SB1664

Regular Session

Relating to public information regarding the rates of a transmission and distribution utility.

ModeratePlan for compliance

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) • Municipal Regulatory Authorities (under Utilities Code Sec. 11.003)

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (Applies to any Statement of Intent or rate change application filed on or after this date).
Agency Rulemaking: The Public Utility Commission (PUC) must establish the mandatory format for the "stand-alone document" prior to the effective date. Watch for a PUC project opening in Q2/Q3 2025 to define "easily understood by the public" standards.

Immediate Action Plan

1. Audit Filing Schedules: If you have a DCRF or TCOS filing planned for late 2025, attempt to file by August 31, 2025, to avoid the new compliance burden and 4-year revenue disclosure.
2. Update Settlement Templates: Insert language regarding the Section 39.113(c) revised filing requirement into your standard Stipulation and Agreement forms immediately.
3. Prepare Data Queries: Instruct IT/Billing to automate the extraction of "average residential customer" usage data to speed up the creation of the required impact analysis.
4. Monitor PUC Interchange: Assign a staff member to track the PUC implementation project for the release of the mandatory document format.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Settlement Agreements: Standard settlement templates for rate cases must be amended. You must include a clause acknowledging the submission of the *revised* stand-alone document as a condition precedent to the entry of the final order, satisfying Section 39.113(c).

Hiring/Training

Regulatory Affairs & Rate Design: Teams must be trained to calculate "anticipated total revenue" over a four-year period (for base rate cases) or the specific duration (for DCRF/TCOS).
Workflow Adjustment: Staff must be drilled on the "Pre-Order Trap." If settlement numbers differ from the initial filing, the rate design team must be on standby to immediately recalculate residential impacts and revenue projections to generate the required revised filing before the final order is signed.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

New Filing Requirement: A separate "Stand-Alone Rate Transparency Document" is now mandatory. It cannot be embedded in testimony.
Data Requirements: The document must explicitly state:
1. Rate impact per class.
2. Duration of the change.
3. Projected total revenue (4-year or duration-based).
4. Average residential customer delivery charge impact (Current vs. Proposed vs. Delta).

Fees & Costs

No New Statutory Fees: There are no new filing fees.
Administrative Costs: Expect increased internal costs related to the rapid re-calculation of data during the settlement phase of rate cases.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

"Easily Understood" Format: The statute requires the document be in a format "easily understood by the public" but does not define it. The PUC will likely prescribe a rigid template (similar to a "nutrition label"). Until this rulemaking concludes, do not finalize internal templates.
Revenue Calculation Methodology: The term "anticipated total revenue" is legally vague regarding whether it refers to gross revenue or revenue requirement impact. The PUC must clarify the accounting methodology to ensure consistency across utilities.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsUtilities Utilities--electric Internet Public Utility Commission

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1664
89R9398 JXC-D	By: Schwertner
	Business & Commerce
	3/13/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

At the Senate Business and Commerce Committee's June 12, 2024, interim hearing, invited witnesses testified to Texas' pressing need for more transmission capacity to accommodate rapid growth and a record demand for electricity in our state. Witnesses also discussed rising transmission costs, which currently account for 30 to 40 percent of a customer's electricity bill, and projected further cost increases due to by major infrastructure investments. Consumers are paying more and yet have little control over the decisions driving their rates. Moreover, how costs are allocated has become increasingly complex, leaving consumers uncertain about their bills.

S.B. 1664 highlights a need for more accessible and transparent information regarding the rates of a transmission and distribution utility (TDU). Specifically, S.B. 1664 would require TDUs to submit a publicly accessible, stand-alone document with each statement of intent to change rates that provides more detailed information on: the application of the change to each rate class, the duration of change, the resulting revenue increase to the utility, and the delivery charges imposed. S.B. 1664 would require the Public Utility Commission of Texas to update rate information at least monthly and make the information available on its website.

As proposed, S.B. 1664 amends current law relating to public information regarding the rates of a transmission and distribution utility.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, by adding Section 39.113, as follows:

Sec. 39.113. RATE TRANSPARENCY. (a) Requires a transmission and distribution utility to provide with each statement of intent to change rates filed under Chapter 36 (Rates), and any other filing made with a regulatory authority under Subtitle B (Electric Utilities) regarding a change in the utility's rates, a stand-alone document that shows certain information.

