Committee advances bill to allow PUC comment by mail or electronic submission

The Pennsylvania House Consumer Protection, Technology & Utilities Committee moved House Bill 3 22 forward unanimously to require that notices to utility customers about proposed rate changes or system acquisitions include instructions for submitting comments to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) by mail and electronically.

Representative Cerisi told the committee the measure is intended to modernize the comment process after constituents in his district had to appear in person or handwrite submissions. “This is a simple bill. This came out of, some issues that we had in my own district where people had to come out and fill out a form for the PUC, rather than be able to do it electronically,” Representative Cerisi said.

Mr. Scott, a staff member who summarized the measure for the committee, said, “House bill 3 22 would require any notice of proposed rate change or system acquisition required to be sent to utility customers to include instructions on how to submit comments on the proposed rate change or system acquisition to the PUC by mail and electronically.”

Representative Isaacson moved the bill; Representative Kaufman seconded. The committee chair called for negative votes and, hearing none, recorded the bill as passed unanimously. The committee did not record individual yea or nay votes in the transcript record.

The bill text, as summarized in committee, specifies that customer notices must include both mail and electronic submission instructions; the transcript does not specify implementation timing, enforcement details, or whether the bill prescribes a particular electronic method (for example, a specific web portal or e‑mail address). No statutes, rules, or regulatory citations were noted in the committee discussion.

The committee’s next voting meeting was announced for 05/06/2025 at 10 a.m. in the Ervis Office Building, Room 515.