{
  "id": "RL33739",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL33739",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 363296,
      "date": "2006-11-20",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T18:41:51.982029",
      "title": "The Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA 1935) and Its Impact on Electric and Gas Utilities",
      "summary": "The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA 1935) was repealed in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Prior to repeal, PUHCA 1935 required \u201cholding companies\u201d (i.e., companies with subsidiaries engaged in the electric utility business or the retail distribution of natural or manufactured gas) to register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), satisfy certain disclosure requirements, and comply with strict operational limitations. These operational limitations imposed significant geographic and corporate holdings restrictions upon holding companies and effectively limited ownership of public utilities to a small subset of companies focused specifically on the industry.\nPursuant to the repeal, the SEC no longer has oversight authority for electric and gas holding companies, and many of the procedural and substantive requirements placed upon public utility holding companies by PUHCA 1935 have been repealed. The burden of oversight of the financial transactions of public utility companies, including mergers and acquisitions, now falls more heavily on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC\u2019s oversight authority over public utilities, previously established in the Federal Power Act (FPA) and the Natural Gas Act (NGA), was enhanced by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which included the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005. This new legislation requires holding companies and their affiliates to provide the Commission (as well as state regulators) access to their books and records and also grants the Commission additional authority for oversight of holding company transactions.\nIn addition, the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will continue to enforce generally applicable laws as they apply to public utility holding company transactions. These laws, which were unaffected by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, prevent transactions that would substantially impede competition and can require pre-merger notification.\nThis report will describe the current state of federal oversight of public utility holding companies and transactions involving public utilities. It will be updated as necessary.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL33739",
          "sha1": "94393a9bac38894e8173f11017d281136acde3a9",
          "filename": "files/20061120_RL33739_94393a9bac38894e8173f11017d281136acde3a9.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL33739",
          "sha1": "19b253d11f6560b7153533b0430a157fe0effb5f",
          "filename": "files/20061120_RL33739_19b253d11f6560b7153533b0430a157fe0effb5f.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Energy Policy"
  ]
}