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How the electric utility industry torpedoed grid security

electric utility industry

Our biggest security problem is not Russia or China – it is electric utility industry lobbyists

While reading a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) order from January of this year, I was amused for a moment that the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) actually had the audacity to ask FERC if they could abdicate even more of their enforcement responsibilities. FERC showed some real backbone, told NERC “No,” and ordered them to do their job. It was quite a slap for NERC.

This is just the latest example demonstrating the painfully obvious: The electric utility industry has made NERC their stooge.

In defense of NERC, they never stood a chance. They were never going to get independence from the industry in the legislation that made NERC the industry’s self-regulator after the Great Northeast Blackout of 2003 – the industry’s lobbyists made sure of that. And today the industry’s predatory lobbyists have interjected themselves into every point in our political system to make sure that industry continues to self-regulate the electric grid and operate in the dark, free of unwanted federal interference.

NERC is not alone. Since the electric utility lobbyists swarmed DC in 2003, they have inserted themselves into the states’ regulatory commissions (PSC/PUC). Trade associations, such as the Electric Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) – another thinly veiled lobbying group – as well the industry run and funded Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and an army of attorneys and lobbyists has co-opted the entire electric grid regulatory system.

This undue influence spans all the way from U.S. Congressional committees, through the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), to our State legislatures and State Public Utility Commissions. The industry, through the ESCC has literally embedded itself with the regulators. Its trade groups lobby Congress and participate in “partnerships” with executive agencies, such as the DOE and FERC. Little happens without the industry’s input and recommendations. And since 2003, their advice and counsel has generally been persuasive with Congress and these agencies.

And today massive vulnerabilities in the electric grid have not been addressed precisely because of this undue influence. An example of this absurd result? Convicted felon and formerly bankrupt PG&E has more influence over U.S. grid security than our federal government.

I recently filed a detailed report with the Department of Energy outlining the four major challenges to securing the electric grid. This article briefly explains how we got here.

(To see who in Congress took the money, scroll down)

“Mandatory Self-Regulation”

Before the Great Northeast Blackout of 2003, there were other blackouts that caused Congressional and public concern, such as the Northeast Blackout of 1965 where over 30 million people lost power. And then, according to a Senate hearing in 1967, there were 17 further cascading blackouts between 1965 and 1967. The industry dodged the regulatory bullet and convinced Congress that they could improve the system with “voluntary self-regulation.” They created NERC – the National Electric Reliability Council in 1967. (The name was later changed to the North American Electric Reliability Council in 1981.)

The electric utility industry never wanted mandatory regulation. But mandatory regulation became inevitable after Congressional ire over the industry’s cataclysmic failure to prevent the Great Northeast Blackout of 2003. The industry had the experience and foresight to see that they needed to insert themselves at every level of the process so they could keep “onerous” regulation at bay and continue to operate under the radar. Hence, we went from “voluntary self-regulation” to “mandatory self-regulation.”

Prior to the Great Northeast Blackout of 2003, the electric utility industry, and the electric grid itself, were “voluntarily” self-regulated under the North American Electric Reliability Council. According to a federal report:

“NERC is a non-governmental entity whose mission is to ensure that the bulk electric system in North America is reliable, adequate and secure. The organization was established in 1968, as a result of the Northeast blackout in 1965. Since its inception, NERC has operated as a voluntary organization, relying on reciprocity, peer pressure and the mutual self-interest of all those involved to ensure compliance with reliability requirements. An independent board governs NERC.”

About that “independent board.” Prior to the 2003 blackout, NERC had 10 members, who were the Regional Reliability Councils. And the Reliability Councils, in turn, had a membership consisting of the whole of the electric utility industry. Ultimately, the industry called the shots. The U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force studied the current voluntary regulatory structure in detail and concluded that NERC lacked the independence and authority to enforce its voluntary standards.

After the 2003 blackout, there were more reports, hearings and finger-pointing. The electric utility industry saw the writing on the wall. If regulatory authority was now going to be mandatory, they needed to control that authority. They proposed that NERC, who they owned, should fill the role and the mandatory regulatory authority. Even lobbyist Edison Electric Institute (EEI) supported this new regulatory regime. (After all, the industry already controlled the previous iteration of the “North American Reliability Council” and could devise a way to still control the process if they could keep the federal government at arm’s length.)

(To see who in Congress took the money, scroll down)

All it takes is money.

Click for details

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, since the Great Northeast Blackout of 2003, the electric utility industry has spent an average of $124 million per year lobbying the U.S. Congress. In total since 2003, they have spent almost $2.3 billion lobbying the U.S. Congress alone.  Not to mention the $231 million in political “contributions.” Since 2003, the electric utility industry has made “contributions” to members of the U.S. House and U.S Senate averaging $22.8 million per election cycle (or approximately $11.4 million per year).  In the 2020 election cycle, the industry made $28.5 million in political “contributions” to Congress. And many of the recipients of these “contributions” are members of congressional committees who might have an interest in electric grid regulation and security. All of them are listed below.

