Protecting Natural Gas Consumers from Overcharges Act of 2021

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3979 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3979

 To establish a refund effective date for rates and charges under the 
                Natural Gas Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 17, 2021

  Mr. Butterfield (for himself and Mr. Long) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a refund effective date for rates and charges under the 
                Natural Gas Act, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Natural Gas Consumers 
from Overcharges Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FIXING RATES AND CHARGES, REFUND EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Section 5(a) of the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717d(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``Whenever'' and inserting ``(1) 
        Whenever'';
            (2) by striking ``had'' and inserting ``held''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) Any complaint or motion of the Commission to initiate a 
proceeding under this subsection shall state the change or changes to 
be made to the rate, charge, classification, rule, regulation, 
practice, or contract then in force, and the reasons for any proposed 
change or changes therein.
    ``(3) If, after review of any motion or complaint and answer under 
this subsection, the Commission shall decide to hold a hearing, it 
shall--
            ``(A) fix by order the time and place of such hearing; and
            ``(B) specify the issues to be adjudicated.
    ``(4) Whenever the Commission institutes a proceeding under this 
subsection, the Commission shall establish a refund effective date as 
follows:
            ``(A) In the case of a proceeding instituted on complaint, 
        the refund effective date shall not be earlier than the date of 
        the filing of such complaint nor later than 5 months after the 
        filing of such complaint.
            ``(B) In the case of a proceeding instituted by the 
        Commission on its own motion, the refund effective date shall 
        not be earlier than the date of the publication by the 
        Commission of notice of its intention to initiate such 
        proceeding nor later than 5 months after the publication date.
    ``(5) Upon institution of a proceeding under this subsection, the 
Commission shall give to the decision of such proceeding the same 
preference as provided under section 4 and otherwise act as speedily as 
possible.
    ``(6) If no final decision is rendered by the conclusion of the 
180-day period commencing upon initiation of a proceeding pursuant to 
this subsection, the Commission shall--
            ``(A) state the reasons why it has failed to render such 
        decision; and
            ``(B) state its best estimate as to when it reasonably 
        expects to make such decision.
    ``(7) In any proceeding under this subsection, the burden of proof 
to show that any rate, charge, classification, rule, regulation, 
practice, or contract is unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory, 
or preferential shall be upon the Commission or the complainant.
    ``(8) At the conclusion of any proceeding under this subsection, 
the Commission may order refunds--
            ``(A) of any amounts paid, for the period subsequent to the 
        refund effective date through a date fifteen months after such 
        refund effective date, in excess of those which would have been 
        paid under the just and reasonable rate, charge, 
        classification, rule, regulation, practice, or contract which 
        the Commission orders to be thereafter observed and in force: 
        Provided, That if the proceeding is not concluded within 
        fifteen months after the refund effective date and if the 
        Commission determines at the conclusion of the proceeding that 
        the proceeding was not resolved within the fifteen-month period 
        primarily because of dilatory behavior by the natural gas 
        company, the Commission may order refunds of any or all amounts 
        paid for the period subsequent to the refund effective date and 
        prior to the conclusion of the proceeding; and
            ``(B) shall be made, with interest, to those persons who 
        have paid those rates or charges which are the subject of the 
        proceeding.''.
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