A provision in Washington's HB1903 protects small-business utility ratepayers from covering the cost of a new statewide energy assistance program.
Most auto service owners in Washington don't realize that a bill signed into law last year contains a provision that directly affects how their utility bills are structured—and what costs they won't have to absorb.
HB1903, titled "Establishing a statewide low-income energy assistance program," includes language that bars utilities from passing program costs to small-business ratepayers through surcharges or utility-collected fees. For auto shops and similar small businesses, this is a meaningful protection.
Section 3(5)(d) of the bill explicitly prohibits utilities from assessing or collecting fees from ratepayers—including small-business customers—to fund the statewide low-income energy assistance program. Instead, the law requires that program funding come entirely from state appropriations, which are intended to be drawn from Climate Commitment Act auction revenues.
In plain terms: utilities cannot add a line item to your electric or gas bill to pay for low-income energy assistance. That cost stays off the utility bill and becomes a state budget matter instead.
Utility surcharges are common ways to fund public programs. Ratepayers—residential and commercial alike—typically end up covering these costs through higher monthly bills. By explicitly blocking this funding mechanism, HB1903 prevents auto service shops and other small businesses from bearing a portion of the low-income assistance program's cost through their utility accounts.
This doesn't mean the program is free; it means taxpayers fund it through the state budget rather than ratepayers funding it through utility bills. For a small business managing tight margins, the difference between a surcharge on your utility bill and general state spending can matter when you're forecasting expenses.
The provision becomes effective on June 11, 2026. Section 3, which contains this language, expires on June 30, 2035, meaning the restriction on utility surcharges is in place for roughly nine years from the effective date.
If you receive a utility bill after June 11, 2026, that includes a surcharge or fee labeled as funding low-income energy assistance, that would violate the law. Most utilities will have updated their billing systems by then, but it's worth knowing what to look for.
Review your utility bills starting in mid-2026 to confirm no new surcharges appear. If you're uncertain whether a charge on your bill relates to this program, contact your utility directly and reference Section 3(5)(d) of E2SHB 1903. Most utility customer service representatives can explain any new or existing charges.
If you're involved in industry associations or chambers of commerce, this is also useful information to share with peers who may not have tracked the bill's passage.
Source: E2SHB 1903, Section 3(5)(d), Page 4; effective June 11, 2026.