By the way, the above does not include the substantial “lobbying” and “contributions” at the state level.

There was opposition to continued “self-regulation” by the electric utility industry. In a Senate hearing in the fall of 2003, Mark N. Cooper, Director of Research, Consumer Federation of America, testified:

“We must not rely on industry self-regulation. The proposal to move from voluntary self-regulation to mandatory self-regulation misses the point. The difficulty is not the voluntary versus the mandatory. It is the ‘self’ part. We need clear accountability to public authorities.”

But on August 8, 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was signed into law and the industry kept their “self-regulation.”

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 added Section 215 to the Federal Power Act, which implemented this new “mandatory self-regulation” regime. The current regulatory scheme uses NERC as the industry’s “self-regulator” known as the Electric Reliability Organization or “ERO.” Some of the details of Section 215 arose out of the recommendations of the 2003 “U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force” headed up by the U, S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Canadian Minister of Natural Resources. The task force issued an interim report in November of 2003, and a final report in April of 2004.

One of the Task Force’s key recommendations which made it into the new law was that NERC have independence from the industry:

Many of the institutional problems arise not because NERC is an inadequate or ineffective organization, but rather because it has no structural independence from the industry it represents and has no authority to develop strong reliability standards and to enforce compliance with those standards. [Emphasis added.]

(To see who in Congress took the money, scroll down)

Cue the electric utility industry lawyers.

Since the new law [16 U.S. Code § 824o(c)(2)(A)] required that the ERO: “assure its independence of the users and owners and operators of the bulk-power system [i.e., the transmission system], while assuring fair stakeholder representation in the selection of its directors and balanced decision making in any ERO committee or subordinate organizational structure” – some deft legal hocus-pocus was needed.

Here’s how they did it.

Although technically anybody can become a “member” of NERC, the membership structure stacks the deck in favor of the electric utility industry as far as the election of NERC’s “independent trustees” (the board that governs NERC). NERC accomplishes this shell-game by assigning all members to one of 13 groups. According to NERC rules:

“Each member will join only 1 of 13 industry sectors, members of sectors 1-12 elect sector representatives on the NERC Member Representatives Committee (MRC). The MRC elects NERC’s independent trustees, votes on amendments to the bylaws, and provides advice and recommendations to the Board with respect to the development of annual budgets, business plans and funding mechanisms, and other matters pertinent to the purpose and operations of NERC.”

Obviously, only 12 of the 13 sectors have a vote. So, what are the “13 industry sectors?”

  1. Investor-owned utility
  2. State/municipal utility
  3. Cooperative utility
  4. Federal or provincial utility/Federal Power Marketing Administration
  5. Transmission-dependent utility
  6. Merchant electricity generator
  7. Electricity marketer
  8. Large end-use electricity customer
  9. Small end-use electricity customer
  10. Independent system operator/regional transmission organization
  11. Regional entity
  12. Government representatives
  13. “Associate” (Non-voting. The public gets herded into here)

In other words, two sectors are “customers” and one is the government. The other nine are the electric industry. The electric industry gets 9 votesthe customers and the government get 3. If that is not a stacked deck, I don’t know what is. So, NERC is literally funded, run and its leadership elected by the electric utility industry that it allegedly regulates. If the grid does not want to be regulated, it has means to resist being regulated.

And by the way, “customers” in sectors 8 and 9 does not mean “customers.” If you are a regular citizen, like me, you are not allowed to join the 12 voting sectors! You will be duffed off to a non-voting sector (“Sector 13”), and consequently, the industry has completely snuffed out the public and limited the government to one vote. One has to admire the industry’s subtle use of bylaws to thwart the intent of the actual law.

(To see who in Congress took the money, scroll down)

Conclusion

Since 2003 the electric utility lobby has inserted itself into every aspect of electric utility regulation, legislation and standards development. The electric utility industry, through its trade associations, the Electric Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC) – another thinly veiled lobbying group – as well as an army of attorneys and lobbyists has quite successfully co-opted the entire electric grid regulatory system.

Today massive vulnerabilities in the electric grid have been patently ignored precisely because of this undue influence.

The true irony is that this money largely originates from the bills of ratepayers of electricity: the public is funding the electric utilities campaign to fight grid security regulation and pay for Congressional support of their agenda. In addition to funding the industry’s legal bribes (i.e., lobbying and “contributions”), ratepayer money also funds the industry’s illegal bribes (and likely their penalties when they are caught).

This has been a massive, well organized and well-funded campaign to co-opt the legislative and executive branches of our government to protect the electric utility industry’s agenda – often at the expense of grid security. And to make ratepayers pay for it all.

And it is still going on. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, here are the latest electric utility industry payments to Congress:

Who took the electric utility industry money this election cycle?

