Direct relief payments for eligible ratepayers

(a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish a system allowing an eligible ratepayer following the issuance of a Final Determination establishing liability for a misconduct event to claim a direct relief payment relating to such misconduct event— (1) in the form of a refundable credit on the annual Federal tax return of the eligible ratepayer; or (2) for an eligible ratepayer who is not required to file an annual Federal tax return, through a claims and direct payment process established by the Secretary of the Treasury by regulation. (b) Requirements for submission of claims An eligible ratepayer claiming a direct relief payment under the system established under subsection (a) shall attest under penalty of perjury— (1) to the address of the eligible ratepayer and having received service from a covered utility during the period in which such covered utility carried out a misconduct event; (2) to the name of the covered utility and approximate dates that the covered utility provided service to the eligible ratepayer; and (3) that the eligible ratepayer has not previously received a direct relief payment that fully compensates for the amount of financial harm assumed by said ratepayer relating to the misconduct event from any source. (c) Verification (1) Requirement (A) In general The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall, promptly and without delay following the filing of a claim for a direct relief payment in accordance with subsection (b), verify such claim under the system established under subsection (a). (B) Issuance The Secretary of the Treasury shall issue a direct relief payment to any eligible ratepayer who is not required to file an annual Federal tax return with respect to which the Secretary verifies the claim of such eligible ratepayer. (2) Customer records (A) In general At the request of the Secretary of the Treasury, a covered utility shall provide to the Secretary the customer records of the covered utility. (B) Penalties The Secretary of the Treasury or the Attorney General may impose any penalty that the Secretary or Attorney General, respectively, determines to be appropriate, on a covered utility that violates subparagraph (A), provided that the Secretary or Attorney General provides appropriate, advance notice to such covered utility and a process for the covered utility to appeal such penalty before the application of the penalty. (3) Methods The Secretary of the Treasury may verify claims under paragraph (1) through the customer records of the covered utility. (4) Timely distribution The Secretary of the Treasury shall, except where determined impracticable, begin issuing direct relief payments not later than 180 days after the issuance of a Final Determination, and shall provide, consistent with the reporting requirements in section 11, periodic public reports describing the status of claims processing and distribution until all reasonably identifiable eligible ratepayers have received restitution per misconduct event. (d) Calculation of consumer injury (1) Quantification The Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the relevant State commission, and the relevant State consumer advocate office or comparable public counsel, where applicable, shall quantify— (A) the total consumer injury, including economic harms faced by any affected community, for each misconduct event using objective and verifiable evidence based on overcharges to ratepayers of the covered utility, unlawfully authorized rates assessed to ratepayers of the covered utility, or other measurable impacts to ratepayers or the community identified in regulatory records; and (B) any escalation in the costs of maintenance and repairs to the infrastructure of a covered utility that is attributable to utility executive mismanagement. (2) Quantification requirements In making the quantification required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Energy shall— (A) consider and give substantial weight to final findings of fact, refund determinations, customer class information, and ratemaking records developed by the relevant State commission and relevant State consumer advocate office or comparable public counsel where applicable; and (B) estimate, to the maximum extent practicable, the difference between the rates or charges actually paid by ratepayers and the rates or charges that would have been lawfully authorized in the absence of the covered misconduct. (3) Allocation of restitution The Secretary of Energy shall— (A) allocate restitution among eligible ratepayers using objective and equitable standards that reflect the extent of consumer injury; (B) in making allocations, consider— (i) the customer class of each eligible ratepayer; (ii) the duration of service during the period of covered misconduct; (iii) the amount of charges paid during the misconduct period, to the extent such information is readily available; (iv) differences in rates among customer classes; (v) refunds, credits, or restitution previously received relating to the same misconduct event; and (vi) any other objective factor necessary to achieve equitable restitution; (C) ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, similarly situated ratepayers within the same customer class receive substantially equivalent proportional restitution; and (D) utilize customer billing records, State commission records, and other reliable regulatory records to verify allocations and minimize administrative burden. (4) Restitution methodology Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment, the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Secretary of the Treasury, State commissions, and State consumer advocate offices or comparable public counsel, shall publish guidance establishing uniform methodologies for— (A) calculating consumer injury; (B) allocating restitution among customer classes; (C) identifying eligible ratepayers, including former customers; (D) accounting for refunds, credits, settlements, or other prior recoveries; and (E) ensuring that restitution is administered under this Act consistently among jurisdictions while avoiding duplicate recovery. (5) One payment per misconduct event For each misconduct event, each eligible ratepayer may receive only 1 direct relief payment under this section. (6) Interest for direct relief payments Direct relief payments issued to ratepayers pursuant to this section, and the calculation of assessment under section 4(b), shall include interest which shall be computed daily from the date of a Final Determination to date of issuance of payment or collection at a rate equal to the weekly average 1-year constant maturity Treasury yield, as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for the calendar week preceding the date of a misconduct event. (e) Limitations period An eligible ratepayer may only claim a direct relief payment under this section during the 4-year period beginning on the date on which the Final Determination relating to such misconduct event is issued. (f) Prevention of double recovery A direct relief payment to an eligible ratepayer relating to a misconduct event under this section shall be reduced dollar-for-dollar by any direct refund, credit, or restitution already received by such eligible ratepayer for the same misconduct event. (g) Priority (1) Residential customers In issuing direct relief payments to eligible ratepayers who are not required to file an annual Federal tax return, the Secretary of the Treasury shall prioritize the issuance of direct relief payments to such eligible ratepayers who are residential customers. (2) Non-residential customers In issuing direct relief payments to eligible ratepayers who are not required to file an annual Federal tax return, the Secretary of the Treasury shall issue to such eligible ratepayers who are not residential customers pro rata restitution payments after the 4-year period described in subsection (e) has expired and all claims by eligible ratepayers who are residential customers are satisfied, or as otherwise provided in regulations promulgated by the Secretary. (h) Annual audits The Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury shall annually carry out audits of claims by eligible ratepayers for direct relief payments under the system established under subsection (a).