Texas PUC to Suggest That Legislature Grant Commission Authority to Issue Advisory Opinions (REP Compliance Questions A Driver)

The Public Utility Commission of Texas will suggest to the legislature that lawmakers grant the Commission explicit authority to issue informal guidance in the form of advisory opinions.

Commissioner Kenneth Anderson had raised including a suggestion for explicit advisory opinion authority at the most recent open meeting, and his colleagues generally agreed with the inclusion of the issue in the scope of competition report.

Anderson had said that explicit authority to issue such advisory opinions would be useful, for among other reasons, in situations in which retail electric providers wish to seek informal guidance with respect to new products or innovative services which may not neatly fit into the existing substantive rules.

A revised draft scope of competition reports includes the following discussion of advisory opinions

"The issuance of an advisory opinion can provide valuable advice to a company before making investments or conducting operations that might be questionable under state law. The legislature may wish to consider granting the Commission the authority to issue advisory opinions. In the electricity business, providing clarification to a company concerning issues such as the purchase of assets or the acquisition of another company could allow it to avoid expensive regulatory proceedings, without impairing the Commission's authority."