U.S. Senate 2020 Cycle:

Candidate Amount
Sanders, Bernie (I-VT) $340,662
Perdue, David (R-GA) $295,505
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $236,837
Loeffler, Kelly (R-GA) $206,316
Gardner, Cory (R-CO) $188,436
Peters, Gary (D-MI) $182,562
McSally, Martha (R-AZ) $155,237
Ossoff, Jon (D-GA) $146,356
Cornyn, John (R-TX) $146,183
Daines, Steven (R-MT) $143,898
Graham, Lindsey (R-SC) $142,209
Warnock, Raphael (D-GA) $140,353
Capito, Shelley Moore (R-WV) $138,845
Warren, Elizabeth (D-MA) $128,565
Ernst, Joni (R-IA) $128,000
Kelly, Mark (D-AZ) $112,603
Risch, James E (R-ID) $104,885
Tillis, Thom (R-NC) $100,599
Inhofe, James M (R-OK) $99,945
Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK) $96,500
Warner, Mark (D-VA) $80,717
Collins, Susan M (R-ME) $78,066
Rounds, Mike (R-SD) $66,775
Sullivan, Dan (R-AK) $66,461
Smith, Tina (D-MN) $64,297
Jones, Doug (D-AL) $61,325
Shaheen, Jeanne (D-NH) $59,546
Lujan, Ben Ray (D-NM) $56,813
Booker, Cory (D-NJ) $56,801
Sinema, Kyrsten (D-AZ) $56,345
Marshall, Roger (R-KS) $55,225
Cassidy, Bill (R-LA) $52,045
Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN) $51,259
Barrasso, John A (R-WY) $47,115
Manchin, Joe (D-WV) $45,600
Portman, Rob (R-OH) $44,654
Hagerty, Bill (R-TN) $42,085
Harris, Kamala (D-CA) $41,137
Toomey, Pat (R-PA) $39,860
Sasse, Ben (R-NE) $39,738
Coons, Chris (D-DE) $39,418
Wyden, Ron (D-OR) $38,239
Hyde-Smith, Cindy (R-MS) $36,787
Durbin, Dick (D-IL) $35,122
Lummis, Cynthia (R-WY) $34,618
Wicker, Roger (R-MS) $33,005
Hickenlooper, John (D-CO) $32,739
Scott, Tim (R-SC) $32,420
Carper, Tom (D-DE) $32,083
Menendez, Robert (D-NJ) $31,140
Fischer, Deb (R-NE) $29,168
Duckworth, Tammy (D-IL) $28,070
Thune, John (R-SD) $24,105
Schumer, Charles E (D-NY) $23,951
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI) $23,439
Young, Todd (R-IN) $20,358
Heinrich, Martin (D-NM) $19,050
Reed, Jack (D-RI) $18,000
Lankford, James (R-OK) $16,020
Kennedy, John (R-LA) $15,783
Schatz, Brian (D-HI) $15,085
Rubio, Marco (R-FL) $14,603
Moran, Jerry (R-KS) $14,000
Hawley, Josh (R-MO) $13,870
Padilla, Alex (D-CA) $13,750
Cruz, Ted (R-TX) $13,700
Scott, Rick (R-FL) $13,695
Tuberville, Tommy (R-AL) $13,620
Crapo, Mike (R-ID) $13,500
Cramer, Kevin (R-ND) $13,255
Brown, Sherrod (D-OH) $12,377
Burr, Richard (R-NC) $12,000
Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) $11,680
Blunt, Roy (R-MO) $11,183
Cotton, Tom (R-AR) $10,746
Murray, Patty (D-WA) $10,627
Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT) $10,206
Hoeven, John (R-ND) $10,000
Masto, Catherine Cortez (D-NV) $9,864
Merkley, Jeff (D-OR) $9,639
Blackburn, Marsha (R-TN) $9,085
Baldwin, Tammy (D-WI) $9,046
Hirono, Mazie K (D-HI) $8,745
Casey, Bob (D-PA) $8,345
Romney, Mitt (R-UT) $7,575
Boozman, John (R-AR) $7,500
Rosen, Jacky (D-NV) $7,337
Tester, Jon (D-MT) $6,750
Enzi, Mike (R-WY) $6,000
King, Angus (I-ME) $6,000
Van Hollen, Chris (D-MD) $5,505
Hassan, Maggie (D-NH) $3,804
Johnson, Ron (R-WI) $3,565
Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY) $3,510
Kaine, Tim (D-VA) $2,093
Markey, Ed (D-MA) $2,082
Braun, Mike (R-IN) $1,555
Paul, Rand (R-KY) $1,090
Cantwell, Maria (D-WA) $1,020
Isakson, Johnny (R-GA) $1,000
Murphy, Christopher S (D-CT) $607
Leahy, Patrick (D-VT) $33

 

U.S. House 2020 Cycle:

