Prompted in part by soaring power rates for rank-and-file Pueblo consumers, a proposal to make complex and confusing electricity bills more straightforward and transparent for all Coloradans won the support of a House committee Wednesday.

We first told you about Senate Bill 105 shortly after it was introduced in the upper chamber by Pueblo Democratic state Sen. Leroy Garcia. While the bill doesn’t directly tackle the utility rates themselves — those are governed by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission — the measure would bring transparency, clarity and accountability to ratepayers’ monthly utility bills statewide.

SB 105 requires investor-owned, state-regulated public utilities — like Xcel Energy serving the Denver area and Black Hills Energy serving Pueblo — to provide their customers with “comprehensive billing statements.”

That means monthly utility bills would have to meet a range of standards set out in the proposal, including a line-item representation of all monthly charges and credits; a breakdown of controversial tiered rates in those months when they’re used, and the rate and usage for the current month and each of the previous 12 months.

Since passing the Senate and being introduced in the House, the bill now has gotten the blessing of the House Transportation Committee and next will face a vote by the full House.

A press statement released this week by the House Democrats quotes SB 105’s House sponsors, Democratic Majority Leader K.C. Becker of Boulder and Rep. Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo. Here’s Esgar — who of course hails from ground zero in the ratepayer resistance:

“People in my neck of the woods have been telling me for years that they struggle to understand their energy bills…Right now, their bill gives a bunch of numbers with no explanation. It’s their money, let’s let them know what they’re spending it on. This bill makes sure that customers have the opportunity to learn more about rates, energy usage, and to know what they are paying for.”

And Becker:

“Given changes in technology and energy, there’s more desire from customers to access information about utilities…This bill will help our citizens understand their energy bills and figure out how they can be more efficient in their energy use — it’s good for the utility company, it’s good for the environment and it’s good for the customers.”