Bill Summary
The "Stop the Rate Hikes Act" is a proposed amendment to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, aimed at regulating the frequency of retail utility rate increases. The legislation mandates that utility companies can only request a rate increase once every 365 days. This measure is intended to provide consumers with greater stability and predictability in their utility costs, preventing frequent and potentially burdensome price hikes. By limiting rate increases to once a year, the Act seeks to protect consumers from escalating utility bills and promote fair pricing practices within the utility sector.
Possible Impacts
The "Stop the Rate Hikes Act" could affect people in the following ways:
1. **Stability of Utility Bills**: By limiting electric utility companies to one rate increase per year, consumers may experience greater predictability in their monthly utility bills. This stability can help households budget more effectively, reducing the financial strain that can arise from sudden and multiple rate increases throughout the year.
2. **Consumer Protection**: The legislation provides an additional layer of protection for consumers against excessive rate hikes. With only one rate increase allowed per year, utility companies may be deterred from requesting large, sudden increases, ensuring that consumers are not disproportionately impacted by spikes in energy costs.
3. **Encouragement of Utility Accountability**: The requirement for utilities to plan and justify their rate increase requests more carefully (since they can only make one such request annually) could lead to more responsible financial practices within these companies. This accountability may result in better service and maintenance of infrastructure, ultimately benefiting consumers through improved reliability and efficiency of utility services.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5141 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5141
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to require
States to consider measures that limit the amount of retail utility
rate increases a utility company can request to once every 365 days.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 4, 2025
Mr. Harder of California introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to require
States to consider measures that limit the amount of retail utility
rate increases a utility company can request to once every 365 days.
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 ``Stop the Rate Hikes Act''.
SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF MEASURES TO CAP RETAIL UTILITY RATE INCREASES
TO ONCE A YEAR.
Section 111(d) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of
1978 (16 U.S.C. 2621(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(22) Cap on retail utility rate increases to once a
year.--Each electric utility shall request no more than one
rate increase once per year.''.
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