[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10081 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10081
To condition the granting of State energy program financial assistance
on compliance with rules banning spurious charges by regulated electric
utilities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 10, 2026
Mr. Vindman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To condition the granting of State energy program financial assistance
on compliance with rules banning spurious charges by regulated electric
utilities, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Utility Junk Fees Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Regulated electric utilities hold special privileges
and obligations to serve the public interest, including keeping
energy bills reasonable and affordable for residential
consumers.
(2) Spurious charges by regulated electric utilities
constitute an unjustified extraction of money from residential
consumers beyond the legitimate costs of electricity delivery,
contradicting utilities' fundamental obligation as stewards of
public infrastructure.
(3) Payment convenience fees and other junk fees directly
increase the total cost of energy for residential consumers,
making electricity less affordable and undermining efforts to
expand access to reliable energy.
(4) Many regulated electric utilities impose fees on
payment channels that cost them little to nothing to process,
extracting pure profit under the guise of cost recovery.
(5) Conditioning the granting of State energy program
financial assistance on the elimination of spurious charges is
a reasonable exercise of the spending power of Congress to
ensure Federal energy efficiency investments benefit
residential consumers rather than subsidize utility fee
extraction.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Cost of acceptance.--The term ``cost of acceptance''--
(A) means the direct, documented cost incurred by a
regulated electric utility, or its third-party service
provider, for processing a payment through a payment
channel, including costs incurred from interchange
fees, gateway or processor fees, payment fraud
prevention charges, and labor costs directly
attributable to processing the payment though the
payment channel; and
(B) does not include general overhead, profit
margins, or operational costs incurred by the regulated
electric utility, or its third-party service provider,
that are not directly tied to payment processing.
(2) Payment channel.--The term ``payment channel'' means
any mechanism by which a residential consumer may make a
payment for electric energy consumed by the residential
consumer and includes the mail, the telephone, the internet,
automated clearing houses, and in-person services provided at
an office or kiosk.
(3) Regulated electric utility.--The term ``regulated
electric utility'' has the meaning given the term ``State
regulated electric utility'' in section 3 of the Public Utility
Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602).
(4) Residential consumer.--The term ``residential
consumer'' means any individual that purchases electric energy
for personal, family, or household purposes.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(6) Spurious charge.--The term ``spurious charge'' means
any charge imposed by a regulated electric utility, or its
third-party service provider, on a residential consumer as a
condition of accepting a payment for electric energy made using
a payment channel that--
(A) exceeds the greater of--
(i) the amount equal to 150 percent of the
regulated electric utility's documented cost of
acceptance; or
(ii) $3.00;
(B) is imposed on a residential consumer who used a
payment channel though which the regulated electric
utility incurred no documented cost of acceptance,
including in-person payments at utility offices,
automatic recurring payments, direct automated clearing
house transfers, and mail payments; or
(C) is imposed without affirmative, prior, and
clear disclosure of--
(i) the amount of the charge;
(ii) the reason for the charge;
(iii) the total amount due, including the
charge and any other amount due; and
(iv) information about a payment channel
that could be used by the residential consumer
that does not include the charge.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given such
term in section 3 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42
U.S.C. 6202).
(8) State energy program financial assistance.--The term
``State energy program financial assistance'' means the
financial assistance granted to a State under section 363 of
the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6323).
SEC. 4. CONDITION ON GRANTING STATE ENERGY PROGRAM FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding part D of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6321 et seq.), beginning with the first
full fiscal year following the date of enactment of this section, the
Secretary shall withhold 10 percent of the amount of State energy
program financial assistance to be granted to a State in a fiscal year
unless the Secretary determines the State--
(1) prohibits electric utilities regulated by the State
from imposing spurious charges on residential consumers;
(2) requires electric utilities regulated by the State to,
when billing a residential consumer for the electric energy
consumed by the residential consumer, disclose to such
consumer--
(A) the amount of any charge applied that reflects
a cost associated with processing the payment submitted
by the residential consumer;
(B) the reason for any such charge;
(C) information about a payment channel that could
be used by the residential consumer to pay the bill
that would not incur such charge; and
(D) the total amount due, including any such charge
and any other amount due;
(3) requires electric utilities regulated by the State to
makes available to residential consumers at least one fee-free
payment channel that is accessible without internet access;
(4) prohibits electric utilities regulated by the State
from imposing fees on automatic recurring payments and
electronic fund transfers (as such term is defined in section
903 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693a)) by
residential consumers; and
(5) enforces the prohibitions and requirements of
paragraphs (1) through (4), including by investigating
complaints, imposing penalties for noncompliance, and allowing
residential consumers to seek recovery of unlawfully assessed
fees.
(b) Compliance.--
(1) Submission of documentation.--Not later than 18 months
after the date of enactment of this section, and annually
thereafter, each State shall submit to the Secretary
documentation that demonstrates the State's compliance with
subsection (a).
(2) Determination of compliance.--Not later than 60 days
after receiving complete documentation submitted by a State
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall determine whether the
State is in compliance with subsection (a).
(c) Restoration.--If the Secretary withholds from a State financial
assistance under subsection (a), the Secretary shall grant to the State
the withheld financial assistance in the following fiscal year if the
State is in compliance for that fiscal year.
(d) Cure Period.--If the Secretary determines a State does not
comply with subsection (a) for a fiscal year, the State shall have 90
days to remedy the noncompliance before the Secretary withholds
financial assistance from the State under subsection (a).
(e) Methods of Compliance.--A State may comply with subsection (a)
through any legally binding mechanism under State law, including
legislation, administrative rulemaking, or binding orders of a State
regulatory authority, provided such mechanism achieves the consumer
protections required under such subsection.
(f) Administration.--
(1) In general.--For purposes of carrying out this section,
the Secretary shall--
(A) establish procedures for States to submit
compliance documentation under subsection (b);
(B) maintain a public database that identifies the
status of each State's compliance with subsection (a);
(C) provide technical assistance to States to
comply with subsection (a);
(D) issue guidance interpreting this section;
(E) establish a process to appeal a determination
by the Secretary that a State does not comply with
subsection (a); and
(F) annually report to Congress on State compliance
rates.
(2) Deadline for initial regulations.--The Secretary shall
promulgate regulations to carry out this section not later than
9 months after the date of enactment of this section.
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