WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), today announced a legislative hearing for Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, at 9:15 a.m. in room 2322 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “Legislation Addressing LNG Exports and PURPA Modernization."
Building on the committee’s work to modernize energy laws for the 21st century, next week, #SubEnergy will examine and receive feedback on three bills that would streamline the approval process for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and modernize the Public Utility and Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) of 1978 to reflect increased competition in today’s wholesale electricity markets.
#SubEnergy will examine the following bills:
H.R. 4605, Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act, authored by committee member Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH), would:
* Repeal regulatory restrictions to allow domestic LNG suppliers to begin exports once the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves the siting and construction of the facility.
H.R. 4606, Ensuring Small Scale LNG Certainty and Access Act, also authored by Rep. Johnson, would:
* Provide that applications under the Natural Gas Act for the import or export of small volumes of natural gas shall be approved without modification or delay.
H.R. 4476, PURPA Modernization Act, authored by committee member Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), would:
* Modernize PURPA for the 21st century by lowering the mandatory purchase obligation threshold to 2.5 Megawatts because of increased competition in wholesale electricity markets;
* Prevent further abuse of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s ‘one-mile-rule’ through the creation of a list of factors that FERC must consider when determining whether a facility is located at the same site as another, and;
* Allow an electric utility to be relieved of its mandatory purchase obligation if the appropriate state regulatory agency determines that the electric utility: has no need to purchase the output of a small power production facility; or uses integrated resource planning.
“This Congress we’ve made a concerted effort to thoughtfully debate and legislate commonsense solutions that reflect the realities of today," said Chairman Upton. “The three bills we will be examining at next week’s hearing make targeted improvements so we can get projects to market faster and modernize PURPA for the 21st century."
The Majority Memorandum, legislative text, witness list and witness testimony will be available HERE as it becomes available.
