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The Utility Accountability Act aims to hold investor-owned electric utilities accountable for meeting state-established performance standards related to electric reliability and safety. Each year, state regulatory authorities must audit these utilities and certify whether they meet the required standards. If a utility fails to meet the standards, the Secretary of Energy will require the state authority to direct the utility to provide annual bill credits to each residential customer starting the following year. The bill credit begins at $100 per customer and increases by $100 each subsequent year until the utility complies with the standards. Importantly, the cost of these bill credits cannot be passed on to residential customers but must be borne by the utility’s investors. Additionally, if a state regulatory authority does not comply with the Secretary’s order to enforce these penalties, the Secretary may withhold federal assistance such as grants, loans, or technical support from that state authority. This legislation is designed to incentivize utilities to maintain high performance in reliability and safety, protect consumers from bearing the financial burden of utility underperformance, and ensure state regulators enforce standards effectively.