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Amend CSHB 11 (house committee printing) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ____. Subchapter A, Chapter 17, Utilities Code, is amended by adding Section 17.011 to read as follows:
Sec. 17.011. CHARGES FOR POWER OUTAGES. (a) A billing utility may not include on a customer's telephone or retail electric bill a fee for any amount directly or indirectly related to a power outage due to a mechanical failure of equipment used by the utility.
(b) A billing utility that charges a customer a fee directly or indirectly related to a power outage shall include, on the first page of the customer's telephone or retail electric bill for that billing cycle, in a manner that is conspicuous and set apart from surrounding written material, the amount of the fee accompanied by the words "blackout fees" set in 10-point font or larger and using letters that are boldfaced, capitalized, and underlined.