H.R. 8947

119 HR 8947 IH: Utility Hikes Transparency Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-05-20
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 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 8947  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   May 20, 2026   Mr. Vindman  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Energy and Commerce    A BILL
To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish and maintain the National Utility Rate Change Tracker, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Utility Hikes Transparency Act  .
2.
National Utility Rate Change Tracker
(a)
Establishment
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall establish and maintain online a publicly accessible, searchable database, to be known as the National Utility Rate Change Tracker, containing information on approved and effective covered utility rate changes.
(b)
Data points
The National Utility Rate Change Tracker established under subsection (a) shall contain, with respect to each approved or effective rate change for a covered utility, the following information:
(1)
The name of the covered utility.
(2)
The services provided by the covered utility.
(3)
The State in which the rate change is applicable.
(4)
The impact of the rate change—
(A)
in dollar and percentage change, to the average residential monthly bill; and
(B)
on total revenue of the covered utility.
(5)
The total number of customers impacted by the rate change.
(6)
The date the rate change was approved.
(7)
A link to the relevant docket for the rate change.
(8)
The primary reason or reasons provided for the rate change.
(9)
The effective date of the rate change.
(c)
Quarterly updates
The Commission shall update information on the National Utility Rate Change Tracker on each date that is the last day of a calendar year quarter.
(d)
Data sources
In updating information on the National Utility Rate Change Tracker, the Commission shall, to the extent practicable—
(1)
use publicly available information; and
(2)
enter into data-sharing agreements with State regulatory authorities.
(e)
Searchability
The National Utility Rate Change Tracker shall be searchable by ZIP Code, address, State, and city.
(f)
Methodology document
The Commission shall publish and maintain with National Utility Rate Change Tracker a plain-language methodology explaining how information contained in the National Utility Rate Change Tracker is collected, standardized, and labeled, including how gaps or conflicts in information are handled.
(g)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Commission
The term  Commission  means the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
(2)
Covered utility
The term  covered utility  means a gas utility (as defined in section 302 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 ( 15 U.S.C. 3202 )) or electric utility that sells electric energy to electric consumers (as defined in section 3 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 2602 )).