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Introduced by
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Referred to Committee on
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Date:
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Subject: Public service; regulation of utility corporations; low-income electric
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bill assistance program
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Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to create a statewide electric bill
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payment assistance program for low income residential customers.
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AN ACT RELATING TO A UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND AND
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PAYMENT PROGRAM FOR ESSENTIAL ELECTRICITY SERVICE
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It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
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Sec. 1. 30 V.S.A. § 209c is added to read:
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§ 209c. UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND AND PAYMENT PROGRAM
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(a) Purpose. It is the purpose of this section to:
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(1) Bring participating customers’ bills into the range of affordability;
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(2) Encourage participating customers to use electricity efficiently and
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participate in conservation and energy efficiency measures that reduce the
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customers’ bills and payment requirements;
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(3) Minimize the administrative costs to be incurred in the development
and implementation of the program; and
(4) Avoid the imposition of un-compensated costs on participating
electric companies.
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(b) Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
(1) “Administrator” means the public service board or the office or
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agency appointed by the board to implement the fair share payment program.
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(2) “Amount overdue” means the amount that an electric company has
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properly billed to a customer that has not been paid in full by the due date of
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the bill or by a date otherwise agreed upon.
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(3) “Eligible customer” means any residential customer of an electric
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company who is taking or is eligible for residential service on a continuing
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year-round basis; and either:
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(A) The customer’s household qualifies for assistance from food
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stamps, Medicaid, TANF, LIHEAP, or programs administered by the office of
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home energy assistance within the agency of human services, pursuant to
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section 25501a of this title; or
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(B) The customer’s household income is at or below 150 percent of
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federal poverty guidelines as defined annually by the U.S. Department of
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Health and Human Services and certified by the agency of human services.
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(4) “Universal Service Fund and Payment Program” (USFPP) is a
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statewide program to assist eligible customers in paying their electric bills.
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(5) “LIHEAP” means “Low Income Home Energy Assistance
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Program,” which is a federally funded program that provides financial
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assistance grants to needy households for home energy bills and is
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implemented by the office of home energy assistance.
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(6) “Participating customer” means a customer who qualifies, has
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applied, and has been determined to have received a benefit pursuant to the
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USFPP by the agency of humans services.
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(7) “Pre-program arrears” means a customer’s electric service account
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amount overdue at the time the customer is determined to be eligible for the
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USFPP. This amount may consist of a customer’s overdue amount that is
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currently billed on the customer’s electric service account and any prior unpaid
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debt owed to the electric company, but which was not transferred to the
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customer’s account prior to the determination of eligibility for the USFPP.
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(8) “Residential customer” means any person who has applied for, been
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accepted, and is receiving residential service from an electric company. (b)
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The board shall adopt by rule or order an USFPP that:
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(1) Shall not diminish existing levels of financial assistance for low
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income households and meet future increases in need caused by economic
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exigencies.
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(2) Shall be available to eligible customers served by electric companies
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subject to the jurisdiction of the board. The board shall specify by order or
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rule means by which program applicants shall be screened and prioritized for
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participation in the USFPP by the agency of human services.
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(3) Shall be funded by an assessment on the customers of all electric
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companies subject to the jurisdiction of the board. The funding amount shall
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be available for USFPP benefits, including arrears forgiveness payments, and
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administrative costs incurred by the program administrator. Any incremental
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administrative costs incurred by an electric company and the agency of human
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services shall also be reimbursed with revenues derived from said assessment.
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Any changes in the program design, customer assessment or budget for the
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USFPP shall be adopted after notice and opportunity for public hearing, and a
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finding by the board that the changes in program design, changes in customer
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assessment, and program budget will ensure that the assistance provided by the
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USFPP is consistent with the needs of participating customers and that all
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reasonable costs of the program will be reflected in the in the assessment to be
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charged to the customers of all electric companies.
(4) Shall establish a tiered discount program which may include (i)
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tiers that are structured to provide participating customers with a monthly
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electricity service payment equal to ___% of the average income within the
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tier, (ii) a pre-program arrears forgiveness component to ensure bill
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affordability; and (iii) terms whereby the collection activity on pre-program
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arrearages of the participants are suspended.
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(6) For each tier the difference between an average customer’s
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calculated monthly “affordable” payment and the statewide average cost of
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electric service will be divided by 12 and applied to the customer’s monthly
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electric service bill in the form of a maximum fixed credit. The credit shall not
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exceed the current month’s electric charges for individual participating
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customer. Any applicable seasonal fuel benefit for the customer’s electric
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service shall be subtracted from the total amount of the otherwise applicable
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fixed credit. [Note that this will add to the administrative cost of the program]
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Any other emergency or crisis assistance LIHEAP payment shall not be
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subtracted from the amount of the fixed credit, but shall be applied to the
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customer’s account in the normal course of the administration of such
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emergency or crisis benefit programs. A participating customer is responsible
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for all actual charges for electric service in excess of the fixed monthly credit.
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(7) May require the customer to enter into a levelized payment or budget
billing plan for the balance of the estimated annual bill in excess of the fixed
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monthly credit (8) Shall ensure that the participating customer will be
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responsible for actual usage during the program year and the actual monthly
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bill in excess of the fixed USFPP benefit so that a participating customer who
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uses in excess of the annual usage used to calculate the fixed credit shall be
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responsible for the payment of the additional charges. [CVPS is not aware of
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other programs where the participating customer stays in their tier and receives
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the same fixed credit based on their income and the average residential bill
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regardless of whether they move to a new house or add electric equipment]
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(9) Shall ensure that during the participants first term of the USFPP
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payment plan, each electric company shall offer a participating customer with
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preprogram arrears an option to obtain forgiveness of the customer’s arrears
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balance pursuant to an arrears forgiveness program adopted by the board. This
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program element shall sunset on ________. [Customers should not enroll in
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the program for the first time 3 years from now and expect to have their arrears
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forgiven. Word would get out and new customers would be expected to enroll
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with very large arrears]
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(10) Shall ensure that as a condition of program enrollment, an USFPP
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participant shall accept referral to entities delivering no-cost or low-cost,
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demand-side management measures and programs that may be available to the
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participant’s dwelling or rental unit unless the participant is a renter and the
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owner or landlord withholds the required consent.
