This bill directs the Public Utilities Commission to conduct one or more proceedings beginning in 2025 and every 5 years thereafter to review and investigate administrative charges demanded or collected by a public utility with over 50,000 customers. If the commission finds that a utility has overcollected administrative charges from one or more customers or ratepayers, the commission may order the utility to refund to a customer any excess charges paid by the customer or, if paid by ratepayers, order the utility to refund excess charges in future rates. The commission is also directed to adopt rules requiring a utility to disclose all administrative charges on any proposal, estimate or invoice for work charged to a customer or to ratepayers. The commission must report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over utilities matters and to the Governor's Energy Office following each investigation. The bill requires the Electric Ratepayer Advisory Council, in developing recommendations to the Public Advocate regarding methods to ensure that ratepayers are able to afford electricity in the State, to identify methods to improve access to and use of community solar programs by low-income and moderate-income persons in the State. The bill requires the commission, by June 1, 2026, to require a transmission and distribution utility to offer consolidated billing to a distributed generation resource at its request. The bill requires the commission to establish customer bill information requirements that require a customer bill issued by an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility that includes public policy charges on customer bills to include an accurate and comprehensive description of all costs and benefits of public policy charges. The bill requires the commission to conduct, by December 31, 2025, a proceeding to examine and evaluate opt-in program designs to reduce net energy billing costs. The commission must report its findings and plans for future action to the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology no later than March 31, 2026.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 1966, HP 1310: 35-A.1714, 35-A.3107