SMARTER Act

This legislation, known as the SMARTER Act , significantly amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to alter how electric utilities recover costs for smart grid projects. It establishes a new standard that explicitly prohibits electric utilities from recovering any capital, operating expenditure, or other costs related to the deployment of smart grid systems from their ratepayers. This measure aims to shift the financial responsibility for these investments away from consumers. The bill also repeals a prior PURPA provision that required states to consider allowing cost recovery for smart grid investments, effectively reversing previous federal guidance. State regulatory authorities and nonregulated utilities are now mandated to commence consideration of this new prohibition within one year and complete their determination within two years of the bill's enactment. However, states that have already implemented a comparable standard, conducted a relevant proceeding, or whose legislature has voted on such a standard within the last three years are exempt from these new consideration requirements.