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(11) Shall ensure that the intent of this program is that USFPP assistance
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will not be counted as income or as a resource in other means-tested assistance
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programs for low income households. The USFPP will therefore be
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administered in a way that ensures that USFPP assistance will not result in the
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loss of other federal or state assistance dollars.
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(c) This section does not confer any automatic right or entitlement on any
person.
(d) The board shall establish by order or rule a nonbypassable volumetric
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charge to customers for the support of the USFPP. The charge shall be known
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as the affordability program charge, shall be shown separately on each
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customer's bill, and shall be paid to a fund administrator appointed by the
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board. When such a charge is shown, notice
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about the USFPP shall be provided in a manner directed by the board.
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Balances in the fund shall be ratepayer funds, shall be used to support the
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as to how to obtain information
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activities authorized in this section, and shall be carried forward and remain in
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the fund at the end of each fiscal year. These monies shall not be available to
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meet the general obligations of the state. Interest earned shall remain in the
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fund. The board will annually provide the legislature with a report detailing the
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revenues collected and the expenditures made for the USFPP under this
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section.
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(e) Program funding associated with the costs of the USFPP shall be
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recovered from all customers of each electric company by means of the
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affordability program charge.
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The statewide revenue generated by the
affordability program charge shall not exceed $_____ for any program year.
(f) The board shall require the electric companies to maintain sufficient
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data on participating customers so that the net costs of the program can be
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determined, including participating customer arrearages, incidence of
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nonpayment, disconnection of service, reconnection of service, frequency of
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bill payment, overdue balances incurred, write-off of uncollectible expense,
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customer contacts and disputes, payment arrangement terms, and other relevant
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electric company operations and maintenance expenses, and impacts on
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electric company cash and working capital.
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(g) The board shall appoint an administrator to implement the USFPP in
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coordination with the delivery of LIHEAP and the weatherization assistance
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program, other statewide financial assistance programs, or community-based
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organizations that already have a vital role in the implementation of energy and
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financial assistance programs for low income households that will assure the
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most efficient determination of eligibility by the agency of human services and
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benefit amount in coordination with existing programs in this state.
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(h) During each program year, the administrator shall track and monitor
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program costs, available funds, and cumulative benefit expenditures. The
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administrator shall file quarterly reports with the board in an electronic data
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format satisfactory to the board. The quarterly reports shall include
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information as required by the board to track the implementation and
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performance of the USFPP in meeting the purpose of this program.
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(i) The administrator shall be entitled to receive actual incremental
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administrative costs associated with the implementation of the USFPP to
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include costs incurred by any local community-based organizations and
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electric companies that are associated with the implementation and
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administration of the USFPP.
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(j) The administrator shall develop an automatic enrollment method such
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that potentially eligible participants are identified by the administrator and
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enrolled in the USFPP annually. The board shall require that any entity that
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obtains access to customer-specific account and income information shall
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assure that such information remains private, and that the entity’s use of this
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private information will be limited to the implementation and goals of USFPP.
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The efficiency utility established under 30 VSA 209 shall be informed of all
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participants in the home heating fuel assistance program and the USFPP. The
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transmittal of customer-specific information designed to screen electric
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customers for enrollment in USFPP is intended to implement an additional
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benefit within the meaning of the consumer privacy policies of the federal
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Social Security Act.
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(k) The board shall require that customers who are automatically screened
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and enrolled in the USFPP through the data matching process in subsection (j)
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of this section shall be informed of their enrollment in the program, the amount
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of the fixed credit that will appear on the customer’s electric bill, how to
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participate in the arrears forgiveness program, and the customer’s obligation to
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participate in no-cost or low-cost energy management services. Each customer
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shall also be offered an option to not participate in or opt out of the program.
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(l) The administrator shall conduct an impact and process evaluation of the
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USFPP every two years, which shall analyze and determine the impact of the
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program on program participants and their ability to pay and retain electric
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service, the efficiency and effectiveness of the administration of the program,
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the impact of the program on electric company credit and collection expenses,
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including cash working capital and uncollectible expense, and generally assess
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the costs and benefits of the program. The reasonable costs of any required
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evaluation shall be reimbursed from the USFPP funds.
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(m) The board shall require that the administrator and electric companies
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work together with the program administrator to identify cost-effective ways to
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transfer information electronically and to employ available protocols that will
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minimize administrative costs.
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(n) The electric companies shall bill and collect the monthly bill of an
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USFPP customer pursuant to the same programs and policies as applicable to
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residential customers generally.
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(o) Each electric company shall file quarterly and annual reports with the
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administrator and the board that cumulatively summarize and update program
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information.
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Sec. 2. 30 V.S.A. § 209(b)(4) is added to read:
(4) Prescribe a monthly and rolling 12-month cumulative reporting
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requirement for electric companies that may include information on
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disconnection of service, reconnection of service, deposits, payment
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arrangements, and other indicia of electric company credit and collection
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programs. Such reporting requirements shall require that, with respect to
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residential customer class information, the reporting data be reported
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separately for residential customers as a whole and for those customers
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identified in the electric company’s records as low income residential
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customers as indicated by receipt of financial and energy assistance applied to
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the customer’s account.
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