HARRISBURG — Sen. Michele Brooks (R-50) released the following statement regarding the passage of House Bill 2584 — introduced by Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-184) as a companion to Brooks’ earlier introduced Senate Bill 1254 — would direct the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to create a database containing information on all utility rates under the commission’s jurisdiction. Currently, information relating to utility rate increases is accessible only on a case-by-case basis on various pages of PUC’s website:
“Utility bills continue to rise each month, leaving customers in the dark about decisions being made impacting their finances,” said Brooks. “I was happy to work across the aisle with Rep. Fiedler to introduce a companion bill to my Senate Bill1254, legislation directing the PUC to establish a centralized, searchable database of utility rate increases using information the commission already has. This measure will promote greater transparency and accountability while strengthening consumer protections for hardworking families and job creators, who are facing repeated rate hikes that drive up the cost of essential utilities. Work on this legislation is in addition to the work by the Senate that was done as part of last year’s budget removing Pennsylvania from RGGI, an action taken by executive order by Gov. Tom Wolf. By removing Pennsylvania from this compact, which included New York, Maryland and Virginia, we prevented implementation of a cost-prohibitive energy policy that would have increased utility bills even more.”
The bill has no known opposition and is supported by the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate.