WHY PENNSYLVANIA NEEDS UTILITY REFORM.

Electricity, natural gas, water, sewage, and home heating are basic necessities. Pennsylvania families should not be priced out of them.

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My plan strengthens review of utility rate increases, prevents improper costs from being pushed onto customers, expands protections against unfair shutoffs, creates more realistic payment options, and strengthens help for families facing genuine hardship.

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Data centers and other large-load users would be required to pay the infrastructure and system costs their projects create instead of shifting those costs onto families and small businesses.

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Utilities should be able to recover legitimate costs for safe, reliable service.

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They should not have a blank check.

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THE PLAN AT A GLANCE

 

CONTROL UNJUSTIFIED RATE HIKES

Utility increases would face stronger review, especially when they exceed Pennsylvania wage growth or inflation.

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When underlying costs fall, customers should also see those savings reflected in rates instead of increases becoming permanent by default.

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MAKE BIG USERS PAY THEIR OWN WAY

Data centers and other large-load customers would pay costs directly created by their projects, including appropriate generation, transmission, distribution, substation, reliability, water, wastewater, and other infrastructure needs.

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If their project creates the need or expense, they pay it.

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STOP UNFAIR SHUTOFFS

Customers would receive stronger notice and due process before essential service is terminated, including a final 72-hour door posting or hand-delivered notice before an otherwise lawful shutoff.

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Dangerous weather, medical hardship, pending assistance, active billing disputes, and other protected circumstances would matter.

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HELP PEOPLE PAY, NOT FAIL

Payment plans should be realistic, assistance should reach genuine hardship cases, and residential reconnection fees for essential service would be eliminated.

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PROTECT SMALL BUSINESSES

Qualifying local small businesses would receive stronger rate protections and limited assistance when a temporary utility crisis threatens preventable closure.

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HOLD UTILITIES ACCOUNTABLE

One complaint system, stronger consumer advocacy, public reporting, independent oversight, and real consequences for repeated violations.

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HOW WE GET THERE

 

Utility reform has to protect affordability without sacrificing reliable service.

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FIRST: MAKE UTILITIES PROVE THE COST

Utilities seeking significant rate increases would have to show that the costs are necessary, reasonable, and connected to providing safe and reliable service.

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Ratepayers should not be forced to cover lobbying, political activity, regulatory penalties, wrongful shutoffs, preventable mismanagement, or costs that properly belong to a large corporate customer.

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SECOND: MAKE LARGE USERS RESPONSIBLE FOR LARGE COSTS

Before expensive infrastructure is built for a data center or other major user, Pennsylvania would require appropriate agreements, deposits, bonds, long-term commitments, or other financial protections.

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If that customer later abandons, downsizes, closes, or fails to use infrastructure built specifically for it, ordinary customers should not inherit the bill.

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THIRD: PROTECT ESSENTIAL SERVICE

Utilities would have to follow stronger notice, hardship, assistance, medical, payment-plan, and weather protections before terminating essential service.

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The goal is not to erase legitimate bills.

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It is to keep a temporary financial problem from becoming a health, housing, or family emergency.

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FOURTH: PROTECT PENNSYLVANIA'S POSITION IN THE ENERGY MARKET

Pennsylvania is a major energy-producing state. Our residents should receive reliable service at fair prices and should not be expected to carry unfair costs while energy moves beyond our borders.

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Pennsylvania should demand greater accountability from PJM and the regional electric market.

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If PJM cannot provide Pennsylvania with reliable, affordable, and fair service, the Commonwealth should be prepared to pursue a responsible path toward another structure rather than accepting permanent failure.

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FIFTH: MAKE THE RESULTS PUBLIC

Rates, shutoffs, complaints, violations, assistance, large-load demand, infrastructure costs, and other major utility information would be publicly tracked so Pennsylvanians can see whether the system is actually becoming more affordable.

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WHAT THE PLAN DELIVERS

 

FOR FAMILIES

Stronger protection against unjustified rate increases, hidden cost shifting, unfair shutoffs, unreasonable payment arrangements, and unnecessary reconnection charges.

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Families facing genuine short-term hardship could receive assistance even when they fall just above traditional program limits.

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FOR SENIORS, DISABLED RESIDENTS & MEDICALLY VULNERABLE HOUSEHOLDS

Additional review and protection before essential utility service can be disconnected, especially during dangerous heat or cold or when loss of service could create a medical emergency.

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FOR HEATING-FUEL CUSTOMERS

Pennsylvanians who rely on heating oil, propane, kerosene, coal, pellets, or commercially sold firewood deserve consumer protections too.

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The reform strengthens price transparency, emergency delivery expectations, anti-gouging protections, and access to emergency heating assistance.

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FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

A temporary utility problem should not unnecessarily destroy a viable local business.

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Qualifying small businesses could receive payment assistance, mediation, efficiency help, or emergency support while remaining responsible for legitimate utility obligations.

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FOR DATA CENTERS & LARGE-LOAD USERS

Pennsylvania can welcome investment without forcing ordinary people to subsidize it.

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Large users would be responsible for the utility and infrastructure costs their projects create and would face stronger disclosure, financial-security, and anti-abandonment requirements.

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Major facilities should also be directed toward appropriate brownfield, former industrial, and existing commercial locations rather than unnecessarily consuming productive farmland or shifting new infrastructure burdens onto surrounding communities.

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Data Centers and large load users would be limited in the numbers that can be built in a region.

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FOR RATEPAYERS

Utility bills should pay for utility service.

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They should not pay for political influence, corporate mistakes, regulatory penalties, or infrastructure built primarily for another customer.

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FOR CONSUMERS WHO HAVE A PROBLEM

Pennsylvania would create a simpler complaint process and strengthen the consumer voice in major utility proceedings.

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Repeated or systemic violations would carry meaningful consequences instead of simply becoming another cost of doing business.

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FOR EVERYONE

A statewide utility-affordability dashboard would allow Pennsylvanians to track rates, shutoffs, violations, assistance, large-load demand, infrastructure costs, and whether major corporate users are actually paying the costs assigned to them.

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BOTTOM LINE

Pennsylvania families should not be priced out of electricity, heat, water, sewage, or other basic utility service.

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My plan requires stronger justification for rate increases, stops improper costs from being passed onto ordinary customers, protects people from unfair shutoffs, improves assistance during genuine hardship, protects small businesses, and holds utilities accountable when they break the rules.

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It also establishes a basic rule for data centers and other large users:

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If their project creates the cost, they pay the cost.

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Pennsylvania should welcome responsible investment without forcing families to subsidize corporate expansion.

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And as a major energy-producing state, Pennsylvania should demand an energy market that provides our residents with reliable power at a fair price.

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Reliable service. Fair rates. Strong consumer protections. Corporate responsibility. Real accountability.

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WANT THE FULL DETAILS?

This page gives the voter-facing summary of my Pennsylvania Utility Affordability & Consumer Protection Reform.

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The complete policy package includes detailed provisions covering utility rates, shutoffs, payment arrangements, medical and weather protections, heating fuels, small-business protections, assistance programs, data centers and large-load users, infrastructure responsibility, financial guarantees, consumer complaints, public reporting, enforcement, and utility accountability.

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