2025 -- S 0385
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LC001809
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S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
____________
A N A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
-- 2025 UTILITY COMPANY BILLING TRANSPARENCY ACT
Introduced By: Senators Ujifusa, Murray, Felag, Lauria, Lawson, Mack, Kallman,
Bissaillon, Ciccone, and E Morgan
Date Introduced: February 26, 2025
Referred To: Senate Commerce
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Short Title. 1
This act may be cited as the "2025 Utility Company Billing Transparency Act." 2
SECTION 2. Findings. 3
The general assembly finds as follows: 4
1. Consumers have expressed concerns that utility company bills, such as those from Rhode 5
Island Energy (RIE), contain a variety of charges that are confusing and burdensome, particularly 6
regarding how costs are calculated and how funds are used; 7
2. Clear and concise explanations of the charges on utility company bills would enable 8
consumers to better understand their utility costs and make informed decisions regarding their 9
service; 10
3. Transparency regarding the costs included in utility company bills would promote trust 11
and accountability among all stakeholders and the general public; and 12
4. Similar measures to ensure billing transparency and understanding of utility company 13
charges have been successfully implemented in other states 14
SECTION 3. Definitions. 15
For the purposes of this act: 16
(1) “Utility company bill” or “utility bill” means the utility bill issued by the electric 17
distribution company as defined by § 39-1-2(a)(12) and gas distribution company included as a 18
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public utility in § 39-1-2(a)(20) having greater than one hundred thousand (100,000) customers that 1
includes charges for residential energy services, which may include, but are not limited to, base 2
utility charges, fees, taxes, and any other charges related to the provision of energy services. 3
SECTION 4. Section 39-1-27.7.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-1 entitled "Public 4
Utilities Commission" is hereby amended to read as follows: 5
39-1-27.7.1. Revenue decoupling. 6
(a) The general assembly finds and declares that electricity and gas revenues shall be fully 7
decoupled from sales pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and further finds and declares that 8
any decoupling proposal submitted by an electric distribution company as defined in § 39-1-9
2(a)(12) or gas distribution company included as a public utility in § 39-1-2(a)(20) that has greater 10
than one hundred thousand (100,000) customers, shall be for the following purposes: 11
(1) Increasing efficiency in the operations and management of the electric and gas 12
distribution system; 13
(2) Achieving the goals established in the electric distribution company’s plan for system 14
reliability and energy efficiency and conservation procurement as required pursuant to § 39-1-15
27.7(d); 16
(3) Increasing investment in least-cost resources that will reduce long-term electricity 17
demand; 18
(4) Reducing risks for both customers and the distribution company including, but not 19
limited to, societal risks, weather risks, and economic risks; 20
(5) Increasing investment in end-use energy efficiency; 21
(6) Eliminating disincentives to support energy-efficiency programs; 22
(7) Facilitating and encouraging investment in utility infrastructure, safety, and reliability; 23
and 24
(8) Considering the reduction of fixed, recurring customer charges and transition to 25
increased unit charges that more accurately reflect the long-term costs of energy production and 26
delivery. 27
(b) Each electric distribution company as defined by § 39-1-2(a)(12) and gas distribution 28
company included as a public utility in § 39-1-2(a)(20) having greater than one hundred thousand 29
(100,000) customers shall file proposals at the commission to implement the policy set forth in 30
subsection (a) of this section. The commission shall approve these proposals, provided they contain 31
the features and components set forth in subsection (c) of this section, and that they are consistent 32
with the intent and objectives contained in subsection (a) of this section. Actions taken by the 33
commission in the exercise of its ratemaking authority for electric and gas rate cases shall be within 34
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the norm of industry standards and recognize the need to maintain the financial health of the 1
distribution company as a stand-alone entity in Rhode Island. 2
(c) The proposals shall contain the following features and components: 3
(1) A revenue decoupling reconciliation mechanism that reconciles annually the revenue 4
requirement allowed in the company’s base distribution-rate case to revenues actually received for 5
the applicable twelve-month (12) period. Any revenues over-recovered or under-recovered shall be 6
credited to, or recovered from, customers, as applicable; and 7
(2) An annual infrastructure, safety, and reliability spending plan for each fiscal year and 8
an annual rate-reconciliation mechanism that includes a reconcilable allowance for the anticipated 9
capital investments and other spending pursuant to the annual pre-approved budget as developed 10
in accordance with subsection (d) of this section. 11
(d) Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, gas and electric distribution companies shall 12
consult with the division of public utilities and carriers regarding their infrastructure, safety, and 13
reliability spending plan for the following fiscal year, addressing the following categories: 14
(1) Capital spending on utility infrastructure; 15
(2) For electric distribution companies, operation and maintenance expenses on vegetation 16
management; 17
(3) For electric distribution companies, operation and maintenance expenses on system 18
inspection, including expenses from expected resulting repairs; and 19
(4) Any other costs relating to maintaining safety and reliability that are mutually agreed 20
upon by the division and the company. 21
The distribution company shall submit a plan to the division and the division shall 22
cooperate in good faith to reach an agreement on a proposed plan for these categories of costs for 23
the prospective fiscal year within sixty (60) days. To the extent that the company and the division 24
