16 U.S.C. 824t

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TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

FERC RULEMAKING ON LONG-TERM TRANSMISSION
RIGHTS IN ORGANIZED MARKETS
Pub. L. 109–58, title XII, § 1233(b), Aug. 8, 2005, 119
Stat. 960, provided that: ‘‘Within 1 year after the date
of enactment of this section [Aug. 8, 2005] and after notice and an opportunity for comment, the [Federal Energy Regulatory] Commission shall by rule or order,
implement section 217(b)(4) of the Federal Power Act
[16 U.S.C. 824q(b)(4)] in Transmission Organizations, as
defined by that Act [16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.] with organized electricity markets.’’

§ 824r. Protection of transmission contracts in
the Pacific Northwest
(a) Definition of electric utility or person
In this section, the term ‘‘electric utility or
person’’ means an electric utility or person
that—
(1) as of August 8, 2005, holds firm transmission rights pursuant to contract or by reason of ownership of transmission facilities;
and
(2) is located—
(A) in the Pacific Northwest, as that region is defined in section 839a of this title; or
(B) in that portion of a State included in
the geographic area proposed for a regional
transmission organization in Commission
Docket Number RT01–35 on the date on
which that docket was opened.
(b) Protection of transmission contracts
Nothing in this chapter confers on the Commission the authority to require an electric utility or person to convert to tradable or financial
rights—
(1) firm transmission rights described in subsection (a) of this section; or
(2) firm transmission rights obtained by exercising contract or tariff rights associated
with the firm transmission rights described in
subsection (a) of this section.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. II, § 218, as added Pub.
L. 109–58, title XII, § 1235, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat.
960.)
§ 824s. Transmission infrastructure investment
(a) Rulemaking requirement
Not later than 1 year after August 8, 2005, the
Commission shall establish, by rule, incentivebased (including performance-based) rate treatments for the transmission of electric energy in
interstate commerce by public utilities for the
purpose of benefitting consumers by ensuring reliability and reducing the cost of delivered
power by reducing transmission congestion.
(b) Contents
The rule shall—
(1) promote reliable and economically efficient transmission and generation of electricity by promoting capital investment in the
enlargement, improvement, maintenance, and
operation of all facilities for the transmission
of electric energy in interstate commerce, regardless of the ownership of the facilities;
(2) provide a return on equity that attracts
new investment in transmission facilities (including related transmission technologies);
(3) encourage deployment of transmission
technologies and other measures to increase

§ 824t

the capacity and efficiency of existing transmission facilities and improve the operation of
the facilities; and
(4) allow recovery of—
(A) all prudently incurred costs necessary
to comply with mandatory reliability standards issued pursuant to section 824o of this
title; and
(B) all prudently incurred costs related to
transmission infrastructure development
pursuant to section 824p of this title.
(c) Incentives
In the rule issued under this section, the Commission shall, to the extent within its jurisdiction, provide for incentives to each transmitting
utility or electric utility that joins a Transmission Organization. The Commission shall ensure that any costs recoverable pursuant to this
subsection may be recovered by such utility
through the transmission rates charged by such
utility or through the transmission rates
charged by the Transmission Organization that
provides transmission service to such utility.
(d) Just and reasonable rates
All rates approved under the rules adopted
pursuant to this section, including any revisions
to the rules, are subject to the requirements of
sections 824d and 824e of this title that all rates,
charges, terms, and conditions be just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or preferential.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. II, § 219, as added Pub.
L. 109–58, title XII, § 1241, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat.
961.)
§ 824t. Electricity market transparency rules
(a) In general
(1) The Commission is directed to facilitate
price transparency in markets for the sale and
transmission of electric energy in interstate
commerce, having due regard for the public interest, the integrity of those markets, fair competition, and the protection of consumers.
(2) The Commission may prescribe such rules
as the Commission determines necessary and appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section. The rules shall provide for the dissemination, on a timely basis, of information about the
availability and prices of wholesale electric energy and transmission service to the Commission, State commissions, buyers and sellers of
wholesale electric energy, users of transmission
services, and the public.
(3) The Commission may—
(A) obtain the information described in paragraph (2) from any market participant; and
(B) rely on entities other than the Commission to receive and make public the information, subject to the disclosure rules in subsection (b) of this section.
(4) In carrying out this section, the Commission shall consider the degree of price transparency provided by existing price publishers
and providers of trade processing services, and
shall rely on such publishers and services to the
maximum extent possible. The Commission may
establish an electronic information system if it
determines that existing price publications are

