Sec. 9. Home energy payment arrears data collection
407 words·~2 min read·
/bill/119/hr/2486/ih/section-9A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 ( 42 U.S.C. 8624 ), as amended by section 7, is further amended by adding at the end the following: The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall develop a standardized template for States and home energy suppliers to use to track and report data on eligible households in arrears in home energy payments, including data on the related fees and disconnections for such households. The template developed under subparagraph
(A)shall— include a definition of an eligible household in arrears, with respect to home energy payments, as an eligible household that has not made payment on a home energy bill for more than 60 to 90 days, as determined by the State agency or local coordinating agency, unless otherwise specified by State law; include metrics on related disconnections, late fees, reconnections, and arrearage balances for eligible households; and align with existing (as of the date of the development) Federal and State reporting mechanisms where applicable. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Heating and Cooling Relief Act, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, issue guidance on best practices for States (including through partnerships with home energy suppliers) to pay for home energy payment arrearages with assistance provided through the program funded under section 2602(b), including by paying for such arrearages at the time of dissemination of assistance through that program. Such guidance shall prohibit any home energy supplier receiving funds through the program from recovering arrearage assistance costs through rate increases or other charges to customers, including cost recovery mechanisms that disproportionately impact low-income households. To the extent practicable, the Secretary and the Secretary of Energy shall jointly— implement a data tracking system, aligned with the standardized reporting template developed under paragraph (1), to collect aggregate data regarding the number of eligible households in arrears and their respective energy burdens and develop recommendations to HEAP coordinators on how to minimize energy burdens for the households; and issue guidance to home energy suppliers with recommendations for working with State agencies to address home energy payment arrearages of eligible households. The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, may make grants to States to assist the States in implementing data tracking and reporting requirements under this subsection. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection such sums as may be necessary. .
Connectionstraces to 1
Traces to 1 document
U.S. Code
Citation graph
cites case law
Sec. 9
Home energy payment arrears data collection
Cites 1Cited by 0 across 0 sources