88R9831 JXC-F
By: Hernandez H.B. No. 3078
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a program to provide assistance for certain retail
electric customers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 17.007, Utilities Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(a) The Health and Human Services Commission, on request of
the commission, shall assist in:
(1) developing an automatic process for identifying
low-income customers to retail electric providers and certificated
telecommunications utilities to enable those providers and
utilities to offer customer service, discounts, bill payment
assistance, or other methods of assistance; and
(2) implementing Section 39.9035(i).
(e) Subsection (d) does not apply in a fiscal biennium in
which money is available under Section 39.9035 for the process
established by this section.
SECTION 2. Section 39.002, Utilities Code, as amended by
Chapters 908 (H.B. 4492) and 950 (S.B. 1580), Acts of the 87th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2021, is reenacted and amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 39.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter, other than
Sections 39.151, 39.1516, 39.155, 39.157(e), 39.159, 39.160,
39.203, 39.9035, 39.904, 39.9051, 39.9052, and 39.914(e), and
Subchapters M and N, does not apply to a municipally owned utility
or an electric cooperative. Sections 39.157(e), 39.203, and
39.904, however, apply only to a municipally owned utility or an
electric cooperative that is offering customer choice. If there is
a conflict between the specific provisions of this chapter and any
other provisions of this title, except for Chapters 40 and 41, the
provisions of this chapter control.
SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
amended by adding Section 39.9035 to read as follows:
Sec. 39.9035. INCOME-BASED ASSISTANCE FUND. (a) In this
section, "fund" means the income-based assistance fund.
(b) The income-based assistance fund is an account in the
general revenue fund. Money in the account may be appropriated only
for the purposes provided by this section or other law.
(c) The fund consists of:
(1) money appropriated, credited, or transferred to
the fund by the legislature;
(2) gifts or grants contributed to the fund; and
(3) interest earned on deposits and investments of the
fund.
(d) The commission shall administer the fund.
(e) Money in the fund may be appropriated to provide funding
only for the following purposes, in the following order of
priority:
(1) programs to:
(A) assist low-income electric customers by
making available the reduced rates described by Subsection (g); and
(B) provide one-time bill payment assistance as
described by Subsection (j) to electric customers who are or who
have in their households one or more seriously ill or disabled
low-income persons and who have been threatened with disconnection
for nonpayment;
(2) customer education that provides information on
other assistance programs, administrative expenses incurred by the
commission in implementing and administering this chapter, and
expenses incurred by the office under this chapter;
(3) support for low-income electric customers to
access the targeted energy efficiency programs described by
Subsection (f)(2); and
(4) reimbursement to the commission and the Health and
Human Services Commission for expenses incurred in the
implementation and administration of an integrated eligibility
process created under Section 17.007 for customer service discounts
relating to retail electric service, including outreach expenses
the commission determines are reasonable and necessary.
(f) Notwithstanding Section 39.106(b), the commission shall
adopt rules regarding programs to assist low-income electric
customers in areas where customer choice is available. The
programs may not be targeted to areas served by municipally owned
utilities or electric cooperatives that have not adopted customer
choice. The programs must include:
(1) reduced electric rates and bill payment assistance
described by Subsection (e)(1)(B); and
(2) targeted energy efficiency programs to be
administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community
Affairs in coordination with existing weatherization programs.
(g) The commission by rule shall require electric
cooperatives that have adopted customer choice, municipally owned
utilities that have adopted customer choice, and retail electric
providers to provide a reduced rate for retail electric service for
low-income electric customers that limits monthly payments to not
more than the greater of 10 percent of the customer's income or $50
per month. The reduced rate for municipally owned utilities and
electric cooperatives under this section is in addition to any rate
reduction that may result from local programs for low-income
electric customers of the municipally owned utility or electric
cooperative. The commission by rule shall establish eligibility
criteria for the reduced electric rates. The criteria must provide
that a customer is eligible for a reduced rate if:
(1) the customer's annual household income is not more
than 150 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the
corresponding household size; or
(2) the customer's household income during the 30 days
before the date of enrollment, if annualized, is not more than 150
percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the corresponding
household size.
(h) An electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, or
retail electric provider may request from the commission
reimbursement from the fund for providing a reduced rate under
Subsection (g). An electric cooperative, municipally owned
utility, or retail electric provider shall be reimbursed from the
fund for the difference between the reduced rate and the rate
established under Section 39.106 or, as appropriate, the rate
established under Section 40.053 or 41.053. The commission shall
adopt rules providing for the reimbursement.
(i) The commission by rule shall provide methods of
enrolling customers eligible to receive reduced rates under
Subsection (g). The rules must provide for automatic enrollment as
one enrollment option.
(j) The commission by rule shall establish the bill payment
assistance program authorized under Subsection (e)(1)(B). The
rules must provide that a customer is eligible to receive the
assistance only if the assistance is necessary to prevent the
disconnection of service for nonpayment of bills and the electric
customer is a seriously ill or disabled low-income person or has in
the customer's household one or more seriously ill or disabled
low-income persons whose health or safety may be injured by the
disconnection. The commission may prescribe the documentation
necessary to demonstrate eligibility for the assistance and may
establish additional eligibility criteria. The Health and Human
Services Commission, on request of the commission, shall assist in
the adoption and implementation of these rules.
(k) A retail electric provider is prohibited from charging
the customer a fee for participation in the reduced rate program.
(l) The commission may not impose a fee for the purpose of
depositing revenue in the fund.
SECTION 4. Section 40.001(a), Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except
Sections 39.155, 39.157(e), 39.203, 39.9035, and 39.904, this
chapter governs the transition to and the establishment of a fully
competitive electric power industry for municipally owned
utilities. With respect to the regulation of municipally owned
utilities, this chapter controls over any other provision of this
title, except for sections in which the term "municipally owned
utility" is specifically used.
SECTION 5. Section 41.001, Utilities Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 41.001. APPLICABLE LAW. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, except Sections 39.155, 39.157(e), 39.203,
39.9035, and 39.904, this chapter governs the transition to and the
establishment of a fully competitive electric power industry for
electric cooperatives. Regarding the regulation of electric
cooperatives, this chapter shall control over any other provision
of this title, except for sections in which the term "electric
cooperative" is specifically used.
SECTION 6. It is the intent of the 88th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2023, that the amendments made by this Act be harmonized
with another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.