BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1151

By: Jackson

State Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, natural gas utility companies are required to publish notification of a rate increase in a local newspaper, by postal service, or by inserting the notice in a monthly bill, depending on the population of the customer's municipality.   In recent years, the decline in newspaper circulation has led to a decrease in the effectiveness of newspaper notices, and the corresponding increase in electronic communication has resulted in a greater number of customers handling their accounts electronically.  The goal of S.B. 1151 is to update notification requirements by allowing a natural gas utility to inform customers of rate increases by electronic notification, as well as by publishing a newspaper notice or other means.  This change will improve the speed and efficiency, while reducing the expense, of providing rate increase notices to customers.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 1151 amends a provision of the Utilities Code relating to methods by which a gas utility may provide notice of a utility rate increase to the public in an area outside the affected municipality or in a municipality with a population of less than 2,500 to remove the geographic and population restrictions and to add sending the notice by e-mail to each directly affected customer, if that address is available, to the methods of notice that provide an alternative to publishing the notice in a newspaper.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2011.