It appears the rules that implement the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) are destined for their most significant change in nearly 40 years. When passed in 1978, as the United States was in the throes of an energy crisis, PURPA sought to incentivize development of more efficient and renewable generation (e.g., cogeneration and hydropower, among others) as well as increase energy efficiency and conservation. At the time, Congress saw the vertically integrated utility’s “natural monopoly” as a possible barrier to this development, and it sought to reduce the United States’ dependency on oil imports for power generation. PURPA’s legislation opened electricity markets, for the first time, to meaningful competition. What followed has been a steady transition from electricity generation, almost entirely controlled by regulated utilities, to an industry that now boasts competition by a strong contingent of non-regulated generators.
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