Bill > S1363

This bill, titled the Energy Consumers Relief Act of 2013, aims to protect consumers by preventing the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing certain energy-related rules that are projected to cost over $1,000,000,000 and significantly harm the economy. The bill defines "covered energy-related rules" as those affecting the production, supply, distribution, or use of energy, and specifies that "direct costs" and "indirect costs" are to be determined according to EPA guidelines. Before finalizing such a rule, the EPA Administrator must submit a comprehensive report to Congress detailing the rule's costs, benefits, expected realization of benefits, assumptions, limitations, potential increases in energy prices for consumers, and employment effects. Crucially, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with other agencies, must conduct independent analyses to determine if the rule will lead to increased energy prices, impact fuel diversity or electric reliability, cause adverse effects on energy supply due to implementation challenges, or result in other negative impacts on energy supply, distribution, or use. If these initial analyses indicate potential problems, the Secretary, in further consultation with various government officials, will then determine if the rule will cause "significant adverse effects to the economy" by considering the rule's costs and benefits, along with its impact on economic indicators like GDP, unemployment, and consumer prices, and will publish these findings.