TRENTON, NJ — New legislation introduced this week aims to address recent rising utility costs.

Senator Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) introduced the “Public Utility Fair Profit Act”, which would require consumers to receive direct dividends of excess utility profits. 

The bill requests that a public utility perform an annual review of actual revenues collected during a 12-month period and compare it to the total revenue requirement approved by the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) for that time frame. Revenues exceeding that total revenue requirement would then be redistributed back to customers in a proportional manner within 45 days, which could be in the form of bill credits applied to future utility bills, direct payments to customers with unpaid balances, or direct payments to customers who are enrolled in a utility assistance program. 

“With rising inflation and soaring utility costs, hardworking families and businesses are struggling to heat their homes, keep their lights on, and frankly pay their bills,” said Senator Singleton, who represents Bordentown in the Legislature. “That is why it is more important than ever to ensure consumers are not being unfairly taken advantage of. The Public Utility Fair Profit Act ensures that excessive profits are directly returned to customers, instead of corporate shareholders and executives.” 

Under the bill, a public utility that fails to redistribute excess profits or knowingly misrepresents information contained in its financial reports submitted to the BPU would be subject to a fine, which would be required to be allocated to support existing funding for utility assistance programs administered by the BPU.

Original Article