Wheeler-Rayburn Act

E39120

The Wheeler-Rayburn Act is a New Deal-era U.S. federal law that restructured and regulated electric utility holding companies to curb monopolistic practices and protect consumers and investors.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf New Deal legislation
United States federal statute
affects consumer electricity rates
investor protection in utility securities
aimsTo curb monopolistic practices in utility holding companies
eliminate abusive financial practices in utility holding companies
protect consumers
protect investors
simplify complex utility holding company structures
alsoKnownAs Wheeler-Rayburn Public Utility Holding Company Act
appliesToSector electric power industry
gas utility industry
authorizes SEC to limit operations of holding companies to integrated utility systems
SEC to order simplification of holding company structures
SEC to require divestiture of non-utility businesses
codifiedIn Title 15 of the United States Code
country United States
dateEnacted 1935-08-26
enactedBy 74th United States Congress
grantsPowerTo Securities and Exchange Commission
hasOfficialName Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935
hasShortName PUHCA
historicalContext Great Depression
New Deal reforms of financial markets
imposes limits on geographic scope of utility holding company operations
restrictions on intercompany transactions within holding company systems
influencedBy investigations of utility holding companies by the Federal Trade Commission
recommendations of the Federal Power Commission
jurisdiction federal government of the United States
legalArea antitrust law
public utilities regulation
securities regulation
legislativeChamber United States House of Representatives
United States Senate
motivatedBy abuses by large utility holding company systems in the 1920s and early 1930s
partiallyRepealedBy Energy Policy Act of 2005
partOf New Deal
presidentAtEnactment Franklin D. Roosevelt
regulates electric utility holding companies
public utility holding companies
relatedTo Public Utility Act of 1935
requires registration of public utility holding companies with the Securities and Exchange Commission
seeksTo promote integrated and economically efficient utility systems
signedBy Franklin D. Roosevelt
sponsor Burton K. Wheeler
Sam Rayburn
status substantially repealed
typeOfRegulation structural regulation of corporate organization

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935
Wheeler-Rayburn Act ("Wheeler-Rayburn Public Utility Holding Company Act")
alsoKnownAs
Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 ("H.R. 3835")
introducedAs

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