This bill mandates the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to require electric and gas public utilities to offer equal payment plans for residential customers, which average a customer's estimated energy usage over a year for consistent billing. Importantly, the bill prohibits these utilities from charging lump-sum payments when actual usage exceeds estimates, recovering outstanding balances based on differences between actual and forecasted usage, and increasing monthly bills under equal payment plans except on an annual basis based solely on the customer's actual utility usage data.

Additionally, the bill addresses the practice of underbilling, where customers may be charged based on estimated meter bills rather than actual usage. It prohibits electric and gas public utilities from underbilling residential customers and from incorporating any outstanding balances from estimated meter bills into future utility bills. The intent of the bill is to alleviate economic hardships for New Jersey residents by ensuring fair pricing and protecting them from unexpected utility rate increases, especially in light of rising living costs and recent rate hikes approved by the BPU.