H.R. 4444 would direct the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) to make more information about its financial operations available to the public. WAPA is an agency within the Department of Energy that markets electricity produced at federally owned dams in several western states. WAPA’s expenditures are funded by annual appropriations and are offset over time by income from the sale of electricity.
Using information from WAPA, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4444 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2020-2025 period because much of that work is being done under current law and primarily involves making existing data available in new formats.
On December 9, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 1931, the Western Area Power Administration Transparency Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on October 23, 2019. The two bills are similar and CBO’s estimated costs are the same for both bills.
