S 1576

Florida Senate - 2026  SB 1576
By Senator Smith
17-00885A-26  20261576__
1A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to residential utility disconnections;
3creating s. 366.043, F.S.; defining terms; prohibiting
4an electric utility, a public utility, or a water
5utility from disconnecting service to residential
6customers for nonpayment of bills or fees under
7specified circumstances; requiring such utilities to
8waive reconnection fees and late fees in certain
9circumstances; requiring such utilities to refer to
10the National Weather Service for the forecasted heat
11index and forecasted temperatures; prohibiting such
12utilities from disconnecting service to residential
13customers for nonpayment of bills or fees on specified
14days; prohibiting such utilities from recovering from
15customers any fee or expense incurred in complying
16with the act; requiring such utilities to provide, in
17a specified manner, their policy for disconnection for
18nonpayment to residential customers; requiring an
19electric utility to publish alerts informing
20residential customers of certain disconnection
21suspensions; requiring that all notices of nonpayment
22of bills and fees provide an offer of bill payment
23assistance or provide certain information; prohibiting
24such utilities from disconnecting service for
25nonpayment of bills and fees until an account is past
26due by at least a specified number of days; providing
27construction; authorizing such utilities to suspend
28disconnections voluntarily in order to protect the
29health and safety of customers and the reliability of
30services; providing penalties and remedies; providing
31an effective date.
32
33Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
34
35Section 1. Section 366.043, Florida Statutes, is created to
36read:
37366.043Disconnection of utilities.—
38(1) As used in this section, the term:
39(a) “Extreme weather event” means any event in which
40weather, climate, or environmental conditions present a danger
41to life or property, including, but not limited to, heavy
42rainfall, flooding, storm surge, strong winds, a tropical storm
43or depression, a hurricane, or a tornado.
44(b) “Forecasted heat index” means the measure of how hot
45the outdoor weather will feel to the human body when the effects
46of humidity are added to high temperatures predicted by the
47National Weather Service.
48(c) “Water utility” means a water or wastewater utility
49including every person, lessee, trustee, or receiver owning,
50operating, managing, controlling, or proposing the construction
51of a system, which provides, or proposes to provide, water or
52wastewater service to the public for compensation.
53(2) An electric utility, a public utility, or a water
54utility may not disconnect service to any residential customer
55for the nonpayment of bills or fees if:
56(a) The forecasted heat index is at or above 90 degrees
57Fahrenheit for more than 3 consecutive hours within the 24 hours
58before or after the scheduled disconnection;
59(b) The forecasted temperature is at or below 32 degrees
60Fahrenheit for more than 3 consecutive hours within 48 hours
61before the scheduled disconnection; or
62(c) A state of emergency is declared for an extreme weather
63event or public health emergency within 24 hours before or after
64the scheduled disconnection. Scheduled service disconnections
65may resume upon the shorter of either 24 hours after the state
66of emergency is lifted or 60 days after the declaration of the
67state of emergency.
68(3) An electric utility, a public utility, or a water
69utility must waive reconnection fees and late fees for any
70residential customer attempting to reestablish utility service
71after being disconnected for nonpayment if:
72(a) The heat index is at or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit for
73more than 3 consecutive hours on the day of disconnection; or
74(b) The temperature is at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit
75for more than 3 consecutive hours on the day of disconnection.
76(4) To ascertain the forecasted heat index and forecasted
77temperature as provided in this section, each respective
78electric utility, public utility, or water utility shall refer
79to the weather forecast as provided by the National Weather
80Service for the zip code area where the customer scheduled for
81disconnection is located.
82(5) An electric utility, a public utility, or a water
83utility may not disconnect service to any residential customer
84for nonpayment of bills or fees on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
85state holiday, or day immediately preceding a state holiday.
86(6) An electric utility, a public utility, or a water
87utility may not recover from its customers any fee or expense it
88incurs in complying with this section.
89(7)(a) An electric utility, a public utility, or a water
90utility shall provide its residential customers with a copy of
91its disconnection for nonpayment policy:
921. When a new residential account is established;
932. When any disconnection for nonpayment of bills or fees
94is scheduled. The utility’s notice of disconnection must include
95a copy of the policy with the notice; and
963. By publishing the disconnection for nonpayment policy on
97the utility’s website.
98(b) An electric utility shall publish alerts informing its
99residential customers of the suspension of the disconnection of
100services due to a forecasted heat index above 90 degrees
101Fahrenheit, forecasted temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit,
102or an extreme weather event.
103(8) All notices of nonpayment of bills or fees must provide
104an offer of bill payment assistance and instructions on how to
105arrange a payment plan or must provide information to the
106customer on other available bill payment assistance or energy
107assistance programs.
108(9) An electric utility, a public utility, or a water
109utility may not disconnect service for nonpayment of bills or
110fees for residential customers until a customer account is at
111least 60 days past due.
112(10) This section may not be construed to limit an electric
113utility, a public utility, or a water utility from voluntarily
114suspending scheduled disconnections during other extreme weather
115events, emergency conditions, incidents pursuant to s. 366.15(5)
116or (6), or circumstances in which it determines that such
117suspension is necessary to protect the health and safety of its
118customers and the reliability of its service in this state.
119Further, this section may not be construed to prohibit emergency
120disconnections for health and safety purposes or the occurrence
121of an automatic service suspension associated with prepaid
122utility service.
123(11)(a) An electric utility, a public utility, or a water
124utility that violates this section is liable to the unlawfully
125disconnected residential customer for actual and consequential
126damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, and court costs,
127including attorney fees, in addition to any penalties imposed
128pursuant to s. 366.095. Subsequent or repeated violations
129unrelated to the initial violation are subject to separate
130awards of damages. Any applicable sovereign immunity is hereby
131waived for the purposes of this section.
132(b) A violation of this section constitutes irreparable
133harm for the purposes of injunctive relief.
134(c) The remedies provided by this section are not exclusive
135and do not preclude a disconnected residential customer from
136pursuing any other remedy at law or equity which may be
137available to the customer.
138Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.