Candidate Amount
McCarthy, Kevin (R-CA) $272,218
Hoyer, Steny H (D-MD) $220,750
Neal, Richard E (D-MA) $201,750
Pallone, Frank Jr (D-NJ) $177,500
Upton, Fred (R-MI) $157,005
Scalise, Steve (R-LA) $141,484
Tonko, Paul (D-NY) $139,361
Clyburn, James E (D-SC) $130,927
Bustos, Cheri (D-IL) $110,447
Walberg, Tim (R-MI) $106,275
Johnson, Bill (R-OH) $100,741
Rodgers, Cathy McMorris (R-WA) $91,976
Reed, Tom (R-NY) $91,831
Stivers, Steve (R-OH) $88,700
Pelosi, Nancy (D-CA) $87,256
Doyle, Mike (D-PA) $86,500
Nunes, Devin (R-CA) $84,844
Simpson, Mike (R-ID) $84,250
Rush, Bobby L (D-IL) $83,501
Latta, Bob (R-OH) $83,256
Kinzinger, Adam (R-IL) $82,461
Wagner, Ann (R-MO) $80,705
Brady, Kevin (R-TX) $80,000
Dingell, Debbie (D-MI) $78,850
Davis, Rodney (R-IL) $78,735
Cheney, Liz (R-WY) $77,748
Arrington, Jodey (R-TX) $76,000
McNerney, Jerry (D-CA) $74,950
Peters, Scott (D-CA) $72,755
Hudson, Richard (R-NC) $71,554
Kind, Ron (D-WI) $71,035
LaHood, Darin (R-IL) $68,925
Walden, Greg (R-OR) $67,500
Katko, John (R-NY) $66,048
Graves, Sam (R-MO) $63,500
Kildee, Dan (D-MI) $62,885
O’Halleran, Tom (D-AZ) $62,803
Richmond, Cedric (D-LA) $60,025
Kaptur, Marcy (D-OH) $60,000
Thompson, Mike (D-CA) $59,463
Bacon, Donald John (R-NE) $59,455
Mullin, Markwayne (R-OK) $59,000
Schrader, Kurt (D-OR) $58,585
Buchanan, Vernon (R-FL) $58,350
Kelly, Robin (D-IL) $57,751
Duncan, Jeff (R-SC) $57,600
Cole, Tom (R-OK) $57,500
Veasey, Marc (D-TX) $57,000
Thompson, Bennie G (D-MS) $56,750
Norcross, Don (D-NJ) $56,625
Shimkus, John (R-IL) $56,500
Costa, Jim (D-CA) $54,000
Cardenas, Tony (D-CA) $53,005
Graves, Garret (R-LA) $52,000
Fitzpatrick, Brian (R-PA) $51,234
Fletcher, Lizzie (D-TX) $51,188
Rice, Tom (R-SC) $49,500
Wilson, Joe (R-SC) $48,910
Fleischmann, Chuck (R-TN) $47,900
Crenshaw, Dan (R-TX) $47,857
Bergman, John (R-MI) $47,376
Balderson, Troy (R-OH) $47,006
Joyce, David P (R-OH) $46,986
Long, Billy (R-MO) $46,500
Gabbard, Tulsi (D) $46,329
McEachin, Donald (D-VA) $45,750
Griffith, Morgan (R-VA) $44,750
Perry, Scott (R-PA) $44,695
Kelly, Mike (R-PA) $44,550
McKinley, David (R-WV) $44,050
Stefanik, Elise (R-NY) $43,627
Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R-MO) $43,500
Panetta, Jimmy (D-CA) $43,350
Gallagher, Mike (R-WI) $43,275
Gottheimer, Josh (D-NJ) $42,785
Johnson, Dusty (R-SD) $42,060
Smith, Jason (R-MO) $41,515
Butterfield, G K (D-NC) $40,750
Gonzalez, Anthony (R-OH) $40,341
Granger, Kay (R-TX) $39,293
Moolenaar, John (R-MI) $38,025
Newhouse, Dan (R-WA) $37,684
Sherrill, Mikie (D-NJ) $37,533
Beutler, Jaime Herrera (R-WA) $36,642
Wittman, Rob (R-VA) $36,590
Aguilar, Pete (D-CA) $36,463
Fortenberry, Jeff (R-NE) $36,175
Brown, Anthony (D-MD) $36,000
Cuellar, Henry (D-TX) $36,000
Miller, Carol (R-WV) $35,793
Finkenauer, Abby (D-IA) $35,669
Beatty, Joyce (D-OH) $35,560
Smucker, Lloyd (R-PA) $35,235
Stauber, Pete (R-MN) $35,006
Horsford, Steven (D-NV) $34,952
Bost, Mike (R-IL) $34,850
Aderholt, Robert B (R-AL) $34,309
Murphy, Stephanie (D-FL) $34,000
