,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ceha ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,january #aa1 #bjbd,mr4 ,kelly 7for himself and ,ms4 ,sinema7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,administrator of the ,western ,area ,power ,administration to reduce rates for firm electric service customers due to shortfalls in generation from certain ,bureau of ,reclamation hydroelectric facilities1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,hydropower ,delivery ,rate-reduction ,offset ,act of #bjbd or the ,,hydro ,act of #bjbd4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 the sale of hydropower from ,federal facilities at cost-based rates to project use and firm electric service customers has financed ,federal projects and programs that are not strictly necessary for1 or related to1 the production of hydropower2 7#b7 maintaining a mutually beneficial contractual relationship with project use and firm electric service customers is beneficial for the integrity of the ,federal hydropower program2 7#c7 long-term drought conditions in the ,western ,united ,states have produced untenable conditions for the delivery of hydropower2 and 7#d7 the conditions referred to in paragraph 7#c7 make the recovery of costs unrelated to the production of ,federal hydropower inconsistent with sound business principles4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress relating to the ,administrator of the ,western ,area ,power ,administration ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,administrator of the ,western ,area ,power ,administration 7referred to in this ,act as the ,administrator7 has the discretion to exclude nonpower-related costs from power rate repayment studies2 and 7#b7 the ,administrator should exercise the discretion of the ,administrator-- 7,a7 to reduce unnecessary expenditures during periods of extreme drought2 and 7,b7 to exclude costs from hydropower rates that are inconsistent with an equitable allocation or assignment of nonpower-related costs to project use and firm electric service rates4 #d4 ,hydropower drought mitigation 7a7 ,notification of predicted available power 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #cj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and each ,january #a thereafter1 the ,administrator shall notify project use and firm electric service customers of each of the ,bureau of ,reclamation projects described in paragraph 7#b7 of the quantity of energy predicted to be available for delivery from the applicable ,bureau of ,reclamation project during the #a-year period beginning on the date of the notification1 based on the most recent ,august #bd-month study of the ,bureau of ,reclamation4 7#b7 ,description of projects ,the ,bureau of ,reclamation projects referred to in paragraph 7#a7 are the following3 7,a7 ,the ,colorado ,river ,storage ,project1 the ,collbran ,project1 and the ,rio ,grande ,project 7collectively referred to in this ,act as the ,salt ,lake ,city ,area ,integrated ,projects74 7,b7 ,the ,boulder ,canyon ,project4 7,c7 ,the ,parker-,davis ,project4 7b7 ,conditions warranting rate reduction 7#a7 ,salt lake city area integrated projects ,if a notification under subsection 7a77#a7 indicates that the annual quantity of energy produced by the ,salt ,lake ,city ,area ,integrated ,projects is predicted to be less than #d1ijj1jjj ,m,wh1 the ,administrator shall reduce rates for each project use and firm electric service customer of the ,salt ,lake ,city ,area ,integrated ,projects in each monthly invoice for firm electric service until such time as the expected annual energy production returns to levels equal to or greater than #d1ijj1jjj ,m,wh4 7#b7 ,boulder canyon project ,if a notification under subsection 7a77#a7 indicates that the annual quantity of energy produced by the ,boulder ,canyon ,project is predicted to be less than #c1fjj1jjj ,m,wh1 the ,administrator shall reduce rates for each project use and firm electric service customer of the ,boulder ,canyon ,project in each monthly invoice for firm electric service until such time as the expected annual energy production returns to levels equal to or greater than #c1fjj1jjj ,m,wh4 7#c7 ,parker-,davis project ,if a notification under subsection 7a77#a7 indicates that the annual quantity of energy produced by the ,parker-,davis ,project is expected to be less than #a1djj1jjj ,m,wh1 the ,administrator shall reduce rates for each project use and firm electric service customer of the ,parker-,davis ,project in each monthly invoice for project use and firm electric service until such time as the expected annual energy production returns to levels equal to or greater than #a1djj1jjj ,m,wh4 7c7 ,rate reduction 7#a7 ,in general ,for purposes of calculating a rate reduction required under subsection 7b71 the ,administrator shall reduce rates for each project use and firm electric service customer in accordance with the principles described in sections #b and #c4 7#b7 ,limitation on rate reduction ,the ,administrator may not reduce rates as required under subsection 7b7 by an aggregate amount greater than any unobligated balances associated with the projects described in subsection 7a77#b74 7d7 ,termination of effectiveness ,subsections 7a7 through 7c7 shall cease to be effective on ,december #ca1 #bjca4 #e4 ,effect 7a7 ,cost recovery ,nothing in this ,act preempts the obligations of the ,administrator to set rates to recover costs as may be required by law4 7b7 ,funding 7#a7 ,in general ,nothing in this ,act authorizes additional appropriations for the ,western ,area ,power ,administration4 7#b7 ,use of existing funds ,the ,administrator shall use any funds authorized and appropriated to the ,western ,area ,power ,administration on an annual basis to carry out the duties of the ,administrator under this ,act4 7c7 ,no retroactive rates ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the ,administrator shall not recover any rate reduction provided pursuant to this section in future rates4 7d7 ,effect on water rights ,nothing in this ,act-- 7#a7 alters or affects any water rights held by-- 7,a7 the ,united ,states2 7,b7 any ,indian ,tribe1 band1 or community2 7,c7 any ,state or political subdivision of a ,state2 or 7,d7 any person2 7#b7 authorizes the ,secretary of the ,interior to change or otherwise modify operations at ,bureau of ,reclamation facilities in the ,colorado ,river ,basin2 or 7#c7 authorizes a change in the terms of the agreement entitled the ,second ,memorandum of ,agreement ,concerning the ,upper ,colorado ,river ,basin ,fund and dated ,june #aj1 #bjbj4