Bill > HB2535

This bill amends the Public Utilities Act to limit fire protection charges imposed by public utilities that provide water services. Specifically, the bill proposes that fire protection charges shall be no greater than the average cost spent by the utility on fire protection services over the past 10 years. Currently, public utilities can impose a fire protection charge on top of regular water rates to cover the costs of providing fire protection capacity, facilities, and water to municipalities or fire protection districts. The charge must be a fixed amount per bill and shown separately on customer utility bills. Any proposed changes to this charge must be filed through the standard rate modification process outlined in Section 9-201 of the Public Utilities Act. The key innovation in this bill is the new restriction that caps fire protection charges at the average historical cost, which aims to prevent utilities from arbitrarily increasing these fees and potentially providing more predictability for customers and local governments.