Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GERARD SCHARFENBERGER
District 13 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires electric public utility to reimburse cost of certain customer-owned electric service equipment if damage to equipment is due to weather event affecting electric public utility service.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the replacement of certain electric service equipment and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Board" means the Board of Public Utilities or any successor agency.
"Customer" means a customer of record of an electric public utility.
"Customer-owned electric service equipment" or "service equipment" means any cable, line, wire, and other appurtenant equipment, including a weatherhead and insulator, service entrance cable, customer conduit, meter base or box, and fuse or circuit breaker box, owned by a customer, and used for the provision of electric service to a building owned by the customer. "Customer-owned electric service equipment" shall not include the interior electric wiring distributing electricity through a building owned by a customer.
"Distribution line" means a cable, line, wire, service drop, and other appurtenant equipment for the provision of electric distribution service from a substation of an electric public utility to a building or structure of a customer.
"Electric public utility" or "utility" means a public utility, as that term is defined in R.S.48:2-13, that provides electric distribution service in this State.
"Sustained interruption" means the cessation of electric public utility service to one or more customers lasting more than 12 consecutive hours during or after the conclusion of a weather event where the electric public utility service cessation was caused by that weather event.
"Weather event" means an occurrence arising from conditions beyond the control of an electric public utility that affect the operation of an electric public utility's distribution system, including, but not limited to, a thunderstorm, tornado, hurricane, flood, heat wave, snow storm, ice storm, earthquake, or any other condition that the board determines, which results in a sustained interruption of utility service.
2. The board shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations requiring an electric public utility to reimburse a customer for the full cost of the purchase and installation of customer-owned electric service equipment, if the effects of a weather event, including, but not limited to, a power surge from a downed distribution line, caused the service equipment to fail or not function properly, and the damage was not due to the fault of the customer, as determined by the board based upon the result of an investigation conducted by the board.
3. This act shall take effect on the 60th day after the date of enactment, but the Board of Public Utilities may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the timely implementation of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to adopt rules and regulations requiring an electric public utility (utility) to reimburse a customer for the full cost of the purchase and installation of customer-owned electric service equipment (service equipment), if the effects of a weather event, including, but not limited to, a power surge from a downed distribution line, caused the service equipment to fail or not function properly, and the damage was not due to the fault of the customer, as determined by the BPU based upon the result of an investigation conducted by the BPU. The bill defines "customer-owned electric service equipment," "distribution line," and "weather event."