RELATING TO POWER OUTAGES.
What changed between versions
Establishes automatic compensation eligibility for customers affected by power interruptions impacting more than 1,000 customers for four or more hours.
Expands compensation to include reimbursement for emergency and contingency expenses incurred by hospitals and government entities during qualifying outages.
Requires utilities to maintain detailed service records for outages affecting ten or more customers, including dates, durations, causes, and remediation measures.
Requires utilities to notify customers at least 24 hours before planned maintenance that will cause power loss or voltage fluctuations.
Sets strict deadlines: utilities must submit waiver applications within 30 days of outages, the commission must decide within 90 days, and utilities must issue claim decisions within 30 days.
Prevents utilities from recovering compensation costs or expenses from ratepayers, making utility shareholders or investors responsible for these costs.
Creates a right of appeal to the public utilities commission if a utility denies or partially denies a compensation claim.
Extends the claim submission deadline to 150 days from the outage, up from the previous 30 days, to accommodate customers who may not immediately realize they are eligible for compensation.
