Utility Companies Held Accountable For Outages Under Proposed Law

PROVIDENCE, RI —A Rhode Island lawmaker is calling for utility companies to be held accountable for storm related outages and restoration.

House Majority Whip Katherine Kazarian's bill would give the state's Public Utilities Commission and the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers emergency powers during weather-related outages, allowing them input on operations until power is restored, should it be deemed necessary.

"As I have referenced before, East Providence, the community I represent, has had five power outages over the last year while communities over the border like Seekonk are able to keep the lights on for their ratepayers," Kazarian said. "Something clearly is not working and the ratepayers of Rhode Island deserve far better service when one considers the high amounts of money that we all pay for our utilities."

The legislation is modeled after a bill that was passed by the Massachusetts General Assembly in 2009. Along with granting emergency powers, the bill requires the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers create a system of standards for both preparing for and responding to an emergency. Any penalties collected by the commission would be returned to customers.

Utility companies would also be required to submit an annual emergency plan, which would be reviewed by the commission.

"We have given the utility companies every chance to provide the service that Rhode Islanders pay handsomely for and deserve, yet every year, we all are experiencing more and longer periods of utility outage," Kazarian continued. "Power and heat are not luxuries that people can afford to go without and this legislation will not only hold our well-paid utility companies accountable for unreliable and lackluster service, but more importantly, it will cause these companies to prepare properly so that future storms and emergencies no long jeopardize crucial utility services."