Clarke, Yvette D (D-NY) $33,501
Fulcher, Russ (R-ID) $33,500
Stevens, Haley (D-MI) $33,428
Huizenga, Bill (R-MI) $33,050
Sewell, Terri (D-AL) $33,050
Curtis, John (R-UT) $33,000
Soto, Darren (D-FL) $33,000
Pascrell, Bill Jr (D-NJ) $32,600
Ruiz, Raul (D-CA) $32,565
Ryan, Tim (D-OH) $32,509
Calvert, Ken (R-CA) $32,500
Wenstrup, Brad (R-OH) $32,266
Timmons, William (R-SC) $32,250
Schiff, Adam (D-CA) $32,241
Carbajal, Salud (D-CA) $32,000
Lowenthal, Alan (D-CA) $32,000
Gimenez, Carlos (R-FL) $31,966
Kirkpatrick, Ann (D-AZ) $31,774
Reschenthaler, Guy (R-PA) $31,635
Krishnamoorthi, Raja (D-IL) $31,297
Suozzi, Tom (D-NY) $31,235
Schultz, Debbie Wasserman (D-FL) $30,645
Rochester, Lisa Blunt (D-DE) $30,630
Walorski, Jackie (R-IN) $30,504
Bucshon, Larry (R-IN) $30,500
Gibbs, Bob (R-OH) $29,506
Grothman, Glenn S (R-WI) $29,300
Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria (D-NY) $28,565
McAdams, Ben (D-UT) $28,498
Ferguson, Drew (R-GA) $28,420
Bass, Karen (D-CA) $28,250
Kelly, Trent (R-MS) $28,000
Thompson, Glenn (R-PA) $27,735
Burgess, Michael (R-TX) $27,500
Smith, Adrian (R-NE) $27,500
Banks, Jim (R-IN) $27,260
Olson, Pete (R-TX) $27,250
Davis, Danny K (D-IL) $27,001
Armstrong, Kelly (R-ND) $27,000
Carter, Buddy (R-GA) $26,700
Bishop, Dan (R-NC) $26,659
Emmer, Tom (R-MN) $26,599
Ruppersberger, Dutch (D-MD) $26,500
Foster, Bill (D-IL) $26,311
Demings, Val (D-FL) $26,050
Rouzer, David (R-NC) $26,050
Hartzler, Vicky (R-MO) $26,043
Stewart, Chris (R-UT) $26,010
McClain, Lisa (R-MI) $26,000
Palazzo, Steven (R-MS) $26,000
Zeldin, Lee (R-NY) $25,958
Casten, Sean (D-IL) $25,795
Schneider, Brad (D-IL) $25,605
Kilmer, Derek (D-WA) $25,576
Lawrence, Brenda (D-MI) $25,550
Meuser, Dan (R-PA) $24,535
Bilirakis, Gus (R-FL) $24,500
Joyce, John (R-PA) $24,300
Feenstra, Randy (R-IA) $24,225
Larson, John (D-CT) $24,200
Van Drew, Jeff (R-NJ) $24,113
Guest, Michael (R-MS) $24,012
Small, Xochitl Torres (D-NM) $23,933
Jordan, Jim (R-OH) $23,771
Bentz, Cliff (R-OR) $23,500
Guthrie, Brett (R-KY) $23,500
Peterson, Collin (D-MN) $23,250
Meijer, Peter (R-MI) $22,916
Tiffany, Tom (R-WI) $22,550
Gomez, Jimmy (D-CA) $22,500
Barr, Andy (R-KY) $22,407
Adams, Alma (D-NC) $22,000
Mooney, Alex (R-WV) $22,000
Payne, Donald M Jr (D-NJ) $22,000
Byrne, Bradley (R-AL) $21,600
Fudge, Marcia (D-OH) $21,500
Hollingsworth, Trey (R-IN) $21,000
Napolitano, Grace (D-CA) $21,000
Gallego, Ruben (D-AZ) $20,941
Spanberger, Abigail (D-VA) $20,844
Riggleman, Denver (R-VA) $20,605
McCaul, Michael (R-TX) $20,570
McHenry, Patrick (R-NC) $20,525
Evans, Dwight (D-PA) $20,500
Chabot, Steve (R-OH) $20,426
Lieu, Ted (D-CA) $20,065
Waltz, Michael (R-FL) $20,015
Lesko, Debbie (R-AZ) $19,593
Estes, Ron (R-KS) $19,500
Lawson, Al (D-FL) $19,500
Moore, Barry (R-AL) $19,500
Houlahan, Chrissy (D-PA) $19,484
Swalwell, Eric (D-CA) $19,477
DelBene, Suzan (D-WA) $19,398
Cline, Ben (R-VA) $19,000
Vela, Filemon (D-TX) $19,000
Burchett, Tim (R-TN) $18,825
Biggs, Andy (R-AZ) $18,750
