HB 5439 Summary

• Prohibits utilities from making residential service contingent on advanced meter installation or use, offering incentives for accepting advanced meters, or imposing disincentives for refusing them.

• Requires utilities to provide 180 days' advance written notice before installing advanced meters, with specific content requirements, and allows customers to opt out with utility acknowledgment.

• Permits utilities to charge a maximum $50 one-time fee to remove and replace an advanced meter, unless the utility violated the bill's provisions.

• Designates residential energy use data as confidential and prohibits utilities from selling, renting, sharing, or disclosing it without express customer consent, with encrypted wireless transmission and security protections required.

• Restricts wireless service shutoffs to situations where a utility representative visits the property within 48 hours beforehand and the utility maintains a commission-approved comprehensive security program.