Utilities Code § 39.157

Sec. 39.157. COMMISSION AUTHORITY TO ADDRESS MARKET POWER. (a) The commission shall monitor market power associated with the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in this state. On a finding that market power abuses or other violations of this section are occurring, the commission shall require reasonable mitigation of the market power by ordering the construction of additional transmission or distribution facilities, by seeking an injunction or civil penalties as necessary to eliminate or to remedy the market power abuse or violation as authorized by Chapter 15, by imposing an administrative penalty as authorized by Chapter 15, by ordering the disgorgement of excess revenue as authorized by Chapter 15, or by suspending, revoking, or amending a certificate or registration as authorized by Section 39.356. Section 15.024(c) does not apply to an administrative penalty imposed under this section. For purposes of this subchapter, market power abuses are practices by persons possessing market power that are unreasonably discriminatory or tend to unreasonably restrict, impair, or reduce the level of competition, including practices that tie unregulated products or services to regulated products or services or unreasonably discriminate in the provision of regulated services. For purposes of this section, "market power abuses" include predatory pricing, withholding of production, precluding entry, and collusion. A violation of the code of conduct provided by Subsection (d) that materially impairs the ability of a person to compete in a competitive market shall be deemed to be an abuse of market power. The possession of a high market share in a market open to competition may not, of itself, be deemed to be an abuse of market power; however, this sentence shall not affect the application of state and federal antitrust laws. (b) Beginning on the date of introduction of customer choice, a person that owns generation facilities may not own transmission or distribution facilities in this state except for those facilities necessary to interconnect a generation facility with the transmission or distribution network, a facility not dedicated to public use, or a facility otherwise excluded from the definition of "electric utility" under Section 31.002. However, nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a power generation company affiliated with a transmission and distribution utility from owning generation facilities. (c) The commission shall monitor market shares of installed capacity to ensure that the limitations in Section 39.154 are not exceeded. If the commission finds that a person has violated a limitation in Section 39.154, the commission shall order the person to file, within 60 days of the date of the order, a market power mitigation plan consistent with the requirements in Section 39.156. (d) Not later than January 10, 2000, the commission shall adopt rules and enforcement procedures to govern transactions or activities between a transmission and distribution utility and its competitive affiliates to avoid potential market power abuses and cross-subsidizations between regulated and competitive activities both during the transition to and after the introduction of competition. Nothing in this subsection is intended to affect or modify the obligations or duties relating to any rules or standards of conduct that may apply to a utility or the utility's affiliates under orders or regulations of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission. A utility that is subject to statutes or regulations in other states that conflict with a provision of this section may petition the commission for a waiver of the conflicting provision on a showing of good cause. The rules adopted under this section shall ensure that: (1) a utility makes any products and services, other than corporate support services, that it provides to a competitive affiliate available, contemporaneously and in the same manner, to the competitive affiliate's competitors and applies its tariffs, prices, terms, conditions, and discounts for those products and services in the same manner to all similarly situated entities; (2) a utility does not: (A) give a competitive affiliate or a competitive affiliate's customers any preferential advantage, access, or treatment regarding services other than corporate support services; or (B) act in a manner that is discriminatory or anticompetitive with respect to a nonaffiliated competitor of a competitive affiliate; (3) a utility providing electric transmission or distribution services: (A) provides those services on nondiscriminatory terms and conditions; (B) does not establish as a condition for the provision of those services the purchase of other goods or services from the utility or the competitive affiliate; and (C) does not provide competitive affiliates preferential access to the utility's transmission and distribution systems or to information about those systems; (4) a utility does not release any proprietary customer information to a competitive affiliate or any other entity, other than an independent organization as defined by Section 39.151 or a provider of corporate support services for the purposes of providing the services, without obtaining prior verifiable authorization, as determined from the commission, from the customer; (5) a utility does not: (A) communicate with a current or potential customer about products or services offered by a competitive affiliate in a manner that favors a competitive affiliate; or (B) allow a competitive affiliate, before September 1, 2005, to use the utility's corporate name, trademark, brand, or logo unless the competitive affiliate includes on employee business cards and in its advertisements of specific services to existing or potential residential or small commercial customers locating within the utility's certificated service area a disclaimer that states, "(Name of competitive affiliate) is not the same company as (name of utility) and is not regulated by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and you do not have to buy (name of competitive affiliate)'s products to continue to receive quality regulated services from (name of utility)."; (6) a utility does not conduct joint advertising or promotional activities with a competitive affiliate in a manner that favors the competitive affiliate; (7) a utility is a separate, independent entity from any competitive affiliates and, except