Diaz-Balart, Mario (R-FL) $18,750
Scott, Bobby (D-VA) $18,750
Mast, Brian (R-FL) $18,653
Norman, Ralph (R-SC) $18,625
Comer, James (R-KY) $18,500
Womack, Steve (R-AR) $18,500
Keller, Fred (R-PA) $18,300
Wright, Ron (R-TX) $18,200
LaMalfa, Doug (R-CA) $18,000
Rogers, Mike D (R-AL) $18,000
Smith, Adam (D-WA) $18,000
Kuster, Ann (D-NH) $17,960
Steil, Bryan (R-WI) $17,615
Levin, Andy (D-MI) $17,540
Dunn, Neal (R-FL) $17,500
Lucas, Frank D (R-OK) $17,500
Matsui, Doris (D-CA) $17,250
Brownley, Julia (D-CA) $17,003
Barragan, Nanette (D-CA) $17,000
Coleman, Bonnie Watson (D-NJ) $17,000
Gooden, Lance (R-TX) $17,000
Rutherford, John (R-FL) $17,000
Yarmuth, John (D-KY) $17,000
Holding, George (R-NC) $16,750
Welch, Peter (D-VT) $16,595
Fitzgerald, Scott (R-WI) $16,550
Carl, Jerry (R-AL) $16,510
Schweikert, David (R-AZ) $16,510
Bishop, Sanford (D-GA) $16,500
Gosar, Paul (R-AZ) $16,500
Westerman, Bruce (R-AR) $16,500
Bonamici, Suzanne (D-OR) $16,010
Boyle, Brendan (D-PA) $16,000
Courtney, Joe (D-CT) $16,000
Crawford, Rick (R-AR) $16,000
Meeks, Gregory W (D-NY) $16,000
Price, David (D-NC) $16,000
Lynch, Stephen F (D-MA) $15,950
Beyer, Don (D-VA) $15,800
Hagedorn, Jim (R-MN) $15,601
Cooper, Jim (D-TN) $15,525
Morelle, Joseph D (D-NY) $15,525
Steube, Greg (R-FL) $15,500
Vargas, Juan (D-CA) $15,500
Rose, John (R-TN) $15,400
Hinson, Ashley (R-IA) $15,330
Lee, Susie (D-NV) $15,325
Cartwright, Matt (D-PA) $15,144
Scott, David (D-GA) $15,025
DeGette, Diana (D-CO) $15,000
Hastings, Alcee (D-FL) $15,000
Mitchell, Paul (R-MI) $15,000
Brindisi, Anthony (D-NY) $14,925
Craig, Angie (D-MN) $14,874
Gonzalez, Vicente (D-TX) $14,735
Correa, Lou (D-CA) $14,600
Slotkin, Elissa (D-MI) $14,439
Hill, French (R-AR) $14,425
Graves, Tom (R-GA) $14,250
Brooks, Mo (R-AL) $14,000
Connolly, Gerry (D-VA) $14,000
Lamborn, Douglas L (R-CO) $14,000
Larsen, Rick (D-WA) $13,500
Axne, Cindy (D-IA) $13,279
Moore, Gwen (D-WI) $13,005
Budd, Ted (R-NC) $13,000
Johnson, Eddie Bernice (D-TX) $13,000
Palmer, Gary (R-AL) $13,000
Wild, Susan (D-PA) $12,849
Lamb, Conor (D-PA) $12,841
Donalds, Byron (R-FL) $12,817
Collins, Doug (R-GA) $12,785
Chu, Judy (D-CA) $12,750
Keating, Bill (D-MA) $12,750
Turner, Michael R (R-OH) $12,606
Davidson, Warren (R-OH) $12,506
Lipinski, Daniel (D-IL) $12,501
Harris, Andy (R-MD) $12,500
Johnson, Mike (R-LA) $12,500
Lewis, John (D-GA) $12,429
Amodei, Mark (R-NV) $12,235
Frankel, Lois J (D-FL) $12,105
Perlmutter, Ed (D-CO) $12,015
Langevin, Jim (D-RI) $12,000
Weber, Randy (R-TX) $12,000
Allen, Richard W (R-GA) $11,850
Garcia, Mike (R-CA) $11,775
Scott, Austin (R-GA) $11,750
Visclosky, Pete (D-IN) $11,750
Roy, Chip (R-TX) $11,360
Miller, Mary (R-IL) $11,200
Horn, Kendra (D-OK) $11,187
Cleaver, Emanuel (D-MO) $11,125
Young, Don (R-AK) $11,039
Tipton, Scott (R-CO) $11,025
Buck, Ken (R-CO) $11,000
Loudermilk, Barry (R-GA) $11,000
Levin, Mike (D-CA) $10,896
Engel, Eliot (D-NY) $10,850
Huffman, Jared (D-CA) $10,750
Laturner, Jake (R-KS) $10,750
McClintock, Tom (R-CA) $10,570
