Wisconsin households facing high energy bills would have payment limits

The Public Service Commission would use income-based rates or financial help to meet the household payment limit. Eligible households would share residential energy bills totaling at least 2% of annual income divided by 12, or have no annual income and include someone paying electricity or gas bills. The commission could limit help to a primary home and set usage limits no lower than twice each utility’s median residential usage. It would have to grant online exemption requests for reasonable household needs. Priority would go to households using investor-owned utilities whose income is no more than 300% of federal poverty guidelines and whose bills reach 4% of average monthly income or who have no annual income. The commission would use Department of Revenue income data, automatically enroll eligible households, offer an online application, and reach out to communities with heavy energy burdens. The commission would report on the program to the governor and legislature each year by November 1. Rates or help would begin by the first day of the 13th month beginning after the launch rule takes effect. The text says “this section” stops applying after the first day of the 37th month beginning after the enrollment rule takes effect; whether this ends the whole program or only automatic enrollment is unclear.

Electricity and gas public utilities would be barred from disconnecting covered homes for unpaid bills. The nonpayment protection would cover homes with gross annual income no greater than 300% of federal poverty guidelines. Customers whose homes were wrongly disconnected could ask the Public Service Commission to order reconnection. 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 reconnect service would have to do so within three days.

Public utility gross-revenue tax collections would go into the energy burden relief fund to pay for the household payment program. The separate fund would support the Public Service Commission’s household electricity and gas payment program. The fund would receive all money collected under the two utility tax provisions named in the bill. The Public Service Commission could spend the amount needed to operate the program, rather than a fixed dollar amount.