as provided by Subdivisions (8) and (9), does not share employees, facilities, information, or other resources, other than permissible corporate support services, with those competitive affiliates unless the utility can prove to the commission that the sharing will not compromise the public interest; (8) a utility's office space is physically separated from the office space of the utility's competitive affiliates by being located in separate buildings or, if within the same building, by a method such as having the offices on separate floors or with separate access, unless otherwise approved by the commission; (9) a utility and a competitive affiliate: (A) may, to the extent the utility implements adequate safeguards precluding employees of a competitive affiliate from gaining access to information in a manner inconsistent with Subsection (g) or (i), share common officers and directors, property, equipment, offices to the extent consistent with Subdivision (8), credit, investment, or financing arrangements to the extent consistent with Subdivision (17), computer systems, information systems, and corporate support services; and (B) are not required to enter into prior written contracts or competitive solicitations for non-tariffed transactions between the utility and the competitive affiliate, except that the commission by rule may require the utility and the competitive affiliate to enter into prior written contracts or competitive solicitations for certain classes of transactions, other than corporate support services, that have a per unit value of more than $75,000 or that total more than $1 million; (10) a utility does not temporarily assign, for less than one year, employees engaged in transmission or distribution system operations to a competitive affiliate unless the employee does not have knowledge of information that is intended to be protected under this section; (11) a utility does not subsidize the business activities of an affiliate with revenues from a regulated service; (12) a utility and its affiliates fully allocate costs for any shared services, corporate support services, and other items described by Subdivisions (8) and (9); (13) a utility and its affiliates keep separate books of accounts and records and the commission may review records relating to a transaction between a utility and an affiliate; (14) assets transferred or services provided between a utility and an affiliate, other than transfers that facilitate unbundling under Section 39.051 or asset valuation under Section 39.262, are priced at a level that is fair and reasonable to the customers of the utility and reflects the market value of the assets or services or the utility's fully allocated cost to provide those assets or services; (15) regulated services that a utility provides on a routine or recurring basis are included in a tariff that is subject to commission approval; (16) each transaction between a utility and a competitive affiliate is conducted at arm's length; and (17) a utility does not allow an affiliate to obtain credit under an arrangement that would include a specific pledge of assets in the rate base of the utility or a pledge of cash reasonably necessary for utility operations. (e) The commission shall by rule establish a code of conduct that must be observed by electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities and their affiliates to protect against anticompetitive practices. The rules adopted by the commission under this subsection shall be consistent with Chapters 40 and 41 and may not be more restrictive than the rules adopted under Subsection (d). (f) Following review of the annual report submitted to it under Section 39.155(c), the commission shall determine whether specific transmission or distribution constraints or bottlenecks within this state give rise to market power in specific geographic markets in the state. The commission, on a finding that specific transmission or distribution constraints or bottlenecks within this state give rise to market power, may order reasonable mitigation of that potential market power by ordering, under Section 39.203(e), one or more electric utilities or transmission and distribution utilities to construct additional transmission or distribution capacity, or both, subject to the certification provisions of this title. (g) The sharing of corporate support services in accordance with this section may not allow or provide a means for the transfer of confidential information from a utility to an affiliate, create the opportunity for preferential treatment or an unfair competitive advantage, lead to customer confusion, or create significant opportunities for cross-subsidization of affiliates. (h) A utility or competitive affiliate may not circumvent the provisions or the intent of the provisions of Subsection (d) by using any utility affiliate to provide information, services, or subsidies between the utility and a competitive affiliate. (i) In this section: (1) "Competitive affiliate" means an affiliate of a utility that provides services or sells products in a competitive energy-related market in this state, including telecommunications services, to the extent those services are energy related. (2) "Corporate support services" means services shared by a utility, its parent holding company, or a separate affiliate created to perform corporate support services, with its affiliates of joint corporate oversight, governance, support systems, and personnel. Examples of services that may be shared, to the extent the services comply with the requirements prescribed by Subsections (d) and (g), include human resources, procurement, information technology, regulatory services, administrative services, real estate services, legal services, accounting, environmental services, research and development, internal audit, community relations, corporate communications, financial services, financial planning and management support, corporate services, corporate secretary, lobbying, and corporate planning. Examples of services that may not be shared include engineering, purchasing of electric transmission, transmission and distribution system operations, and marketing. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 405, Sec. 39, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 996 (H.B. 2133), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2011. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 410 (H.B. 1500), Sec. 20, eff. September 1, 2023.