Bill to require clearer reporting of authorized vs. collected utility revenue is laid over

Representative Moua introduced House File 3778 to strengthen transparency by requiring utilities to report authorized revenue and actual collected revenue annually in an accessible format.

The Citizens Utility Board's witness said the measure would make existing information easier for legislators and the public to understand. "What this bill says is then would ask the utilities to come back after a year and say... what we actually collected was why," the witness said, describing the need for accessible comparisons between approved revenue requirements and actual collections.

CenterPoint Energy's associate general counsel, Jason Lose, told the committee the company already provides comparable information to the Public Utilities Commission and offered to collaborate to make reporting more accessible rather than duplicate existing filings. Committee members and the sponsor said they would continue to work with utilities on formatting and scope and laid the bill over for further consideration.