SB 17-105

Senate Bill 17-105, also known as the "Consumer Right To Know Electric Utility Charges," requires electric companies that are owned by investors to provide clearer and more detailed billing information to their customers. This means that these companies must include a breakdown of all monthly charges, show how much energy was used at different rate tiers, display usage history for the past year in an easy-to-read format, and explain any demand rates if applicable. Additionally, twice a year, these utilities must inform customers about what percentage of their power comes from each type of fuel source. The bill has been signed into law, so electric companies now need to follow these new billing requirements to help consumers better understand their electricity costs.

Official Summary

The bill requires an investor-owned electric utility to file with the public utilities commission (commission) for the commission's review a comprehensive billing format that the investor-owned electric utility has developed for its monthly billing of customers. An investor-owned electric utility shall file the comprehensive billing format pursuant to a schedule determined by the commission. The comprehensive billing format must include the following: A line-item representation of all monthly charges and credits applied to the customer and an indication whether the charges have increased from the prior month as a result of increased fuel costs; For months in which tiered rates are applied, a breakdown of the tiered rates and the amount of usage to which each rate was applied for the month; The rate and usage for the current month and each of the previous 12 months, as shown in a bar graph or other visual format; and For customers to which demand rates apply, a listing of the demand charge, aggregated data about the demand during the billing period, and, if the customer is a residential customer, a calculation of the amount that the customer would have been billed had standard residential rates applied. The bill also requires each investor-owned utility to provide its customers, on a biannual basis, with an insert that indicates, as a percentage, each fuel source used in power generation and purchased for the utility. The bill sets forth procedures for the commission's review of a filed comprehensive billing format and provides that once a comprehensive billing format has been approved by the commission, the investor-owned utility need not refile it unless changes have been made to it. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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