IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER UTILITY CUSTOMERS

House Bill 4658 (Proposed Substitute H-1)

Sponsor:  Rep. Andy Neumann

House Bill 4661 (Proposed Substitute H-1)

Sponsor:  Rep. Andy Coulouris

Committee:  Energy and Technology

Complete to 3-24-09

A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILLS 4658 & 4661 (Proposed H-1 Substitutes)

The bills would amend the Public Service Commission Law to require electric and natural gas providers to try to identify their senior citizen customers (customers aged 65 and older) in the ordinary course of business, using one or more of the following methods: (1) customer interviews; (2) information obtained from consumer reporting agencies; (3) personal or automated telephone calls in which direct contact is made with a member of a customer's household or a recorded message is left on an answering machine or voice mail;  (4) first class mail; (5) personal visits to a customer; (6) written notices left at or on customers' doors; (7)  bill inserts; or (8) any other method approved by the Public Service Commission. 

House Bill 4658 would add a new Section 9o to require municipally-owned electric and natural gas utilities to comply by November 1, 2009 unless the municipal utility's governing body granted an extension of this deadline for good cause.  (MCL 460.9o)

House Bill 4661 would add a new Section 9l to require electric utilities, cooperative electric utilities, alternative electric suppliers, and natural gas utilities as defined in Section 9 (investor-owned and rate-regulated natural gas utilities) to comply by November 1, 2009, unless the Public Service Commission granted an extension.  (MCL 460.9l.) 

[Note:  Unlike House Bill 4658, which applies to municipal utilities, House Bill 4661 does not contain a "good cause" standard for extensions.  Another difference between the two bills is that a provider's efforts under House Bill 4661 have to be "ongoing," but the word "ongoing" is not used in House Bill 4658.]   

FISCAL IMPACT:

A fiscal analysis is in process. 

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   Shannan Kane

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:   Mark Wolf

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.