89R1100 CS-D

By: Hernandez H.B. No. 1359

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a program to provide assistance for certain retail electric customers; authorizing a fee.

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.

(e) Subsection (d) does not apply in a state 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, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 39.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter, other than Sections 39.151, 39.1516, 39.155, 39.157(e), 39.161, 39.162, 39.163, 39.203, 39.9035, 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), [and] 39.203, and 39.9035 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 established as a trust fund outside the state treasury to be held by the comptroller and administered without further appropriation by the commission as trustee on behalf of persons eligible to receive monetary assistance from the fund or support from programs paid for using money in the fund.

(c) The fund is financed by a nonbypassable fee collected by each retail electric provider and each municipally owned utility and electric cooperative that has adopted customer choice. The commission shall set the amount of the fee, which may not exceed 65 cents per megawatt hour. The fee must be charged to retail electric customers based on the number of kilowatt hours used by the customer. The commission shall set the fee biennially in a reasonable amount necessary to produce sufficient revenue to cover the estimated cost of administering this section during the period for which the fee is in effect. When setting the fee for an applicable period, the commission must consider the balance of the fund, if any, that is available for the purposes for which the fund may be used during that period. The commission shall publish the fee set under this subsection and the period for which the fee will be in effect in the Texas Register. The proceeds of the fee shall be remitted to the comptroller for deposit to the credit of the fund.

(d) The fund consists of:

(1) revenue from the fee established under Subsection (c);

(2) money appropriated, credited, transferred, or deposited to the credit of the fund by the legislature;

(3) gifts, grants, or donations made to the fund; and

(4) interest or other earnings attributable to the investment of money in the fund.

(e) Money in the fund may be used 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 discounts described by Subsection (g); and

(B) provide one-time bill payment assistance as described by Subsection (m) to critical care residential customers, as defined by Section 17.002, who have received notice of an impending service disconnection for nonpayment;

(2) customer education that provides information on other assistance programs;

(3) administrative expenses incurred by the commission in implementing and administering this chapter and expenses incurred by the office under this chapter; and

(4) reimbursement to the commission and the Health and Human Services Commission for expenses incurred in the implementation and administration of the automatic identification process established under Section 17.007 for customer service discounts relating to retail electric service, including outreach expenses the commission determines are reasonable and necessary.

(f) 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.

(g) Programs adopted under Subsection (f) must include a retail electric service discount program for low-income electric customers that the commission implements for the purpose of making the reimbursements authorized under Subsection (j). 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 the discount. The commission shall set the amount of the discount as a fixed amount and may periodically revise the fixed amount. The discount for electric cooperatives that have adopted customer choice and municipally owned utilities that have adopted customer choice must be 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.

(h) The commission by rule shall establish eligibility criteria for the discount program required under Subsection (g). The criteria must provide that a customer is eligible for a discount if identified by the Health and Human Services Commission as eligible as a low-income customer under Section 17.007.

(i) The commission by rule shall prescribe methods of enrolling customers eligible to receive a discount under Subsection (g) that are compatible with the automatic identification process established under Section 17.007. The rules must provide for automatic enrollment as one enrollment option for customers that have been identified as low-income customers under Section 17.007.

(j) The commission shall provide reimbursement from the fund for each electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, or retail electric provider that provides a discount under Subsection (g) for the amount of the discount provided to eligible customers. The commission shall adopt rules providing for the reimbursement.

(k) Money distributed from the fund to a municipally owned utility or an electric cooperative shall be proportional to the nonbypassable fee paid by the municipally owned utility or electric cooperative, subject to the reimbursement provided by Subsection (j). On request by a municipally owned utility or an electric cooperative, the commission shall reduce the nonbypassable fee imposed on retail electric customers served by the municipally owned utility or electric cooperative by an amount equal to the amount provided by the municipally owned utility or electric cooperative or its ratepayers for local low-income programs.

(l) A retail electric provider may not charge the customer a fee for receiving a discount.

(m) Programs adopted under Subsection (f) must include a bill payment assistance program as described by Subsection (e)(1)(B). 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. The commission shall provide reimbursement from the fund for each electric cooperative, municipally owned utility, or retail electric provider that provides bill payment assistance under this subsection for the amount of the bill payment assistance provided to eligible customers. The commission shall adopt rules providing for the reimbursement.

(n) The commission shall annually review and approve fund accounts, projected revenue requirements, and proposed nonbypassable fees.

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), [and] 39.203, and 39.9035, 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), [and] 39.203, and 39.9035, 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. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.