Will Congress Amend the Public Utility Regulatory Practices Act?

On Wednesday, September 6, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on the Public Utility Regulatory Practices Act (PURPA). Enacted during the energy crisis in the 1970s, the law requires utilities to purchase power from so-called "qualifying facilities" if the cost of the purchased power is less than or equal to the cost that the utility would pay to generate the power at a traditional power plant.

In practice, PURPA has been a large force in encouraging the growth of renewable energy sources like solar. With the declining cost of solar, and the guarantee that sufficiently inexpensive solar power must be purchased by utilities, PURPA has encouraged the development of many solar plants.

However, not everyone is pleased with the status quo. Some utilities have chafed at what they view as unnecessary regulatory interference in their operations. There has been talk on Capitol Hill of amending PURPA, and this was the subject of the Energy and Commerce hearing last week.

At the hearing, there did not appear to be a consensus on how to best amend the law. This suggests that it may be some time before Congress gets around to amending the law. This debate, though currently not a high-profile issue on the Hill, warrants attention as it has the potential to substantially alter the development of renewable energy in many portions of the country going forward.

After Congress passed a continuing resolution last week to extend FY17 funding through December 8, the Senate turns its attention to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).  The House is expected to finish up its work on an omnibus appropriations bill that it began to debate last week ( H.R. 3354). The omnibus bill includes the  FY18 Interior; Agriculture; Commerce, Justice, and Science; Financial Services;  Homeland Security; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; State and Foreign Operations; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bills.

The following committee hearings will also be held this week:

Tuesday, September 12

• The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands will hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 3668, the Sportsman's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act of 2017 at 10:00 AM in 1334 Longworth House Office Building.

• The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation will hold a hearing entitled "Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America: Coast Guard Stakeholders' Perspectives" at 10:00 AM in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.

• The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment will hold a hearing entitled "Big Relief for Small Business: Legislation Reducing Regulatory Burdens on Small Manufacturers and Other Job Creators" at 10:00 AM in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.

• The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing entitled "Expanding and Accelerating the Deployment and Use of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration" at 10:00 AM in 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

• The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management will hold a hearing entitled "Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America: Economic Development Stakeholders' Perspectives" at 10:00 AM in 2167 Rayburn House Office Building.

• The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry will hold a hearing entitled "Nutrition Programs: Perspectives from the 2018 Farm Bill" at 9:30 AM in 216 Hart Senate Office Building.