Utilities must keep lights on during shutdowns—but can bill consumers later

What it does

This bill expresses Congress's sense that utilities should not disconnect electric or natural gas service during a government shutdown when the Department of Health and Human Services lacks appropriations, and it amends federal law to prohibit electric service termination during such lapses. It also allows utilities to recover compliance costs through state regulatory mechanisms if those costs are substantial and cannot be covered by rates or emergency funding.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a service-continuity protection for utility consumers during federal appropriations lapses, coupled with a cost-recovery safeguard for utilities. It is fundamentally a consumer-protection measure, not a deregulation or subsidy.

What the text implies

• The bill ties the moratorium specifically to HHS appropriations lapses, not all government shutdowns. If HHS receives funding while other agencies do not, the protection does not apply—a narrower scope than the title suggests.
• Cost recovery is permitted only if a state regulatory authority approves it after notice and comment. This creates a two-tier system: states with active regulators may allow utilities to spread costs; states with weaker oversight may not, creating regional disparities in utility burden.
• The bill does not address natural gas disconnections with the same statutory force—the sense-of-Congress language applies to both, but the amendment to the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act covers only electric service, leaving natural gas protection weaker.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary people retain essential utility service during government shutdowns when they are most vulnerable, preventing disconnection for inability to pay during periods of federal funding lapse. The cost-recovery mechanism is conditioned on state regulatory approval and excludes retroactive assessment on protected consumers, limiting utility pass-through to other ratepayers.

Who stands to gain

• electric utilities (via cost-recovery mechanism)
• consumers (via service continuity protection)

Named in the bill

Department of Health and Human Services, Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, State regulatory authorities, electric utilities, natural gas utilities

Where it stands

5 cosponsors: 5 Democrats.

• Nov 19, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Nov 19, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.