Pocan, Mark (D-WI) $10,519
Murphy, Greg (R-NC) $10,500
Deutch, Ted (D-FL) $10,040
Quigley, Mike (D-IL) $10,001
Baird, Jim (R-IN) $10,000
Cammack, Kat (R-FL) $10,000
Clay, William L Jr (D-MO) $10,000
Eshoo, Anna (D-CA) $10,000
Himes, Jim (D-CT) $9,825
Roybal-Allard, Lucille (D-CA) $9,750
Kennedy, Joe III (D-MA) $9,740
Higgins, Brian M (D-NY) $9,525
Johnson, Hank (D-GA) $9,525
Hice, Jody (R-GA) $9,500
Luria, Elaine (D-VA) $9,361
Porter, Katie (D-CA) $9,265
Hurd, Will (R-TX) $9,250
Harder, Josh (D-CA) $9,198
Carter, John (R-TX) $9,076
Spano, Ross (R-FL) $9,050
Higgins, Clay (R-LA) $9,030
Babin, Brian (R-TX) $9,010
Cook, Paul (R-CA) $9,000
Garamendi, John (D-CA) $9,000
Gianforte, Greg (R-MT) $9,000
Williams, Roger (R-TX) $9,000
Mrvan, Frank J (D-IN) $8,955
Cox, TJ (D-CA) $8,844
Takano, Mark (D-CA) $8,700
McCollum, Betty (D-MN) $8,600
Case, Ed (D-HI) $8,550
Moore, Blake (R-UT) $8,550
Torres, Norma (D-CA) $8,516
Rice, Kathleen (D-NY) $8,500
Webster, Daniel (R-FL) $8,500
Williams, Nikema Natassha (D-GA) $8,475
Salazar, Maria (R-FL) $8,419
Watkins, Steve (R-KS) $8,360
Rosendale, Matt (R-MT) $8,330
Ratcliffe, John (R-TX) $8,250
Tenney, Claudia (R-NY) $8,164
Rose, Max (D-NY) $8,110
Cummings, Elijah E (D-MD) $8,056
Desaulnier, Mark (D-CA) $8,005
Wilson, Frederica (D-FL) $8,005
Garcia, Jesus (D-IL) $8,001
Posey, Bill (R-FL) $8,000
Scanlon, Mary Gay (D-PA) $7,775
Jeffries, Hakeem (D-NY) $7,646
Davids, Sharice (D-KS) $7,626
Gohmert, Louis B Jr (R-TX) $7,600
Delgado, Antonio (D-NY) $7,573
Foxx, Virginia (R-NC) $7,543
Crist, Charlie (D-FL) $7,520
Sanchez, Linda (D-CA) $7,505
Brooks, Susan (R-IN) $7,500
Kim, Young (R-CA) $7,431
Van Duyne, Beth (R-TX) $7,314
Strickland, Marilyn (D-WA) $7,181
Boebert, Lauren (R-CO) $7,024
Garcia, Sylvia (D-TX) $7,000
Kustoff, David (R-TN) $7,000
Taylor, Van (R-TX) $7,000
Bera, Ami (D-CA) $6,975
Cunningham, Joe (D-SC) $6,946
Nadler, Jerrold (D-NY) $6,638
Jackson, Ronny (R-TX) $6,595
Mucarsel-Powell, Debbie (D-FL) $6,511
DeLauro, Rosa L (D-CT) $6,500
Pence, Greg (R-IN) $6,500
Sires, Albio (D-NJ) $6,500
Wexton, Jennifer (D-VA) $6,367
Issa, Darrell (R-CA) $6,341
Khanna, Ro (D-CA) $6,321
Clark, Katherine (D-MA) $6,300
Kahele, Kai (D-HI) $6,251
Kim, Andy (D-NJ) $6,124
Rouda, Harley (D-CA) $6,038
Carson, Andre (D-IN) $6,000
Franklin, Scott (R-FL) $6,000
Heck, Dennis (D-WA) $6,000
Jackson Lee, Sheila (D-TX) $6,000
Marchant, Kenny (R-TX) $6,000
Plaskett, Stacey (D-VI) $6,000
Velazquez, Nydia (D-NY) $6,000
Escobar, Veronica (D-TX) $5,750
Gaetz, Matt (R-FL) $5,650
Walker, Mark (R-NC) $5,590
Dean, Madeleine (D-PA) $5,510
Duffy, Sean P (R-WI) $5,500
Lowey, Nita M (D-NY) $5,500
Roby, Martha (R-AL) $5,500
Blumenauer, Earl (D-OR) $5,400
Massie, Thomas (R-KY) $5,370
Bice, Stephanie (R-OK) $5,310
Pfluger, August (R-TX) $5,252
Omar, Ilhan (D-MN) $5,041
Mfume, Kweisi (D-MD) $5,020
Abraham, Ralph (R-LA) $5,000
McBath, Lucy (D-GA) $4,885
Newman, Marie (D-IL) $4,688
Doggett, Lloyd (D-TX) $4,500
Cloud, Michael (R-TX) $4,350
