Senate Committee on Electric Utility Restructuring, Interim - 75th R.S. (1997)
Committee Members
Charges
- Study and determine any needed changes in the Public Utility Regulatory Act and related statutes to create a competitive Texas electric market that is open to all classes of retail customers. Such review shall include but not be limited to the following issues:
- An appropriate date for opening the market to direct end-use customer access, and whether a phase-in program for public schools or other governmental units is warranted
- Methods for quantification of a utility's investments that would be uneconomic in a fully competitive market (stranded costs) and appropriate methods for recovery of costs (including rate freezes, adjustments to depreciation, transition charges, securitization);
- Balancing rate reductions with recovery of stranded costs during the transition to a competitive market;
- The basic structural requirements for the competitive market to serve as an effective and efficient replacement for traditional regulation;
- Provisions for municipal and cooperative utilities recognizing the importance of maintaining local control of community-owned systems and protecting the financial integrity of cooperative and municipal utilities;
- Safeguards necessary for customer protection in a fully competitive marketplace (including designation of a provider of last resort, protections for low-income customers, obligations to be imposed on all providers, ability of providers to serve customers on an aggregated basis, and fair marketing and sales practices);
- System reliability and service quality standards needed to ensure safe and reliable power and the role of the independent system operator in a fully competitive market;
- Environmental issues relating to a competitive marketplace;
- Development of renewable energy resources such as windpower in a competitive marketplace; and
- Scope and nature of the continuing role of regulation in a deregulated electric power industry including oversight of market power.
- Make recommendations for legislative and regulatory action, if necessary.
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