Favoring a uniform federal mandate, but also a drawn-out transition period to let the industry "prepare" itself, Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.) has recently introduced federal legislation on electric industry restructuring with the admonition that new laws should assure benefits to residential consumers (em not just the large-load customers.
Bumpers, ranking Democrat, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, on April 7 addressed the American Gas Association's Natural Gas Roundtable in Washington, D.C., on electric restructuring, talking about his introduction of S. 237, the "Electric Consumers Protection Act of 1997."
He noted that he is not wedded to every provision in his bill, and said that changes would be made. Bumpers referred to the provision that now allows state commissions to order divestiture of generation, which he called a "draconian" measure, and assured that provision would change.
A Federal Mandate. Bumpers noted his bill's restructuring implementation date was Dec. 15, 2003. He said, "My bill provides for a federal mandate and I'm not going to apologize for that." He opted for a later date than most other proposed bills because he believes more time would allow the industry to prepare for the change better.