Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act

Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act

Acronyms (colloquial)	PURPA
Nicknames	Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
Enacted by	the 95th United States Congress
Effective	November 9, 1978
Citations
Public law	95-617
Statutes at Large	92 Stat. 3117
Codification
Titles amended	16 U.S.C.: Conservation
U.S.C. sections created	16 U.S.C. ch. 46 § 2601 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 4018 by Thomas B. Evans Jr. (R–DE) on February 24, 1977 Committee consideration by House Ways and Means, Senate Finance Passed the House on July 18, 1977 (passed voice vote) Passed the Senate on October 6, 1977 (86-7, in lieu of S. 2114 and H.R. 8444) Reported by the joint conference committee on October 6, 1978; agreed to by the Senate on October 9, 1978 (77-14) and by the House on October 14, 1978 (237-174) Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on November 9, 1978
Major amendments
Energy Policy Act of 1992 Energy Policy Act of 2005 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010

The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA, Pub. L. 95–617, 92 Stat. 3117, enacted November 9, 1978) is a United States Act passed as part of the National Energy Act. It was meant to promote energy conservation (reduce demand) and promote greater use of domestic energy and renewable energy (increase supply). The law was created in response to the 1973 energy crisis, and one year in advance of a second energy crisis.

Upon entering the White House, President Jimmy Carter made energy policy a top priority. The law started the energy industry on the road to restructuring.^[1]