S AMDT 1957

S 1957 IS

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to make loans to publicly owned electric utilities to finance and refinance projects to comply with any Federal energy efficiency resource standard, and for other purposes.

October 28, 2009

Mr. SCHUMER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to make loans to publicly owned electric utilities to finance and refinance projects to comply with any Federal energy efficiency resource standard, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. LOANS TO PUBLICLY OWNED ELECTRIC UTILITIES TO COMPLY WITH FEDERAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY RESOURCE STANDARD AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘SEC. 610. LOANS TO PUBLICLY OWNED ELECTRIC UTILITIES TO COMPLY WITH FEDERAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY RESOURCE STANDARD AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

‘(a) Purposes- The purposes of this section are--

‘(1) to reduce the cost incurred by publicly owned electric utilities in complying with any Federal energy efficiency resource standard and for other purposes; and

‘(2) to minimize the impact of compliance on electricity rates for consumers.

‘(b) Definition of Publicly Owned Electric Utility- In this section, the term ‘publicly owned electric utility’ means a State utility with a service obligation, as those terms are defined in section 217 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824q) (as in effect on the date of enactment of this section).

‘(c) Loans- The Secretary shall make loans available to publicly owned electric utilities to carry out qualified projects approved by the Secretary.

‘(d) Qualified Projects-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- A loan may be made under this section--

‘(A) to finance or refinance the costs of the acquisition, construction, or improvement of an electric generation, transmission, or distribution facility or utility property or assets, including the costs of any indirect acquisition of such a facility or any utility property or assets; or

‘(B) to refinance bonds issued by a State utility described in section 10631(c)(3) of the Revenue Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-203; 101 Stat. 1330-455).

‘(2) DISAPPROVAL- The Secretary may disapprove an application for a loan for a project under this section if the Secretary determines that the revenues available to repay the loan are unlikely to be sufficient to cover the repayment obligations of the proposed loan.

‘(e) Terms- A loan made by the Secretary to a publicly owned electric utility under this section shall--

‘(1) be for a term of not to exceed 30 years;

‘(2) be secured in a manner that is consistent with customary financing arrangements for publicly owned electric utilities; and

‘(3) bear an annual interest rate that is not more than the lesser of--

‘(A) 50 basis points more than the Federal funds rate established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; or

‘(B) 2 percent.

‘(f) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as are necessary.’.