mutually agree on a plan, such plan shall be filed with the commission for review and approval 25
within ninety (90) days. If the company and the division cannot agree on a plan, the company shall 26
file a proposed plan with the commission and the commission shall review and, if the investments 27
and spending are found to be reasonably needed to maintain safe and reliable distribution service 28
over the short and long term, approve the plan within ninety (90) days. 29
(e) The commission shall have the following duties and powers, in addition to its existing 30
authorities established in this title: 31
(1) To maintain reasonable and adequate service-quality standards, after decoupling, that 32
are in effect at the time of the proposal and were established pursuant to § 39-3-7. 33
(2) The commission may exclude the low-income rate class from the revenue decoupling 34
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reconciliation-rate mechanism for either electric or gas distribution. The commission also may 1
exclude customers in the large commercial and industrial rate class from the gas-distribution 2
mechanism. 3
(3) The commission may adopt performance incentives for the electric distribution 4
company that provide a shared-savings mechanism whereby the company would receive a 5
percentage of savings realized as a result of achieving the purposes of this section while the 6
remaining savings are credited to customers. 7
(4) The commission shall review and approve, with any necessary amendments, 8
performance-based, energy-savings targets developed and submitted by the Rhode Island energy 9
efficiency and resources management council. The performance-based targets shall also be used as 10
a consideration in any shared-savings mechanism established by the commission pursuant to 11
subsection (e)(3) of this section. 12
(f) The Rhode Island energy efficiency and resources management council shall propose 13
performance-based, energy-savings targets to the commission no later than September 1, 2010. The 14
targets shall include, but not be limited to, specific energy kilowatt-hour savings overall and peak-15
demand savings for both summer and winter peak periods expressed in total megawatts as well as 16
appropriate targets recommended in the opportunities report filed with the commission pursuant to 17
§ 39-1-27.7(d)(3). The council shall revise, as necessary, these targets on an annual basis prior to 18
the reconciliation process established pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and submit its 19
revisions to the commission for approval. 20
(g) Reporting. Every electric distribution company, as defined in subsection (a) of this 21
section, shall report to the governor, general assembly, division of public utilities and carriers, and 22
public utilities commission on or before September 1, 2012. The report shall include, but not be 23
limited to, the following elements: 24
(1) A comparison of revenues from traditional rate regulation and how the revenues have 25
differed as part of an approved decoupling structure; 26
(2) A summary of how the company is achieving the performance-based targets that may 27
have been adopted pursuant to subsection (e)(4) of this section; 28
(3) A summary of any shared savings the company may have received pursuant to the 29
performance incentives authorized in subsection (e)(3) of this section; 30
(4) A summary of how the company is achieving the service-quality standards required in 31
subsection (e)(1) of this section; 32
(5) An overview of how decoupling is impacting revenue stabilization goals that have 33
resulted from decoupling; and 34
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(6) A summary of any customer education programs provided. 1
SECTION 5. Chapter 39-3 of the General Laws entitled "Regulatory Powers of 2
Administration" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 3
39-3-45. Requirements prior to implementing rate changes. 4
(a) Each electric distribution company as defined by § 39-1-2(a)(12) and gas distribution 5
company included as a public utility in § 39-1-2(a)(20) having greater than one hundred thousand 6
(100,000) customers shall comply with the following: 7
(1) Before implementing rate changes, utilities shall submit a ratepayer impact analyses 8
(RIA) that estimates the impact of proposed rate changes on different customer classes. This RIA 9
shall include analysis of the cost-benefit relationship of rate adjustments, particularly how they 10
benefit or disadvantage various sectors; 11
(2) Provide monthly detailed descriptions of charges in utility company bills, including 12
how much of the charge goes toward various services in order that customers can understand the 13
effects of rate adjustments; 14
(3) Provide periodic explanations of significant rate changes or cost fluctuations, such as 15
variations in energy procurement costs, regulatory adjustments, changes in charges for supply, 16
transmission, distribution and other costs, and how those factors may change over time; as well as 17
an explanation that shall include information of how customers can reduce their bill; and 18
(4) Provide annual reports that include a breakdown of the costs contributing to rate 19
adjustments, such as energy procurement costs, infrastructure investments, revenues and profits, 20
and operational costs. 21
(b) Enforcement. 22
(1) The public utilities commission shall oversee compliance with this section and may 23
impose fines or penalties for failure to provide accurate, timely, and clear explanations of rate 24
changes. 25
(2) Failure to include with a rate filing a clear explanation as required under this section 26
shall result in suspension of the rate filing until proper notifications and explanations are provided. 27
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon passage. 28
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
-- 2025 UTILITY COMPANY BILLING TRANSPARENCY ACT
***
This act would impose requirements and actions that electric distribution companies and 1
gas distribution companies having over one hundred thousand (100,000) customers would need to 2
take prior to implementing rate changes. The act would also add additional requirements of 3
providing explanations and annual reports with information on costs contributing to rate 4
adjustments, for the purpose of providing greater transparency to customers and consumers of 5
electricity and gas. 6
This act would take effect upon passage. 7
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