79R3856 JJT-D

By:  Turner                                                       H.B. No. 555



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to safeguards for customers of retail public utilities in 
the electric power market.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 39.101, Utilities Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (h) and adding Subsections (i)-(k) to read as 
follows:
	(h)  A retail electric provider, power generation company, 
aggregator, or other entity that provides retail electric service 
may not disconnect service to a residential customer [during an 
extreme weather emergency or] on a weekend day or during any month 
on or after a day of that month that the heat index reaches 100 
degrees Fahrenheit or higher or reaches 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 
lower.  The entity providing service shall defer collection of the 
full payment of bills that are due during a period described by this 
subsection [an extreme weather emergency] until after the period
[emergency] is over and shall work with customers to establish a pay 
schedule for deferred bills.  [For purposes of this subsection, 
"extreme weather emergency" means a period when:
		[(1)  the previous day's highest temperature did not 
exceed 32 degrees Fahrenheit and the temperature is predicted to 
remain at or below that level for the next 24 hours according to the 
nearest National Weather Service reports;  or
		[(2)  the National Weather Service issues a heat 
advisory for any county in the relevant service territory, or when 
such an advisory has been issued on any one of the previous two 
calendar days.]
	(i)  In accordance with commission rules:                               
		(1)  field service personnel of the transmission and 
distribution utility shall:
			(A)  accept from a residential customer payment 
for the customer's past due bills and transfer the payment to the 
appropriate retail electric provider;
			(B)  cancel a disconnection procedure if the 
personnel verify that the customer's payment for past due bills has 
been made or cannot verify a residential customer's receipt showing 
the payment has been made that is presented at the time the 
personnel arrive for conducting the disconnection; and
			(C)  reconnect service to a residential customer 
whose service was disconnected for nonpayment not later than the 
24th hour after the hour the utility is notified that the customer's 
debt to the retail electric provider is paid; and
		(2)  a retail electric provider shall:                                 
			(A)  implement for electric service to a 
residential customer whose household income is at or below the 
federal poverty guideline a special payment plan that provides for 
such a customer to pay not more than a percentage of household 
income prescribed by the commission as a flat, reduced rate for 
service;
			(B)  allow a residential customer at least 30 days 
to pay a bill for services;
			(C)  offer to all residential customers, 
regardless of credit history and payment history, a billing plan 
that provides for an equal periodic payment for electric services 
based on previous billings over time and adjustments for fuel 
costs;
			(D)  accept a security deposit from a residential 
customer as a means of qualifying for credit, in an amount not to 
exceed a reasonable estimate of an average monthly charge for the 
customer;
			(E)  use a residential customer's bill payment 
history, if any, in determining the customer's qualifications for 
credit; and
			(F)  notify the appropriate transmission and 
distribution utility that a customer's debt to the provider has 
been paid, not later than 24 hours after the provider receives the 
payment, if the customer's service was disconnected for nonpayment.
	(j)  A retail electric provider may not use credit scoring to 
determine charges for residential electric service or for any other 
purpose in relation to residential services other than to evaluate 
whether a residential customer must qualify for credit by making a 
security deposit.
	(k)  A retail electric provider shall report to the 
commission monthly the number of customers the provider has 
disconnected categorized by the reason for disconnection.  A retail 
electric provider may not disclose the identity of a person whose 
service was disconnected.  The commission shall maintain the 
reports and make them readily available to the public.
	SECTION 2.  Section 39.902(c), Utilities Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
	(c)  After the opening of the retail electric market, the 
commission shall conduct ongoing customer education designed to 
help customers make informed choices of electric services and 
retail electric providers.  As part of ongoing education, the 
commission shall [may] provide or make available to customers 
information concerning [specific] retail electric providers, 
including all instances of complaints against them and records 
relating to quality of customer service.
	SECTION 3.  The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall 
adopt rules under Section 39.101, Utilities Code, as amended by 
this Act, not later than December 31, 2005.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.