(a) Other states.--The commission shall take all necessary and appropriate steps to encourage interstate power pools to enhance competition and to complement industry restructuring on a regional basis. The Commonwealth, the commission and Pennsylvania electric utilities shall work with the Federal Government, other states in the region and interstate power pools to accomplish the goals of restructuring and to establish independent system operators or their functional equivalents to operate the transmission system and interstate power pools. The commission, Pennsylvania electric utilities and all electricity suppliers shall work with the Federal Government, other states in the region, the North American Electric Reliability Council and its regional coordinating councils or their successors, interstate power pools, and with the independent system operator or its functional equivalent to ensure the continued provision of adequate, safe and reliable electric service to the citizens and businesses of this Commonwealth.

(b) Electric cooperatives, municipalities and other electric generation suppliers.--

(1) In order to make the benefits of competition in the generation and sale of electricity as widely available as possible to retail customers and to provide open, fair and nondiscriminatory access to all electric generation suppliers:

(i) Consistent with 15 Pa.C.S. Ch. 74 (relating to generation choice for customers of electric cooperatives), no electric cooperative or municipality which distributes electricity to end-use customers may utilize the transmission or distribution system of an electric utility regulated by the commission for the purpose of supplying electricity to an end-use customer unless the electric cooperative or municipality provides open and nondiscriminatory access and allows other electric generation suppliers to utilize its facilities, including any facilities it is entitled to provide to third parties pursuant to contract, to make sales to the end-use customers it serves. A borough may prohibit electric generation suppliers from serving end-use customers within its borough limits; however, such a borough shall be prohibited from providing generation service to end-use customers outside of its borough limits which it did not serve prior to the effective date of this chapter.

(ii) The commission shall require any electric cooperative seeking a certificate under 15 Pa.C.S. Ch. 74 to provide open and nondiscriminatory access to its transmission and distribution facilities as a condition to the granting of the certificate.

(iii) The reliability of the transmission service provided to electric cooperative corporations must be comparable to the reliability which the transmission supplier provides at the wholesale level.

(2) No electric utility regulated by the commission and no affiliate of such electric utility may use the distribution system of another electric utility regulated by the commission or make sales to end-use customers in another electric utility's service territory unless the commission has approved a restructuring plan for the supplying electric utility which provides for direct access comparable to the direct access provided under the approved plan of the electric utility operating the distribution system in the location where the supplying electric utility seeks to sell electricity to an end-use customer. No electric utility regulated by the commission and no affiliate of such electric utility may use the distribution system of an electric cooperative corporation or make sales to end-use customers in the territory of an electric cooperative corporation unless the commission has approved a restructuring plan for the supplying electric utility.

References in Text. Chapter 74 of Title 15, referred to in subsec. (b), is expired.