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“PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND LOW INCOME FAMILIES IN ELECTRICITY DEREGULATION” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E693 on April 17, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND LOW INCOME FAMILIES IN ELECTRICITY
DEREGULATION
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HON. PETER A. DeFAZIO
of oregon
in the house of representatives
Thursday, April 17, 1997
Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation that would create a national fund to provide matching grants to State and local programs promoting energy conservation, renewable energy resources like wind and solar power, and universal electricity service for low income, rural and other consumers for whom basic electricity service may be compromised by deregulation.
Nationwide, it is estimated that regulated utilities spend between $6 and $7.5 billion annually on energy conservation, renewable energy, and low income energy assistance programs. In the brave, new world of deregulated electricity markets, many of these public purposes could fall through the cracks. My bill provides a stable funding source to not only help maintain existing energy conservation, renewable energy and low income energy assistance programs, but to expand them around the Nation.
This is not a new Federal bureaucracy. It is a simple mechanism that will funnel money directly to programs crafted at the State and local level. Its cost to the Federal Treasury will be near zero.
The national program would be funded by a competitively neutral, non-
bypassable transmission access charge paid by all electricity suppliers. The charge would be set to a level sufficient to fund qualifying State programs each year, but would be limited to no more than 2 tenths-of-a-cent per kilowatt-hour. The fund would be administered by a joint Federal-State board with oversight from the Department of Energy.
If fully utilized, the national electric systems benefits fund would provide between $5 and $6 billion each year in matching grants for locally designed energy efficiency, renewable and low income energy assistance programs. Electric utility industry deregulation without this important incentive-based program would be a disaster for the environment and for low income families.
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