections that need to be made. But he wants to use it tobuild a broad consensus,” noted Luke Rose, press aide for thesenator. This is the legislative “vehicle Schaefer intends to useto move toward markup” after Congress returns from recess on July6th, he said, adding that the timetable calls for the bill to thenhead to the full Commerce Committee for markup after the Augustrecess. Assuming it is voted out of committee then, Rose noted theHouse Leadership has promised Bliley and Schaefer floor time forthe full House to consider the legislation. Prompt action by theHouse, he believes, would then spur the Senate to move more quicklyon electricity restructuring. There are those, however, who thinkthis scenario is much too rosy, particularly in an election yearwhen Congress will be adjouring early.

The draft legislation is an “effort to rekindle discussion” onelectricity restructuring and achieve markup when Congress returnsfrom its July 4th recess, said Martin Edwards of the InterstateNatural Gas Association of America (INGAA). It “sounds consistentwith a lot of the principles we’ve heard in the past.”

Two months ago, Bliley and Schaefer met with the committeemembers seeking legislative feedback on restructuring, the Hillaide noted. The end product was the draft measure. It incorporatessome provisions from Schaefer’s comprehensive bill, as well asparts of the draft legislation proposed by subcommittee membersSens. Bill Paxton (R-NY) and Steve Largent (R-OK). The draft alsoincludes provisions that are similar to the Clintonadministration’s restructuring guidelines, the aide said.

“Some of the tweaks and changes” in the bill include:

* It provides for enforceable reliability standards developed bya national reliability orgnization approved by FERC;

* It has “much stronger legislative language” with respect tothe role of the Tennessee Valley Authority and other power marketeradministrations in competitive electric markets; and

* The language allowing for the grandfathering of existingcustomer-choice programs is “a lot broader” than it had been inprevious proposals.

Susan Parker

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