The Know Your Rates Act would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to create new federal standards requiring electric and gas utilities that receive federal funding to provide enhanced information to their customers about energy use and costs. For covered electric utilities, the bill requires transmission of information on rate schedules and consumption, plus a new program that (a) shows in bills both the dollar difference from the previous bill and the average monthly consumption (in dollars and kilowatt-hours), and (b) sends usage notices on specified days if consumption exceeds the prior billing period. An optional opt-in feature would allow customers to be alerted if their spending within an active billing period reaches a customer-selected threshold. A parallel set of requirements applies to covered gas utilities, including billing information and daily/periodic usage notices in units of dollars and therms, with a similar optional alert. Utilities are designated “covered” if they receive federal funding, as determined by the Commission (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission). In short, the bill aims to give federally funded electric and gas customers more real-time visibility into their energy usage and costs, with structured notifications intended to promote awareness and potentially energy-saving decisions.
Key Points
- 1Expanded information to consumers: The bill adds requirements that covered electric and gas utilities transmit information about rate schedules and consumption in a standardized way, aligned with a new consumer-information program.
- 2Electric billing details and notices: For electric customers, bills must include (i) the difference between current and previous billing amounts, and (ii) average monthly consumption in both dollars and kilowatt-hours. It also requires usage notices: on day 10 if average daily usage so far exceeds the previous period, and on day 20 (or a chosen date) if usage remains higher than the prior period. An optional alert can be enabled to notify if spend within the active period reaches a customer-selected dollar amount tied to rate and consumption.
- 3Gas billing details and notices: For gas customers, bills must include (i) the difference between current and previous billing amounts, and (ii) average monthly consumption in dollars and therms. Gas usage notices follow the same day-10 and day-20 structure as electric, to inform customers when daily usage exceeds the previous period. An optional alert mirrors the electric provision, based on a dollar threshold.
- 4Optional opt-in notices: Both electric and gas programs include an option for customers to receive alerts if spending reaches a chosen threshold within an active billing period, with thresholds tied to the utility’s rate and observed consumption.
- 5Covered utilities defined: The term “covered electric utility” and “covered gas utility” means those utilities that receive federal funding, as determined by the Commission. The new requirements apply to these covered utilities, not necessarily to all utilities.