Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Stop Shut-Offs During Shutdowns Act”.
Stop Shut-Offs During Shutdowns Act
A BILL
To express the sense of Congress regarding the need for a nationwide moratorium on electric and natural gas utility disconnections during a Government shutdown, to ensure that electric service is not disconnected for electric consumers during certain lapses in appropriations, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Sense of Congress regarding the need for a nationwide moratorium on electric and natural gas utility disconnections during a Government shutdown
It is the sense of Congress that, for the duration of any lapse in interim continuing appropriations or full-year appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services, each relevant State regulatory authority and each electric or natural gas utility that sells electric energy or natural gas to a consumer should ensure that—
no electric or natural gas service to a consumer is terminated based on inability to pay;
reasonable efforts are made to safely reconnect electric and natural gas consumers that have lost service;
no electric or natural gas consumer is charged for reconnection services;
late fees and other penalties are waived for electric and natural gas consumers; and
there are no increases in cost-of-service to electric and natural gas consumers.
Sec. 3 Procedures for termination of electric service
Section 115(g) of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2625(g)) is amended—
in paragraph (2)—
by striking “such service may not be terminated.” in the undesignated matter following subparagraph (B);
in subparagraph (B)—
by striking the comma at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by striking “(B) he is” and inserting the following:
“(ii) is”
in subparagraph (A)—
by striking “, or” at the end and inserting “; or”; and
by striking “(A) he is” and inserting the following:
“(i) is”
in the matter preceding clause (i) (as so redesignated)—
by striking “and such consumer establishes that” and inserting “if the consumer establishes that the consumer”; and
by striking “(2) during any period when termination of service to an electric consumer” and inserting the following:
“(B) no electric service to an electric consumer may be terminated during any period in which such termination”
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “, and” at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
by striking “(1) no” and inserting the following:
“(A) no”
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated), by striking “The procedures” and inserting the following:
“(1) Procedures—The procedures”
in the undesignated matter following paragraph (1)(B)(ii) (as so redesignated), by striking “Such procedures” and inserting the following:
“(2) Requirement—The procedures under paragraph (1)”
in paragraph (1) (as so redesignated), by adding at the end the following:
“(C) no electric service to an electric consumer may be terminated during any period in which interim continuing appropriations or full-year appropriations are not in effect for the Department of Health and Human Services.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(3) Recovery of certain costs—Costs incurred by an electric utility to comply with paragraph (1)(C) may not be retroactively assessed on electric consumers for whom electric service would have been terminated if not for the requirements of that paragraph, but a State regulatory authority, after notice and an opportunity for comment, may establish an alternative mechanism that permits an electric utility to recover those costs if the State regulatory authority determines that the costs—
“(A) are substantial;
“(B) were prudently incurred; and
“(C) cannot reasonably be recovered through—
“(i) regulated rates or market prices for the electric energy or any services sold by the electric utility; or
“(ii) any supplemental funding received by the State or electric utility for the purpose of responding to the applicable lapse in appropriations.”