# 119-hr-10466: End Energy Hardship Act

119-hr-10466, End Energy Hardship Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-07).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10466
- As of: 2026-10-07
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-10466
- Congress: 119
- Title: End Energy Hardship Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-09-16
- Sponsor: Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-07

## Summary

**End household energy arrears and make bills income-based.** This bill would create a two‑phase Utility Affordability Program to eliminate unpaid electric and gas balances and build lasting income‑based bill caps through Qualified Percentage of Income Payment Programs or equivalents. - Families and low‑income households: Automatic enrollment for households at or below the greater of 150% of the Federal poverty level or 60% of a State's median income. Monthly charges would be capped at 6% of gross household income with subcaps of 3% for electric and 3% for heating, and enrolled customers are protected from late fees, disconnections, and certain collections when they make timely payments. - Utilities, States, and territories: Competitive grants would fund eligible distribution utilities to erase arrears and modernize billing systems. The bill provides $25 billion for Phases I and II and up to $5 billion more across FY2027–2031 for technical assistance, program support, data, and reporting. - Administration and oversight: Recipients face a 10% cap on administrative costs and for‑profit recipients must match 10% from owner sources. The Energy Information Administration would collect arrears and disconnection data with annual public reporting and a six‑year evaluation to guide improvements. *This bill would authorize about $30 billion in federal funding, increasing federal spending unless offsets are provided.*

## Provisions PRIA read

- New energy affordability program funding: benefit, high. If enacted, the Energy Department would run a Utility Affordability Program to help make electric and gas service more affordable. The bill would authorize $25 billion total for the program, available until expended. It would also authorize $1 billion per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for…
- Fast utility bill arrears relief: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Department would give Phase I grants to utilities within 12 months to eliminate residential past‑due electric and natural gas balances. Awards could not exceed a utility's total residential arrears and must be used only to wipe out those arrears. Recipients would have a 10% administ…
- Income-based energy payment limits: benefit, medium. If enacted, utilities that get Phase I funds would have to start a long‑running income‑based payment program within 12 months and run it at least 60 months. The program would enroll households at or below the greater of 150% of the Federal poverty level or 60% of the State median income, and allow…
- Utility arrears and enrollment reporting: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Energy Information Administration would collect yearly data from utilities on arrears and enrollments, starting within 12 months. Data would include arrears totals and counts of customers with balances older than 90, 120, and 180 days, instances of disconnection for unpaid bills, an…
- Equal utility credits for customers: benefit, low. If enacted, Phase II funding (not earlier than 24 months after enactment) would be given only to utilities that received Phase I funds. Phase II amounts would be proportional to each utility's residential customer count. Each utility would have to use its Phase II money to give the same dollar cred…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3077: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act
- 119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-10466 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10466)

## Related
- [119-hr-3077: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3077)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5658)
- [119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5356)
- [119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3069)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10466 (as of 2026-10-07).