STATEMENT TO
[Second Reprint]
SENATE, No. 3620
with Assembly Floor Amendments
(Proposed by Assemblyman BAILEY)
ADOPTED: JANUARY 30, 2025
These floor amendments change the definition of “smart meter” to
mean an electronic metering device that measures and records utility
usage data in regular intervals on a daily basis and wirelessly transmits
this data to a public utility for billing and other purposes.
The amendments also remove a provision that allows a customer to
designate times during each billing cycle when the customer would
receive certain electricity or gas usage notification from an electric
public utility or a gas public utility (public utilities).
The amendments remove the requirement that public utilities
notify a customer on the 10th day of each billing cycle and 20th day of
each billing cycle if the customer’s average daily electricity or gas
usage exceeds the customer’s average daily electricity or gas usage
from the previous billing cycle or from the same billing cycle in the
previous calendar year. Instead, these floor amendments require
public utilities to notify a customer via text message or, if the public
utility does not possess a smart meter customer’s mobile telephone
number, via electronic mail, on the 10th day of each billing cycle and
the 20th day of each billing cycle of the cost in dollars of the
customer’s electricity or gas usage for the billing cycle up to the time
at which the notification is sent and the amount in kilowatt hours or
therms of the customer’s electricity or gas usage for the billing cycle
up to the time at which the notification is sent.
The amendments also require public utilities, upon a customer’s
request, to notify a customer if the customer’s electricity or gas usage
has reached the customer’s set dollar value threshold via the
customer’s selection of text message or electronic mail.
The amendments remove the requirement that public utilities
provide a customer with the cost in dollars of the customer’s average
monthly electricity or gas usage and the amount in kilowatt hours or
therms of the customer’s average monthly electricity or gas usage in
certain notices. Instead, these floor amendments require public
utilities to provide a customer with the option to receive a separate
notice each billing cycle that compares the customer’s average daily
electricity or gas usage from the current billing cycle with the
customer’s average daily electricity and gas usage from the previous
billing cycle or from the same billing cycle in the previous calendar
year.
The amendments also specify that, under the “Energy Bill Watch”
program, public utilities are to notify a smart meter customer of the
customer’s electricity or gas usage as described in the bill, rather than
notify a smart meter customer when the customer’s electricity or gas
usage exceeds certain thresholds.
The amendments require each electric public utility and gas public
utility to establish “Energy Bill Watch” programs no later than 90 days
following the effective date of the bill, instead of 120 days following
the effective date of the bill.