Pielli and Fiedler introduce bill to end excess utility profits
Rep. Chris Pielli April 20, 2026 | 3:04 PM
HARRISBURG, April 20 – State Reps. Chris Pielli, D-Chester, and Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila., have introduced a bill that would end excess utility profits by both mandating regional transmission organization participation and eliminating unneeded incentives.
Current law gives investor-owned utilities a financial bonus for joining a regional transmission organization — a group that coordinates electricity across multiple states to improve efficiency and reliability. While this bonus was originally meant to encourage participation, it is funded by customers through their electricity bills and paid directly to utility shareholders. This legislation would update that policy by requiring utilities to join a regional transmission organization and eliminating the extra bonus payment.
“At a time when utility shareholders are earning record profits and households continue to face rising costs, we need to work to find solutions to restore balance by tipping the scales back into the favor of Pennsylvania families,” Pielli said. “This legislation will restore fairness and accountability using commonsense measures to ensure affordable energy is provided for everyone.”
"We need energy to live, to keep our homes running, to stay cool in the summer – and when families can't afford their energy bills, it means we need to restore balance to a broken system," Fiedler said. "This is a commonsense solution that will lighten the load on regular ratepayers who are already shouldering costs that are far too high."
The legislation currently awaits assignment of a bill number.