# 119-hr-8568: Lowering Utility Bills Act

119-hr-8568, Lowering Utility Bills Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35] (D-TX); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8568
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8568
- Congress: 119
- Title: Lowering Utility Bills Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-29
- Sponsor: Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35] (D-TX)
- Cosponsors: 27
- Policy area: Energy
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Creates a standardized return-on-equity (ROE) framework for interstate electricity transmission providers and bars many corporate and political expenses from being recovered in customer rates.** It would require regulators to set implementing rules within 120 days and tighten what counts as prudent transmission spending. - Transmission providers would face a set ROE range based on three midpoint estimates drawn from the prior five years: estimates from financial academics, large financial institutions, and Global Systemically Important Banks. The allowed ROE would default to the lowest value in that range unless the provider proves by clear and convincing evidence that a higher ROE is needed to attract capital and maintain financial integrity. - Utilities could not pass a long list of costs into rates, including lobbying and many membership dues, advertising (unless approved), board travel and entertainment, investor relations, outside attorneys and expert fees for rate proceedings, charitable or political contributions, nonregulated goods, and fines. - Companies seeking cost recovery must show, with substantial evidence, that they prioritized grid-enhancing technologies and lower-cost alternatives and that projects went through a compliant regional planning process. The bill defines key terms such as "financial academic" and a "financial institution" (entities managing at least $2 trillion) and repeals Section 219 with related cross-reference updates.

## Cosponsors (27)

- Rep. Riley, Josh [D-NY-19] (D-NY), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ryan, Patrick [D-NY-18] (D-NY), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ansari, Yassamin [D-AZ-3] (D-AZ), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Foushee, Valerie P. [D-NC-4] (D-NC), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D-NY), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goodlander, Maggie [D-NH-2] (D-NH), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Green, Al [D-TX-9] (D-TX), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mannion, John W. [D-NY-22] (D-NY), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClain Delaney, April [D-MD-6] (D-MD), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Menefee, Christian D. [D-TX-18] (D-TX), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mfume, Kweisi [D-MD-7] (D-MD), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mrvan, Frank J. [D-IN-1] (D-IN), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12] (D-CA), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10] (D-VA), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Frost, Maxwell [D-FL-10] (D-FL), 2026-07-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Escobar, Veronica [D-TX-16] (D-TX), 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24] (D-FL), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Stop customers paying corporate utility costs: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would ban utilities from recovering many corporate, political, and nonregulated business costs through customer rates. Banned items include lobbying and political costs, membership dues to certain trade groups, many advertising and public-influence expenses (unless specifically…
- Lower allowed utility returns for consumers: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would make the regulator set a new standardized method for transmission ROE. The ROE range would come from three five-year averages of market-return estimates from financial academics, very large financial institutions, and Global Systemically Important Banks. The regulator wou…
- Stricter rules for transmission projects: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require transmission providers to show by substantial evidence that they prioritized grid-enhancing technologies and lower-cost alternatives before getting cost recovery. The bill would also require that projects were subject to a regional planning process that meets Comm…
- Protect existing utility labor contracts: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would say that nothing in this section should be read to preempt, reduce, or interfere with any collective bargaining agreement that exists on the enactment date. The protection covers only agreements already in place when the bill is enacted.

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act
- 119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-8568 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8568)

## Related
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5390)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1589)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8568 (as of 2026-09-21).