{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release-donnelly-inhofe-introduce-bill-to-give-regulatory-relief-to-public-utilities", "Donnelly, Inhofe Introduce Bill to Give Regulatory Relief to Public Utilities", "2013-12-11", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "IN", "Joe Donnelly", "D000607", "www.donnelly.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Donnelly, Inhofe Introduce Bill to Give Regulatory Relief to Public Utilities\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tWednesday, December 11, 2013\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced the Public Power Risk Management Act, legislation that would clarify provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in order to level the playing field between public and private power utilities and keep energy affordable for Americans.\r\nDonnelly said, \u201cWe should pursue every common sense solution to make federal regulations work better for American companies and their workers. We need smart, fair regulations that ensure our public power companies can continue to provide reliable, affordable energy to Hoosier families and local businesses that are creating jobs. I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation with Senator Inhofe, and I am pleased it has already passed the House with a unanimous vote.\u201d \u00a0\r\nInhofe said, \"Federal government's over-regulation is a leading contributor to the stagnant economy that is causing Americans and many Oklahomans to suffer. This legislation will help bring certainty and reduce volatility in energy prices for Oklahomans by\u00a0giving public power utilities full and equal access to the swaps markets, allowing them to better serve their customers. Many Oklahomans rely on public power, and without this legislation to correct the consequences of the Dodd-Frank legislation, these customers\u00a0will ultimately bear the additional risk.\"\r\nPublic power and natural gas utilities often purchase fuel and power for future use in order to manage perceived business risks, a practice known as a \u201cswap.\u201d Such risks vary widely by region, given that the purchase, sale, exchange, and transport of fuel and power is more or less difficult depending on the climate, weather, population, fuel source availability, or industrial activity of the area.\r\nCurrently, rules set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) require any entity that enters into a $25 million swap with a public power utility to register as a \u201cswap-dealer\u201d, requiring them to follow stricter business conduct standards and take on higher costs. \u00a0Private utilities, on the other hand, are able to enter into an $8 billion swap before the entity needs to register. Public power utilities are reporting that this has made it more difficult for them to enter into such a swap, consequently making it less likely that they will be able to attain the risk-management they need in order to provide stable costs for the consumer.\r\nThe Public Power Risk Management Act would require that a utility operation-related swap with a utility special entity be treated the same as a utility operations-related swap with any other entity.\r\nIdentical legislation passed the House earlier this year by a vote of 423-0. The bill is currently cosponsored by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Dan Coats (R-IN), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Roy Blunt (R-MO), and carries broad support by public power utilities across the country, including the Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA).\u00a0\r\nRaj Rao, President and CEO of IMPA said, \u201cThe Public Power Risk Management Act returns the Dodd-Frank Act to its original intent and will re-establish a level playing field for public power organizations.\u00a0 Senator Donnelly\u2019s bill will continue to provide for market transparency, while allowing public power entities like IMPA to better manage their commercial risks, thus protecting Hoosier ratepayers.\u00a0 We thank Senator Donnelly for taking an interest in this issue and being a champion for public power not only in Indiana, but throughout the country.\u201d\r\nRead the full legislation here.\r\n\u00a0###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\t\tDonnelly Contact: Donnelly_Press@Donnelly.Senate.Gov\r\nInhofe Contact: Donelle_Harder@Inhofe.Senate.Gov", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release-donnelly-inhofe-introduce-bill-to-give-regulatory-relief-to-public-utilities"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9679938666522503, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}