Politics & Government

Senate Passes Utility Bill in Response to Outages

Tropical Storm Irene, Snowtober prompted bill passage.

The Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill on Thursday looking to improve utility company response during emergencies.

The effects of Tropical Storm Irene and the Snowtober snowstorm were cited as part of the rationale for the bill. Those storms left Wrentham without power for an extended period of time.

According to a release from State Senator Richard Ross' (R-Wrentham) office, the bill requires utility companies to update customers twice daily on estimated power restoration times.

Find out what's happening in Wrenthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The companies must also send personnel to communicate with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and designate a liason for each community.

“I am thrilled that we are taking the steps necessary to remedy the poor emergency response plans exhibited by the utility companies last fall and to ensure that Massachusetts residents do not face such a situation in the future,” Ross said in a statement. “This legislation will increase communication between utility companies and municipalities to facilitate a faster, more efficient response to power outages throughout the Commonwealth."

Find out what's happening in Wrenthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Another provision of the bill has the utility companies paying an assessment to the Department of Public Utilities to pay for storm investigations. According to the release, the bill ensures penalties on the companies for violation of emergency preparation and response are credited to consumers.

"I am also pleased to see that the customers will be credited for those power outages, to reimburse them for the hardships they endured during that time,” Ross said.

The bill now moves on to the state house of representatives.


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