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HR9340119th CongressWALLET

Ratepayer Protection Act

Sponsored By: Representative Evans, Gabe [R-CO-8]

In Committee

Summary

Requires big industrial and commercial customers to cover the full incremental cost of any grid upgrades needed to serve them. The bill adds a new PURPA standard that also forces those customers to post financial assurances before utilities build upgrades and sets who counts as a "large-load" customer.

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  • Large-load customers: A non-residential customer that requests or signs a contract for at least 100 megawatts at a single site or campus must pay rates designed to recover the full incremental cost of generation, transmission, and distribution upgrades and provide financial assurances before upgrades occur.
  • Electric utilities: Utilities may design rates or contracts to recover upgrade costs from the large-load customer, including situations where the customer ends a contract or stops buying power.
  • State regulators and nonregulated utilities: State authorities must start considering the new standard within 1 year and finish determinations within 2 years, unless the State already adopted or was considering a comparable rule before enactment.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

2 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.

Big electricity users pay upgrade costs

If enacted, a "large-load customer" would be any non-residential customer that requests service for facilities that together peak at 100 megawatts or more at one site or campus. The bill would require utility rates for those customers to be designed to recover the full, incremental cost of any generation, transmission, or distribution upgrade needed to serve the load. That cost recovery would also cover cases where the large-load customer later ends a contract or stops buying power. Before making upgrades, utilities would have to get financial assurances or contributions from the large-load customer to cover the upgrade cost.

States must decide utility upgrade rules

If enacted, state utility regulators and unregulated electric utilities would have to start considering the new large-load customer standard within 1 year of enactment. They would have to finish consideration and decide within 2 years of enactment. The deadlines would not apply in a State that already implemented or considered the same or a comparable standard before enactment. If enacted, these timing and citation changes would take effect on enactment.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Evans, Gabe [R-CO-8]

CO • R

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14]

    FL • D

    Sponsored 6/18/2026

  • Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2]

    NJ • R

    Sponsored 6/23/2026

  • Rep. Joyce, John [R-PA-13]

    PA • R

    Sponsored 6/25/2026

  • Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10]

    TX • R

    Sponsored 6/29/2026

  • Rep. Baumgartner, Michael [R-WA-5]

    WA • R

    Sponsored 6/29/2026

  • Rep. Fuller, Clay [R-GA-14]

    GA • R

    Sponsored 6/30/2026

  • Rep. Wittman, Robert J. [R-VA-1]

    VA • R

    Sponsored 6/30/2026

  • Rep. Onder, Robert F. [R-MO-3]

    MO • R

    Sponsored 7/13/2026

  • Rep. Hageman, Harriet M. [R-WY-At Large]

    WY • R

    Sponsored 7/20/2026

  • Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7]

    NJ • R

    Sponsored 7/20/2026

  • Rep. Van Orden, Derrick [R-WI-3]

    WI • R

    Sponsored 7/20/2026

  • Rep. McGuire, John J. [R-VA-5]

    VA • R

    Sponsored 7/20/2026

  • Rep. Griffith, H. Morgan [R-VA-9]

    VA • R

    Sponsored 7/21/2026

  • Rep. Mackenzie, Ryan [R-PA-7]

    PA • R

    Sponsored 7/23/2026

  • Rep. Bishop, Sanford D., Jr. [D-GA-2]

    GA • D

    Sponsored 7/27/2026

  • Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4]

    VA • D

    Sponsored 8/3/2026

  • Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5]

    NJ • D

    Sponsored 8/3/2026

  • Rep. Lee, Laurel M. [R-FL-15]

    FL • R

    Sponsored 8/17/2026

  • Rep. Cuellar, Henry [D-TX-28]

    TX • D

    Sponsored 8/17/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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