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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9630 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9630
To direct the Energy Information Administration to conduct an analysis
and publish a report on changes in the principal electricity cost
components reflected in retail electricity bills for residential
customers and small business customers in each State, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 9, 2026
Mr. Mackenzie (for himself and Ms. Bynum) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Energy Information Administration to conduct an analysis
and publish a report on changes in the principal electricity cost
components reflected in retail electricity bills for residential
customers and small business customers in each State, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Better Information through Line-item
Labeling Drivers Act'' or the ``BILL Drivers Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Residential customers and small business customers in
many States have experienced material increases in electricity
bills driven by multiple, identifiable factors, including
electricity generation, transmission, and distribution costs,
State and local public policy requirements, and taxes.
(2) Publicly available analyses produced by independent
market monitors for Regional Transmission Organizations and
Independent System Operators demonstrate that electricity costs
can be disaggregated into discrete, transparent cost components
at a point in time using existing data and methodologies.
(3) While such component level data exists, it is not
consistently presented to customers or policymakers in a
standardized, accessible format that clearly identifies the
relative magnitude and comparative contribution of each cost
driver to electricity bills.
(4) A clear, point in time identification of electricity
cost components will assist customers and policymakers in
understanding the cost drivers of electricity bills, without
altering retail ratemaking authority or assigning cost
responsibility to individual electric utilities.
SEC. 3. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION ANALYSIS OF ELECTRICITY COST
COMPONENTS.
(a) In General.--The Administrator, in consultation with the
Commission, shall conduct and publish a standardized analysis, for each
State, of changes over the preceding 7-year period in the principal
electricity cost components reflected in retail electricity bills for
residential customers and small business customers.
(b) Contents.--The analysis conducted under this section shall, at
a minimum--
(1) identify changes, for each State, over the preceding 7-
year period in each electricity cost component identified as
applicable by the Administrator, including--
(A) generation costs, including all costs incurred
to generate or procure electric energy and resource
adequacy necessary to serve customer load, regardless
of whether such costs are recovered through competitive
wholesale markets or cost of service regulation;
(B) transmission-related costs;
(C) electricity distribution costs;
(D) State and local taxes and fees, including--
(i) sales and use taxes on electricity;
(ii) gross receipts taxes; and
(iii) municipal utility taxes and other
miscellaneous fees imposed by State or local
governments as determined by the Administrator;
and
(E) State policy cost components;
(2) distinguish, to the extent practicable, among Federal,
State, and local policy-related costs, including taxes and
public policy mandates; and
(3) assess, to the extent practicable, the impacts of large
load additions, including data centers, on electricity cost
trends.
(c) Market Structure Neutrality.--In conducting the analysis under
this section, the Administrator shall identify electricity cost
components in such a manner that enables comparison across States with
differing electricity market structures, including States served by
vertically integrated utilities and States with restructured or
competitive retail electricity markets.
(d) Data Sources.--In conducting the analysis under this section,
the Administrator shall leverage publicly available data, including--
(1) Energy Information Administration Form 861 and related
data sets; and
(2) publicly available reports and analyses produced by
independent market monitors for Regional Transmission
Organizations and Independent System Operators, where
applicable.
(e) Consultation With the Commission.--The Commission shall provide
technical assistance to the Administrator with respect to wholesale
electricity, capacity, transmission, and ancillary services cost trends
and related data under the Commission's jurisdiction, including in
regions with organized wholesale markets.
(f) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a
report on the results of the analysis conducted under this section.
SEC. 4. REGIONAL RELIABILITY AND COST CONTEXT.
(a) In General.--In conducting the analysis under section 3, the
Administrator shall consider relevant findings from the most recent
Long-Term Reliability Assessment published by the Electric Reliability
Organization pursuant to section 215(g) of the Federal Power Act (16
U.S.C. 824o(g)) regarding load growth, resource adequacy, and
transmission needs.
(b) Submission.--The Administrator shall summarize how the findings
described in subsection (a) relate to electricity cost trends and
include such summary in the report submitted to Congress under section
3.
(c) Coordination and Use of Existing Data.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed to require the Electric Reliability Organization to
conduct a new assessment or to duplicate any existing reliability or
adequacy study.
SEC. 5. PUBLICATION AND TRANSPARENCY.
The Commission and the Administrator shall publish the results of
the analysis conducted under section 3 in a clear, consumer-friendly
format on the website of the Commission, and the website of the Energy
Information Administration, respectively.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Energy Information Administration.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission.
(3) Electric consumer.--The term ``electric consumer'' has
the meaning given such term in section 3(5) of the Public
Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2602(5)).
(4) Electricity cost component.--The term ``electricity
cost component'' means an identifiable category of costs
incurred to generate electricity, or procure, deliver, or
administer electric service to residential customers,
commercial customers, or industrial customers, which may be
recovered through wholesale market transactions, bundled cost-
of-service rates, or other regulatory mechanisms, including--
(A) electricity generation, capacity, transmission,
and delivery, as applicable;
(B) ancillary services;
(C) administrative charges;
(D) State policy cost components; and
(E) other cost categories as determined by the
Administrator.
(5) Electric reliability organization.--The term ``Electric
Reliability Organization'' has the meaning given such term in
section 215(a)(2) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C.
824o(a)(2)).
(6) Independent system operator.--The term ``Independent
System Operator'' has the meaning given such term in section 3
of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 796).
(7) Regional transmission organization.--The term
``Regional Transmission Organization'' has the meaning given
such term in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C.
796).
(8) Residential customer.--The term ``residential
customer'' means an electric consumer that receives electric
service for use in a private dwelling unit, including single
family homes and individual dwelling units within multifamily
buildings, and that falls within the residential sector
classifications used by the Energy Information Administration
in its official publications.
(9) Small business customer.--The term ``small business
customer'' means a nonresidential electric consumer that is not
classified as an industrial customer and that falls within the
commercial sector classifications used by the Energy
Information Administration in its official publications.
(10) State policy cost component.--The term ``State policy
cost component'' means the portion of electricity costs
attributable to requirements, charges, or obligations
established under State law or regulation that affect the cost
of providing electricity to electric consumers. State policy
cost components include net metering requirements, renewable
portfolio standards, and public benefits requirements.
(A) Net metering.--The term ``net metering'' means
a service to an electric consumer under which electric
energy generated by that electric consumer from an
eligible on-site generating facility and delivered to
the local distribution facilities may be used to offset
electric energy provided by the electric utility to the
electric consumer during the applicable billing period.
(B) Renewable portfolio standard.--The term
``renewable portfolio standard'' means a State policy
that requires or establishes a goal for electric
utilities or other load serving entities to supply a
specified minimum share of electricity sales from
eligible renewable energy resources, as defined under
State law.
(C) Public benefits requirement.--The term ``public
benefits requirement'' means a State established
requirement, charge, rider, or assessment applied to
electric service that, as determined by the
Administrator, funds or supports legislatively or
regulatorily authorized public interest objectives,
including customer support mechanisms, energy
efficiency programs, or similar purposes, regardless of
the terminology used by the State, local, Tribal, or
territorial governments.
SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter existing ratemaking
authority, require changes to retail electricity rates, or assign cost
responsibility to any specific electric utility or customer class.
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