Bill Text: NJ S192 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requires electric, gas, and water public utilities to disseminate outage information to customers through autodialed telephone call, text message, and electronic mail alert service.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-12-04 - Reported from Senate Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading [S192 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S192-Amended.html
SENATE, No. 192
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
Senator SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires electric, gas, and water public utilities to disseminate outage information to customers through autodialed telephone call, text message, and electronic mail alert service.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Economic Growth Committee on December 4, 2023, with amendments.
An Act requiring electric, gas, and water public utilities to disseminate information concerning service outages through autodialed telephone calls, text messages, and electronic mail and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. An electric, gas, and water public utility, as defined in R.S.48:2-13, shall develop and implement a plan to disseminate to customers, through an autodialed telephone call, text message, and electronic mail alert service maintained by the public utility, information concerning a service outage 1that lasts for one hour or longer1 using the customer contact information on record with the utility. The disseminated information shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) the location and estimated length of the service outage;
(2) contact information for the public utility and emergency services;
(3) information on how to report any other service problem related to the service outage; and
(4) any relevant updates to address the service outage as the situation progresses.
b. The Office of Emergency Management, the Division of State Police, and any other appropriate State, county, or municipal entity may disseminate information made available by a public utility pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
c. As used in this section:
"Autodialed telephone call" means a telephone call made using equipment that makes a series of telephone calls to stored telephone numbers using an artificial or prerecorded voice message.
"Service outage" means any discontinuance of electric, gas, or water public utility service beyond the control of the public utility providing that service. "Service outage" shall not include the discontinuance of service to a customer for bill nonpayment.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
