HR-9630-119
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Sponsored by Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA)
What it does
This bill would direct the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), to conduct a standardized analysis of the principal cost components reflected in residential and small business electricity bills in each state, covering changes over the preceding seven years. The EIA would be required to submit a report to Congress within 180 days of enactment and publish results in a consumer-friendly format online. The bill explicitly states it would not alter existing ratemaking authority, require changes to retail electricity rates, or assign cost responsibility to any specific utility.
Who benefits
Residential electricity customers and small business owners who would gain clearer information about what drives their electricity bills. State and federal policymakers who would have standardized, comparable data across all 50 states to inform energy policy decisions. Consumer advocacy groups seeking transparency in utility pricing. Researchers and journalists covering energy costs. Renewable energy advocates and fossil fuel interests alike, as the data would be publicly available and could be used to support various policy arguments. Data centers and large industrial customers, whose cost impacts on the grid would be assessed and made visible.
Who is hurt
Electric utilities and state-regulated monopoly utilities whose cost structures would be publicly disaggregated and compared across states, potentially inviting scrutiny or political pressure. States with higher policy-driven costs (e.g., robust renewable portfolio standards or public benefits programs) could face political pressure to roll back those programs based on the report's findings. The EIA and FERC would bear new administrative and analytical workloads. Indirectly, advocates for state energy policies that add costs could find their programs more politically vulnerable once costs are made explicit and comparable.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that electricity bills have risen materially in many states and that customers and policymakers currently lack a standardized, accessible breakdown of what is driving those increases. They contend that the data to disaggregate costs already exists — as demonstrated by independent market monitors for Regional Transmission Organizations — but is not presented in a consistent format. By requiring the EIA to compile and publish this information, the bill would empower consumers and legislators to make better-informed decisions without altering any existing rates or regulatory authority.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that disaggregating electricity costs into discrete components — particularly singling out "state policy cost components" such as renewable portfolio standards and net metering — could selectively frame those policies as cost burdens while obscuring their economic benefits, such as long-term fuel savings and grid resilience. They contend that the bill's categorization choices are not neutral: labeling clean energy mandates as identifiable cost drivers, without equally highlighting the avoided costs or health benefits they produce, could skew public and legislative perception against state-level clean energy programs.
Constitutional context
No significant constitutional tension exists. Congress has broad authority under the Commerce Clause (Art. I, §8, cl. 3) to direct federal agencies to collect and publish data on interstate electricity markets. This bill is purely informational and does not regulate rates, restrict property use, or delegate broad rulemaking authority, so the major questions doctrine (West Virginia v. EPA, 2022) and post-Chevron scrutiny (Loper Bright, 2024) are not implicated.
Checks and balances
Congress gains a new informational report; the EIA and FERC gain a defined analytical task but no new regulatory authority, and the bill's explicit rule of construction preserves all existing state and federal ratemaking authority.
Historical precedent
The EIA regularly publishes electricity price and consumption data under its existing statutory mandate, but no directly analogous law has previously required a standardized, state-by-state disaggregation of retail electricity bill cost components in this format.