Utilities that fail reliability standards must pay customers directly
H.R. 10804 — Utility Accountability Act · Filed by Josh Riley (D-NY) · Introduced Oct 13, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires the federal government to penalize investor-owned electric utilities that fail to meet state-set performance standards (reliability and safety). When a utility misses targets, it must provide annual bill credits to residential customers ($100 in year one, increasing by $100 each year) until it complies—and the utility's investors, not customers, must pay for these credits. If a state refuses to enforce this, the federal government can withhold grants and loans.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a penalty-and-compensation system: utilities that fail state performance standards must compensate residential customers directly, with costs borne by investors. This is a regulatory accountability tool, not a subsidy or carve-out.
What the text implies
- Bill creates a federal enforcement lever over state regulatory decisions by conditioning federal assistance on state compliance with Secretary of Energy orders, potentially shifting regulatory authority from states to federal government.
- Escalating bill credits ($100, $200, $300, etc.) create compounding financial pressure on utilities and investors, which may incentivize rapid compliance but could also trigger rate-design disputes or regulatory challenges.
- No sunset or cap on bill credits is specified; a chronically underperforming utility could face indefinite, unlimited annual credits, creating long-term balance-sheet risk for investor-owned utilities.
- Definition of 'State performance standards' is delegated to state regulators; variation across states could create competitive disadvantages for utilities operating in high-standard jurisdictions.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Residential customers receive direct financial compensation when utilities fail to meet reliability and safety standards, with costs borne by investors rather than ratepayers. This creates accountability for utility performance and provides tangible relief to ordinary households.
Who stands to gain
- residential electricity customers (direct bill credits)
- state regulatory authorities (federal leverage to enforce compliance)
Named in the bill
investor-owned electric utilities, state regulatory authorities, Secretary of Energy, residential customers, Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978
Where it stands
- Oct 13, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 13, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,587 characters) on Oct 16, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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