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BOSTON - The Senate passed legislation that addresses emergency service response of public utility companies in Massachusetts, Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, announced yesterday.
"The people of the Commonwealth deserve better than they got from their utility providers last fall," said Moore in response to the lackluster performance across the state after Tropical Storm Irene in August and the infamous Halloween snowstorm in October.
"This bill ensures better communication between company and consumer and imposes fines on those found to be noncompliant," he said.
The bill requires public utility companies to provide twice-daily estimates to customers on when electricity will be restored following a 24-hour damage assessment period, and to set up a call center during a major storm. The call center must be located in Massachusetts and must have sufficient staffing to handle increases in calls.
Utilities must also report storm outages to the state and designate a community liaison in each community when implementing an emergency response plan. The bill also requires utilities to designate staff at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency to help coordinate statewide response.
Additionally, utilities will pay an assessment charge to help the Department of Public Utilities pay for storm investigations. The cost of this assessment cannot be passed on to customers. The bill also ensures that any penalties assessed on utilities for violation of emergency preparation and response will be credited to customers.
Finally, to further ensure that public utility companies in Massachusetts improve response to cities and towns during a storm, the bill extends the possibility of receivership to all utilities in the case of gross negligence. Currently, only Unitil is subject to receivership.
The bill now goes to the House of Representatives, Moore said.
To keep up with Sen. Moore's work in the Legislature, visit, www.sentormoore.com