(b) Requires the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) to require the document required by Subsection (a) to be filed in a format easily understood by the public.

(c) Requires the regulatory authority, if the regulatory authority proposes to enter an order approving a change in rates described by Subsection (a) that differs from the change initially proposed by the transmission and distribution utility, to require the utility to provide to the regulatory authority a new stand-alone document that includes the information required by Subsection (a) for the proposed change.

(d) Requires the PUC to provide, and update at least monthly, on the PUC's Internet website or the PUC's Power to Choose Internet website information on the rates of transmission and distribution utilities in a format easily understood by the public.

SECTION 2. Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2025.

Senate Authors

Sen. Charles SchwertnerRepublican · Primary Author

House Sponsor

Rep. Lacey HullRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 1664

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to public information regarding the rates of a
	transmission and distribution utility.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 39, Utilities Code, is
	amended by adding Section 39.113 to read as follows:
	Sec. 39.113. RATE TRANSPARENCY. (a) A transmission and
	distribution utility shall provide with each statement of intent to
	change rates filed under Chapter 36, and any other filing made with
	a regulatory authority under this subtitle regarding a change in
	the utility's rates, a stand-alone document that shows:
	(1) the change in rate that the filing would apply to
	each rate class;
	(2) the time period during which the proposed change
	will be in effect;
	(3) for a base rate increase, the anticipated total
	amount of revenue the utility will receive from the increase during
	the four-year period following the proposed implementation date of
	the change;
	(4) for a change other than a base rate change, the
	anticipated total amount of revenue the utility will receive from
	the change during the period in which the change is in effect;
	(5) the delivery charges being imposed by the utility
	at the time of the filing for an average residential customer;
	(6) the anticipated delivery charges that would be
	imposed by the utility for an average residential customer after
	the change; and
	(7) the difference between the amounts shown under
	Subdivisions (5) and (6).
	(b) The commission shall require the document required by
	Subsection (a) to be filed in a format easily understood by the
	public.
	(c) If the regulatory authority proposes to enter an order
	approving a change in rates described by Subsection (a) that
	differs from the change initially proposed by the transmission and
	distribution utility, the regulatory authority shall require the
	utility to provide to the regulatory authority a new stand-alone
	document that includes the information required by Subsection (a)
	for the proposed change.
	(d) The commission shall provide, and update at least
	monthly, on the commission's Internet website or the commission's
	Power to Choose Internet website information on the rates of
	transmission and distribution utilities in a format easily
	understood by the public.
	SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
	a proceeding before the Public Utility Commission of Texas or other
	regulatory authority described by Section 11.003, Utilities Code,
	that commences on or after the effective date of this Act. A
	proceeding before the Public Utility Commission of Texas or other
	regulatory authority described by Section 11.003, Utilities Code,
	that commenced before the effective date of this Act is governed by
	the law in effect on the date the proceeding commenced, and that law
	is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 17, 2025

TO:	Honorable Charles Schwertner, Chair, Senate Committee on Business & Commerce

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB1664 by Schwertner (Relating to public information regarding the rates of a transmission and distribution utility.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

It is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

473 Public Utility Commission of Texas, 475 Office of Public Utility Counsel

LBB Staff:

JMc, RStu, GDZ, JBel

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB1664

What does Texas SB1664 do?

SB 1664 mandates that all Transmission and Distribution Utilities (TDUs) submit a specific, consumer-facing "stand-alone document" with every rate change application to increase transparency. This requirement creates a strict dual-filing obligation—once at the initial filing and again immediately prior to final order approval—affecting all rate proceedings commencing on or after September 1, 2025. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (Applies to any Statement of Intent or rate change application filed on or after this date).

Who authored SB1664?

SB1664 was authored by Texas Senator Charles Schwertner during the Regular Session.

When was SB1664 signed into law?

SB1664 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB1664?

SB1664 is enforced by Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and Municipal Regulatory Authorities (under Utilities Code Sec. 11.003).

How urgent is compliance with SB1664?

The compliance urgency for SB1664 is rated as "moderate". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB1664?

The cost impact of SB1664 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB1664 address?

SB1664 addresses topics including utilities, utilities--electric, internet and public utility commission.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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