General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7086 mandates the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to open a docket focused on the Combined Public Benefits Charge, with the goal of improving the standard billing format for electric services. The bill requires PURA to redesign the billing format for residential customers, ensuring that key information such as electric generation service rates, cancellation fees, and standard service rates is prominently displayed on the first page of each bill. Additionally, PURA is tasked with reopening this docket every five years to ensure the billing format remains effective. The bill also introduces provisions that allow for modifications to billing categories to enhance customer understanding, while deleting a previous requirement for electric distribution companies to categorize charges into four specific categories by August 1, 2023.

Furthermore, the bill aims to improve transparency by requiring PURA to conduct a study on the delivery portion of electric bills, analyzing their components and recommending additional informational items for customers. The chairperson of PURA must submit a report with findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by January 15, 2025. The legislation also modifies existing requirements for electric distribution companies and suppliers, eliminating the need for quarterly bill inserts and mailings about service rates and changes, and instead requiring companies to send a link to the bill via email for customers enrolled in automatic electronic payments. Overall, the bill seeks to enhance customer comprehension of electric service billing and clearly distinguish federally mandated congestion charges from systems benefits charges.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 16-245d