Bill Text: TX SB1690 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to rates charged for wholesale or retail electric service; authorizing a civil penalty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-24 - Referred to Business & Commerce [SB1690 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB1690-Introduced.html
By: Gutierrez | S.B. No. 1690 | |
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relating to rates charged for wholesale or retail electric service; | ||
authorizing a civil penalty. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Texas Ratepayer's | ||
Bill of Rights. | ||
SECTION 2. Title 2, Subtitle B, Utilities Code, is amended | ||
by adding new Subchapter J to read as follows: | ||
SUBCHAPTER J. RATEPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS | ||
Sec. 36.501. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds | ||
that the state has failed to protect Texas families in its | ||
regulation and management of the electric grid. This failure has | ||
caused mass suffering, death, and exploitative energy pricing | ||
during a catastrophic emergency. The legislature further finds | ||
that the extreme weather events of February 2021 were foreseeable | ||
and will occur with greater frequency in the future. It is the | ||
intent of the legislature to prevent the collapse of the electric | ||
grid caused by extreme weather events and the exploitation of | ||
energy consumers during a statewide emergency and in the normal | ||
course of business as ratepayers. | ||
Sec. 502. RATEPAYER RIGHTS IN ELECTRIC UTILITY SERVICE. | ||
Notwithstanding any other provision in law, and individual customer | ||
for retail or wholesale electric service: | ||
1) shall have the right to avoid discontinuation of service | ||
for nonpayment on any Saturday or Sunday or any holiday observed by | ||
the utility, unless the utility is open to accept payment and | ||
restore service on those days; | ||
2) shall have the right to avoid discontinuation of service | ||
for a period of sixty (60) days for nonpayment when the utility | ||
receives written notice from a medical doctor licensed to practice | ||
in the State of Texas, or any adjoining state, certifying that | ||
discontinuance of service would create a life threatening situation | ||
for the customer or other permanent resident of the customer's | ||
household; | ||
3) shall have the right to be given a written notice from the | ||
utility company of pending discontinuation of service at least five | ||
(5) days prior to disconnection of service. This notice shall | ||
include a date on or after which discontinuance may occur; | ||
4) shall have the right to negotiate with any electric or | ||
natural gas company a delayed payment plan to avoid discontinuation | ||
of service for a delinquent account in accordance with the | ||
utility's terms and conditions; | ||
5) shall have the right to avoid discontinuation of service | ||
or refusal of service because a former occupant, not of the same | ||
household, failed to pay prior bill; | ||
6) shall have the right to avoid disconnection of their | ||
electric or gas service during extreme temperatures exceeding 100 | ||
degrees Fahrenheit or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit; | ||
7) shall have the right to avoid discontinuation of service | ||
of electric or natural gas service for nonpayment, if the ratepayer | ||
has been approved for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program | ||
(LIHEAP) benefits in an amount equal to the delinquent balance, | ||
payable within thirty (30) days, and the notice of the approval has | ||
been given to the utility provider; | ||
8) shall have the right to avoid discontinuation of service | ||
for failure to pay a portion of any bill that is in dispute, | ||
provided that a deposit is made by the ratepayer for amounts in | ||
dispute; | ||
9) shall have the right to negotiate monthly installments for | ||
initial service deposits in excess of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) | ||
provided that the entire amount of the deposit is paid within 60 | ||
days; | ||
10) shall have the right to avoid discontinuation of electric | ||
or natural gas service for nonpayment of bills if, as of 8:00 a.m. | ||
on the scheduled disconnection day, a freeze warning has been | ||
issued by the National Weather Service for the county of the | ||
scheduled disconnection; | ||
11) shall have the right to avoid discontinuation of electric | ||
service for nonpayment of bills if, as of 8:00 a.m. on the scheduled | ||
disconnection day, an Excessive Heat Warning has been issued by the | ||
National Weather Service for the county of the scheduled | ||
disconnection; | ||
12) shall have the right to request a written explanation if | ||
the utility company refuses to initially serve a consumer. When the | ||
ratepayer has provided the utility company with a valid mailing | ||
address, the explanation shall be mailed to the ratepayer within | ||
seven (7) business days and shall include the reason service is | ||
being refused and what actions the consumer must take in order to | ||
receive service; | ||
13) shall be given accurate and understandable information | ||
concerning the price and terms of service; and | ||
14) shall have access through the Commission to an | ||
independent administrative process that provides a simple, quick, | ||
and effective means of resolving complaints about service and bills | ||
from all electric and gas service providers over which the | ||
Commission has appropriate jurisdiction. Ratepayers are | ||
encouraged to attempt to resolve the dispute directly with the | ||
utility company. | ||
SECTION 3. 36.003, Utilities Code, is amended to read as | ||
follows: | ||
Sec. 36.003. JUST AND REASONABLE RATES. (a) The regulatory | ||
authority shall ensure that each rate an electric utility or two or | ||
more electric utilities jointly make, demand, or receive is just | ||
and reasonable. | ||
(b) A rate may not be unreasonably preferential, | ||
prejudicial, or discriminatory but must be sufficient, equitable, | ||
and consistent in application to each class of consumer. | ||
(c) An electric utility may not: | ||
(1) grant an unreasonable preference or advantage | ||
concerning rates to a person in a classification; | ||
(2) subject a person in a classification to an | ||
unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage concerning rates; or | ||
(3) establish or maintain an unreasonable difference | ||
concerning rates between localities or between classes of service. | ||
(d) In establishing an electric utility's rates, the | ||
commission may treat as a single class two or more municipalities | ||
that an electric utility serves if the commission considers that | ||
treatment to be appropriate. | ||
(e) A charge to an individual customer for retail or | ||
wholesale electric service that is less than the rate approved by | ||
the regulatory authority does not constitute an impermissible | ||
difference, preference, or advantage. | ||
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision in law, an | ||
individual customer for retail or wholesale electric service may | ||
not be charged a rate in excess of $500 per megawatt hour for | ||
electric service provided during an emergency declared by the | ||
governor or the federal government in the geographic area affected | ||
by the disaster. | ||
(g) A provider of retail or wholesale electric service that | ||
charges a rate in violation of this section during a declared | ||
emergency by the governor or federal government is assessed civil | ||
penalty equal to the difference between the charged rate during an | ||
emergency and the rate charged before the declared emergency. | ||
SECTION 4. ECTION 13. Not later than July 1, 2022, the | ||
Public Utilities Commission of Texas shall adopt rules as required | ||
to implement, administer, and enforce subchapter J, Title 2, | ||
Utilities Code, as added by this Act. | ||
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect | ||
immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members | ||
elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas | ||
Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for | ||
immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |