Collapse to view only § 16451. Definitions
- § 16451. Definitions
- § 16452. Federal access to books and records
- § 16453. State access to books and records
- § 16454. Exemption authority
- § 16455. Affiliate transactions
- § 16456. Applicability
- § 16457. Effect on other regulations
- § 16458. Enforcement
- § 16459. Savings provisions
- § 16460. Implementation
- § 16461. Transfer of resources
- § 16462. Service allocation
- § 16463. Authorization of appropriations
The term “affiliate” of a company means any company, 5 percent or more of the outstanding voting securities of which are owned, controlled, or held with power to vote, directly or indirectly, by such company.
The term “associate company” of a company means any company in the same holding company system with such company.
The term “Commission” means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The term “company” means a corporation, partnership, association, joint stock company, business trust, or any organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not, or a receiver, trustee, or other liquidating agent of any of the foregoing.
The term “electric utility company” means any company that owns or operates facilities used for the generation, transmission, or distribution of electric energy for sale.
The terms “exempt wholesale generator” and “foreign utility company” have the same meanings as in sections 79z–5a and 79z–5b of title 15, as those sections existed on the day before the effective date of this part.
The term “gas utility company” means any company that owns or operates facilities used for distribution at retail (other than the distribution only in enclosed portable containers or distribution to tenants or employees of the company operating such facilities for their own use and not for resale) of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light, or power.
The term “holding company system” means a holding company, together with its subsidiary companies.
The term “jurisdictional rates” means rates accepted or established by the Commission for the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce, the sale of electric energy at wholesale in interstate commerce, the transportation of natural gas in interstate commerce, and the sale in interstate commerce of natural gas for resale for ultimate public consumption for domestic, commercial, industrial, or any other use.
The term “natural gas company” means a person engaged in the transportation of natural gas in interstate commerce or the sale of such gas in interstate commerce for resale.
The term “person” means an individual or company.
The term “public utility” means any person who owns or operates facilities used for transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce or sales of electric energy at wholesale in interstate commerce.
The term “public-utility company” means an electric utility company or a gas utility company.
The term “State commission” means any commission, board, agency, or officer, by whatever name designated, of a State, municipality, or other political subdivision of a State that, under the laws of such State, has jurisdiction to regulate public utility companies.
The term “voting security” means any security presently entitling the owner or holder thereof to vote in the direction or management of the affairs of a company.
Each holding company and each associate company thereof shall maintain, and shall make available to the Commission, such books, accounts, memoranda, and other records as the Commission determines are relevant to costs incurred by a public utility or natural gas company that is an associate company of such holding company and necessary or appropriate for the protection of utility customers with respect to jurisdictional rates.
Each affiliate of a holding company or of any subsidiary company of a holding company shall maintain, and shall make available to the Commission, such books, accounts, memoranda, and other records with respect to any transaction with another affiliate, as the Commission determines are relevant to costs incurred by a public utility or natural gas company that is an associate company of such holding company and necessary or appropriate for the protection of utility customers with respect to jurisdictional rates.
The Commission may examine the books, accounts, memoranda, and other records of any company in a holding company system, or any affiliate thereof, as the Commission determines are relevant to costs incurred by a public utility or natural gas company within such holding company system and necessary or appropriate for the protection of utility customers with respect to jurisdictional rates.
No member, officer, or employee of the Commission shall divulge any fact or information that may come to his or her knowledge during the course of examination of books, accounts, memoranda, or other records as provided in this section, except as may be directed by the Commission or by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Subsection (a) does not apply to any person that is a holding company solely by reason of ownership of one or more qualifying facilities under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).
The production of books, accounts, memoranda, and other records under subsection (a) shall be subject to such terms and conditions as may be necessary and appropriate to safeguard against unwarranted disclosure to the public of any trade secrets or sensitive commercial information.
Nothing in this section shall preempt applicable State law concerning the provision of books, accounts, memoranda, and other records, or in any way limit the rights of any State to obtain books, accounts, memoranda, and other records under any other Federal law, contract, or otherwise.
Any United States district court located in the State in which the State commission referred to in subsection (a) is located shall have jurisdiction to enforce compliance with this section.
Nothing in this part shall limit the authority of the Commission under the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) to require that jurisdictional rates are just and reasonable, including the ability to deny or approve the pass through of costs, the prevention of cross-subsidization, and the issuance of such rules and regulations as are necessary or appropriate for the protection of utility consumers.
Nothing in this part shall preclude the Commission or a State commission from exercising its jurisdiction under otherwise applicable law to determine whether a public-utility company, public utility, or natural gas company may recover in rates any costs of an activity performed by an associate company, or any costs of goods or services acquired by such public-utility company from an associate company.
Nothing in this part precludes the Commission or a State commission from exercising its jurisdiction under otherwise applicable law to protect utility customers.
The Commission shall have the same powers as set forth in sections 825e through 825p of title 16 to enforce the provisions of this part.
Nothing in this part, or otherwise in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, or rules, regulations, or orders thereunder, prohibits a person from engaging in or continuing to engage in activities or transactions in which it is legally engaged or authorized to engage on August 8, 2005, if that person continues to comply with the terms (other than an expiration date or termination date) of any such authorization, whether by rule or by order.
Nothing in this part limits the authority of the Commission under the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) or the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et seq.).
Tax treatment under section 1081 1
All books and records that relate primarily to the functions transferred to the Commission under this part shall be transferred from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Commission.
In this section, the term “public utility” has the meaning given the term in section 824(e) of title 16.
In the case of non-power goods or administrative or management services provided by an associate company organized specifically for the purpose of providing such goods or services to any public utility in the same holding company system, at the election of the system or a State commission having jurisdiction over the public utility, the Commission, after the effective date of this part, shall review and authorize the allocation of the costs for such goods or services to the extent relevant to that associate company.
Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of the Commission or a State commission under other applicable law.
Not later than 4 months after August 8, 2005, the Commission shall issue rules (which rules shall be effective no earlier than the effective date of this part) to exempt from the requirements of this section any company in a holding company system whose public utility operations are confined substantially to a single State and any other class of transactions that the Commission finds is not relevant to the jurisdictional rates of a public utility.
There are authorized to be appropriated such funds as may be necessary to carry out this part.