Proposal would temporarily cap eligible households’ energy bills by income

Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission would use income-based rates or financial help to limit eligible households’ covered electricity and gas costs. Eligible households share residential electricity or gas bills totaling at least 2% of annual income divided by 12. Households with no annual income also qualify if someone pays an electricity or gas bill. The commission could limit help to primary homes and set covered-use limits no lower than twice each utility’s median residential use. It would grant exceptions for necessary, reasonable home use. Priority would go to households spending at least 4% of monthly income on energy or having no annual income, if they use investor-owned utilities and earn no more than 300% of federal poverty guidelines. The commission would use state tax-agency income information, automatically enroll eligible households, offer online applications, and reach out to communities with high energy burdens. The commission would report annually to the governor and legislature on participation, finances, barriers to joining, and policy recommendations. Rates or financial help would start by the first day of the 13th month beginning after the launch subsection takes effect. The program section would stop applying after the first day of the 37th month beginning after the automatic-enrollment paragraph takes effect.

Electricity and gas utilities would be barred from disconnecting covered homes for nonpayment. The nonpayment protection would cover homes with gross annual income at or below 300% of federal poverty guidelines. A customer whose home was wrongly disconnected could ask the Public Service Commission to order reconnection. Reconnection would depend on the commission granting the request. Utilities would report all residential disconnections each year. The commission would publish those reports and send a summary to the governor and legislature. The commission would decide a reconnection request within 30 days of receiving it. A utility ordered to restore service would have to do so within three days.

The state would direct all utility gross-revenue tax receipts into a separate fund and set aside enough money from it to operate the payment program. The energy burden relief fund would support the Public Service Commission’s household electricity and gas payment program. Money in the fund would carry forward rather than expire at the end of a budget period. The money would pay for operating the income-based payment program; no fixed dollar amount is stated.