Congress bans utilities from charging ratepayers for smart grid upgrades
H.R. 1148 — SMARTER Act · Filed by Jefferson Van Drew (R-NJ) · Introduced Feb 7, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends federal utility law to prohibit electric utilities from recovering smart grid deployment costs from ratepayers. It requires states to consider and decide within two years whether to adopt this prohibition, with exemptions for states that have already acted on smart grid cost recovery. The operative effect is a ban on utilities passing smart grid infrastructure expenses to consumers through their electric bills.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a direct prohibition on utilities recovering smart grid costs from ratepayers, enforced through state regulatory review. This is a rate-limiting measure, not a subsidy or carve-out.
What the text implies
- Utilities may respond by deferring or canceling smart grid projects, potentially delaying grid modernization, renewable energy integration, and demand-response capabilities that improve reliability and lower long-term costs.
- The prohibition may shift smart grid investment burden to government grants or bonds, effectively socializing infrastructure costs while privatizing the operational benefits utilities derive from grid data and efficiency gains.
- States with existing smart grid programs or pending proceedings are exempted, creating a patchwork of regulatory standards and potentially disadvantaging utilities in states without prior action.
- The bill does not address alternative cost-recovery mechanisms (e.g., performance-based rates, decoupling, or grid modernization surcharges), leaving utilities with limited incentive to invest in grid technology.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ratepayers benefit from a direct cost reduction—utilities cannot charge them for smart grid deployment. However, the bill may slow or halt smart grid modernization, which could delay grid reliability improvements, renewable energy integration, and demand-response technologies that ultimately benefit consumers. The trade-off between immediate rate relief and long-term grid modernization is genuine and material.
Who stands to gain
- residential and commercial ratepayers (direct rate relief)
- state regulatory authorities (expanded ratemaking discretion)
Named in the bill
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, State regulatory authorities, Electric utilities, Nonregulated utilities, AES Corporation, WEC Energy Group, Duke Energy, Consolidated Edison, Xcel Energy
Where it stands
- Feb 7, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 7, 2025 — 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 (3,284 characters) on Aug 15, 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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