An Act to direct the State Corporation Commission to determine maximum allowable fees for disconnection and reconnection charged by certain electric utilities; disconnections for nonpayment.
HB898 directs the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to set maximum allowable fees for disconnecting and reconnecting residential utility service when a customer is disconnected for nonpayment. The requirement applies in the next relevant utility cost-recovery proceeding initiated after July 1, 2026, including biennial reviews under specified sections of the Code of Virginia. In that proceeding, the regulated utility must provide written testimony and a cost analysis showing the disconnection and reconnection fees it currently charges residential customers.
The bill applies not only to electric companies, but also to natural gas suppliers and water or wastewater service providers that are regulated by the SCC. After reviewing the evidence, the SCC must include in its final order a determination of the maximum fees the utility may charge under the act. The measure is aimed at creating a regulatory cap on these charges rather than leaving them entirely to utility discretion.
HB898 amends Virginia utility regulation by requiring the SCC to establish fee ceilings for disconnection and reconnection charges assessed to residential customers for nonpayment. It affects regulated electric, gas, water, and wastewater utilities and ties the new review requirement to existing cost-recovery and biennial review proceedings. The bill does not itself set a statewide dollar amount; instead, it inserts a new Commission-determined cap into the ratemaking and oversight process.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded vote debate, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to summarize. Based on the bill’s enactment, the measure appears to have advanced without publicly available controversy in the provided materials. Its structure suggests a consumer-protection approach focused on limiting utility fees for vulnerable residential customers facing service shutoff for nonpayment.
The main policy issue inherent in the bill is whether disconnection and reconnection fees should be capped by the SCC and, if so, how those caps should be calculated. Utilities may be concerned about recovering administrative and operational costs, while consumer advocates would likely favor limits to reduce the financial burden on households at risk of losing essential service. Because the bill requires utilities to submit cost analyses and testimony, the likely point of contention is the adequacy of the evidence supporting the fees and the level at which the SCC should set the maximum allowable charges.