Haaland, Debra (D-NM) $4,100
Cawthorn, Madison (R-NC) $4,070
Conaway, Mike (R-TX) $4,000
Stanton, Greg (D-AZ) $3,809
Green, Mark (R-TN) $3,750
Harshbarger, Diana (R-TN) $3,625
Herrell, Yvette (R-NM) $3,611
Golden, Jared (D-ME) $3,595
Mace, Nancy (R-SC) $3,550
Meadows, Mark (R-NC) $3,500
Meng, Grace (D-NY) $3,500
Schrier, Kim (D-WA) $3,453
Malliotakis, Nicole (R-NY) $3,380
Hayes, Jahana (D-CT) $3,307
Moulton, Seth (D-MA) $3,077
Castor, Kathy (D-FL) $3,014
Smith, Chris (R-NJ) $3,010
Rogers, Hal (R-KY) $3,000
Sherman, Brad (D-CA) $3,000
Underwood, Lauren A (D-IL) $2,917
Malinowski, Tom (D-NJ) $2,892
Valadao, David (R-CA) $2,872
Pappas, Chris (D-NH) $2,696
Maloney, Sean Patrick (D-NY) $2,678
Lee, Barbara (D-CA) $2,615
Green, Al (D-TX) $2,500
Titus, Dina (D-NV) $2,500
Yoho, Ted (R-FL) $2,500
Gonzales, Tony (R-TX) $2,429
Thornberry, Mac (R-TX) $2,400
Tlaib, Rashida (D-MI) $2,314
Allred, Colin (D-TX) $2,191
Bowman, Jamaal (D-NY) $2,161
Gonzalez, Jenniffer (3-PR) $2,080
Spartz, Victoria (R-IN) $2,039
Lofgren, Zoe (D-CA) $2,015
Hern, Kevin (R-OK) $2,000
King, Pete (R-NY) $2,000
Sensenbrenner, Jim (R-WI) $2,000
Sessions, Pete (R-TX) $2,000
Waters, Maxine (D-CA) $2,000
Phillips, Dean (D-MN) $1,954
Ross, Deborah (D-NC) $1,886
Fischbach, Michelle (R-MN) $1,879
Owens, Burgess (R-UT) $1,754
Hill, Katie (D-CA) $1,642
Greene, Marjorie Taylor (R-GA) $1,592
Maloney, Carolyn B (D-NY) $1,512
Mann, Tracey (R-KS) $1,500
Crow, Jason (D-CO) $1,366
Trahan, Lori (D-MA) $1,275
Good, Bob (R-VA) $1,267
Pressley, Ayanna (D-MA) $1,236
Stansbury, Melanie (D-NM) $1,100
Shalala, Donna (D-FL) $1,057
Jayapal, Pramila (D-WA) $1,040
Jacobs, Chris (R-NY) $1,030
Manning, Kathy (D-NC) $1,030
Carter, Troy (D-LA) $1,000
Cohen, Steve (D-TN) $1,000
Davis, Susan (D-CA) $1,000
Desjarlais, Scott (R-TN) $1,000
Flores, Bill (R-TX) $1,000
Loebsack, David (D-IA) $1,000
Serrano, Jose E (D-NY) $1,000
McGovern, James P (D-MA) $847
Bourdeaux, Carolyn (D-GA) $844
Jones, Mondaire (D-NY) $764
Steel, Michelle (R-CA) $711
Torres, Ritchie (D-NY) $710
Cisneros, Gil (D-CA) $688
Castro, Joaquin (D-TX) $670
Bush, Cori (D-MO) $669
Neguse, Joseph (D-CO) $655
Garbarino, Andrew (R-NY) $539
Clyde, Andrew (R-GA) $500
Nehls, Troy (R-TX) $439
Miller-Meeks, Mariannette (R-IA) $364
Auchincloss, Jake (D-MA) $300
Amash, Justin (L) $250
King, Steven A (R-IA) $250
Roe, Phil (R-TN) $250
Grijalva, Raul M (D-AZ) $118
Fernandez, Teresa Leger (D-NM) $117
Schakowsky, Jan (D-IL) $101
Trone, David (D-MD) $25
Sarbanes, John (D-MD) $15
Raskin, Jamie (D-MD) $10
Cicilline, David (D-RI) $6

Editor’s note: What kind of loser only gets $6 from such a generous industry? Perhaps his website offers a clue:

“In Congress, Cicilline is working hard to restore the public’s confidence and trust in government by making our campaign finance system more transparent and by reducing the influence of corporate money in our elections.”

Well, this kind of attitude is of no help at all to the electric utility industry lobbyists.