A bill to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to make loans to electric utilities to carry out projects to comply with any Federal renewable electricity standard, and for other purposes.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jun 3, 2009
Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to direct the Secretary of Energy to make loans to electric utilities to reduce their costs of complying with federal renewable energy standards and minimize the impact such standards have on consumers' electricity rates.
Requires the use of such loans on projects that are approved by the Secretary, which may include the construction of renewable energy generation facilities or installation of energy efficiency or electricity demand reduction technology.
Sets the interest rate on such loans, which may not exceed 30 years, at 0.5% more than the federal funds rate.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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