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TITLE 16—CONSERVATION

not adequately providing price discovery or
market transparency. Nothing in this section,
however, shall affect any electronic information
filing requirements in effect under this chapter
as of August 8, 2005.
(b) Exemption of information from disclosure
(1) Rules described in subsection (a)(2) of this
section, if adopted, shall exempt from disclosure
information the Commission determines would,
if disclosed, be detrimental to the operation of
an effective market or jeopardize system security.
(2) In determining the information to be made
available under this section and time to make
the information available, the Commission shall
seek to ensure that consumers and competitive
markets are protected from the adverse effects
of potential collusion or other anticompetitive
behaviors that can be facilitated by untimely
public disclosure of transaction-specific information.
(c) Information sharing
(1) Within 180 days of August 8, 2005, the Commission shall conclude a memorandum of understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission relating to information sharing,
which shall include, among other things, provisions ensuring that information requests to
markets within the respective jurisdiction of
each agency are properly coordinated to minimize duplicative information requests, and provisions regarding the treatment of proprietary
trading information.
(2) Nothing in this section may be construed
to limit or affect the exclusive jurisdiction of
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1
et seq.).
(d) Exemption from reporting requirements
The Commission shall not require entities who
have a de minimis market presence to comply
with the reporting requirements of this section.
(e) Penalties for violations occurring before notice
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall be subject to any civil penalty under
this section with respect to any violation occurring more than 3 years before the date on which
the person is provided notice of the proposed
penalty under section 825o–1 of this title.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply in any case in
which the Commission finds that a seller that
has entered into a contract for the sale of electric energy at wholesale or transmission service
subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission
has engaged in fraudulent market manipulation
activities materially affecting the contract in
violation of section 824v of this title.
(f) ERCOT utilities
This section shall not apply to a transaction
for the purchase or sale of wholesale electric energy or transmission services within the area
described in section 824k(k)(2)(A) of this title.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. II, § 220, as added Pub.
L. 109–58, title XII, § 1281, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat.
978.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Commodity Exchange Act, referred to in subsec.
(c)(2), is act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 369, 42 Stat. 998, as

Page 1350

amended, which is classified generally to chapter 1 (§ 1
et seq.) of Title 7, Agriculture. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1 of Title 7 and
Tables.

§ 824u. Prohibition on filing false information
No entity (including an entity described in
section 824(f) of this title) shall willfully and
knowingly report any information relating to
the price of electricity sold at wholesale or the
availability of transmission capacity, which information the person or any other entity knew
to be false at the time of the reporting, to a Federal agency with intent to fraudulently affect
the data being compiled by the Federal agency.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. II, § 221, as added Pub.
L. 109–58, title XII, § 1282, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat.
979.)
§ 824v. Prohibition of energy market manipulation
(a) In general
It shall be unlawful for any entity (including
an entity described in section 824(f) of this title),
directly or indirectly, to use or employ, in connection with the purchase or sale of electric energy or the purchase or sale of transmission
services subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission, any manipulative or deceptive device
or contrivance (as those terms are used in section 78j(b) of title 15), in contravention of such
rules and regulations as the Commission may
prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of electric ratepayers.
(b) No private right of action
Nothing in this section shall be construed to
create a private right of action.
(June 10, 1920, ch. 285, pt. II, § 222, as added Pub.
L. 109–58, title XII, § 1283, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat.
979.)
§ 824w. Joint boards on economic dispatch
(a) In general
The Commission shall convene joint boards on
a regional basis pursuant to section 824h of this
title to study the issue of security constrained
economic dispatch for the various market regions. The Commission shall designate the appropriate regions to be covered by each such
joint board for purposes of this section.
(b) Membership
The Commission shall request each State to
nominate a representative for the appropriate
regional joint board, and shall designate a member of the Commission to chair and participate
as a member of each such board.
(c) Powers
The sole authority of each joint board convened under this section shall be to consider issues relevant to what constitutes ‘‘security constrained economic dispatch’’ and how such a
mode of operating an electric energy system affects or enhances the reliability and affordability of service to customers in the region concerned and to make recommendations to the
Commission regarding such issues.