NEWS: Casar, Riley Introduce Bill to Crack Down on Utilities Overcharging Consumers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Wednesday, Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) and Rep. Josh Riley (D-NY) introduced a new bill to crack down on utilities overcharging consumers.

The Lowering Utility Bills Act reins in the runaway profits of for profit utilities, which are raising utility prices across the country by demanding exorbitant profits and forcing consumers to pay for outrageous expenses like private jet rides, lobbying, and contributions to politicians. The bill bars transmission providers and for profit utilities from requiring consumers to pay for private jet rides, lobbying, and contributions to politicians, and it sets a national standard for a reasonable 'Return on Equity,' to clamp down on for profit utilities charging consumers unreasonable rates.

The bill would save families $500 a year, according to experts from the American Economic Liberties Project.

The bill comes as millions of Americans are struggling to pay surging utility prices, in part because for-profit Investor Owned Utilities are artificially inflating prices. The cost of electricity has increased at more than twice the rate of inflation in recent years. Utility prices went up for 56 million Americans in 2025, and nearly one-quarter of Americans were unable to pay their utility bills in recent years. Rates at for-profit 'Investor Owned Utilities' are driving much of the increase. The Lowering Utility Bills Act would provide immediate relief to working families by preventing utility companies from artificially inflating their own profits.

"Your utility bill should not be higher so that a utility company CEO can rent a private jet or make astronomical profits," said Rep Casar. "Utility companies are supposed to abide by a basic deal: in exchange for being the only provider in an area, they charge people a fair rate. Utility companies across the country are breaking that deal, and our bill cracks down on their obscene profits to save working families money."

"Utility executives shouldn't be flying around on private jets while Upstate families are sitting at the kitchen table making impossible choices between paying their electric bill and buying groceries," said Rep. Riley. "Right now, working people are footing the bill for outrageous corporate profits just to keep the lights on. That's wrong. Our bill will crack down on these excessive rates, rein in corporate greed, and deliver real relief for families."

The bill:

• Cracks down on for-profit utilities making consumers pay for wasteful spending. Bans corrupt rate recovery pass through, such as lobbying, private planes for board of directors or officers, or contributions to political candidates, for transmission providers and for profit utilities;

• Cracks down on for-profit utilities demanding profit margins (returns on equity) far higher than the market would set. Directs FERC to calculate a reasonable rate of return for utility investments, taking into account the reduced risk of the industry. Directs FERC to use this new rate when determining rates. Requires for-profit utilities to use this rate when presenting rate proposals to the state regulatory authority...

• Cracks down on the building of unnecessary projects that raise costs. Requires the prioritization of cost saving investments ahead of capital investments for transmission providers and covered utilities.

The bill is co-sponsored by: Reps. Yassamin Ansari, Valerie Foushee, Jesús "Chuy" García, Dan Goldman, Maggie Goodlander, Al Green, Adelita S Grijalva, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Hank Johnson, John Mannion, April McClain Delaney, Frank Mrvan, Pat Ryan, Lateefah Simon, Suhas Subramanyam, Shri Thanedar, Rashida Tlaib, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

"For too long, greedy utility companies have gamed the system to jack up prices on hardworking Americans while raking in record-breaking profits. Central Hudson executives are giving themselves millions in kickbacks, funded by price hikes on families struggling to keep the lights on. It's completely unacceptable and a total abuse of their power," said Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY). "What kind of system lets a company like Central Hudson set their own profits at our expense? A fundamentally broken one. It's time to hold these companies accountable and put the power back where it belongs: with the people."

"As the climate crisis continues to grow in Arizona and across the country, keeping a home cool is a matter of life and death," said Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ). "Yet instead of providing relief, utility companies continue to profit by passing junk charges onto customers. I'm proud to introduce this legislation alongside my colleagues to put an end to this abuse and ban unnecessary costs from people's bills,"

"It is fundamentally wrong to force hardworking Americans to subsidize private jets, political lobbying, and backroom contributions every time they pay their monthly electric bill," said Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). "The Lowering Utility Bills Act puts an end to these 'investor-owned' excesses by ensuring that rates reflect the actual cost of service, not the desire for runaway profits. This bill is a necessary step to stop the artificial inflation of energy costs and put $500 back into the pockets of families who need it most."

The bill is endorsed by: American Economic Liberties Project (AELP), Center for Biological Diversity, Congressional Lowering Utility Bills Caucus, Indivisible, League of Conservation Voters, Public Citizen, Inc., Sierra Club.

"While utility monopolies collect billions in profit from ratepayers and pay their CEOs millions, American families struggle to keep the lights on," said Marissa P. Gillett, Senior Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project and former Chairman of Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority. "The Lowering Utility Bills Act would save consumers money by addressing bloated rates of return and stop utilities from passing costs for private jets and political activity on to consumers. We applaud Rep. Casar, Rep. Riley, and the entire Lowering Utility Bills Caucus for their leadership to stop this corporate profiteering."

"Energy costs are out of control and struggling consumers want to hold accountable those causing the problems," said Matthew Davis, League of Conservation Voters' Vice President of Federal Policy. "Thank you to Reps. Casar and Riley for fighting to bring more accountability to the Trump administration, extreme Republican leadership, and greedy fossil fuel CEOs, for lowering energy bills for families across the country, and for working to increase access to clean energy."

A section by section guide to the bill is available here.

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