HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4023        FILED ON: 9/6/2011

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3829

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Eleven

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An Act to provide power outage rebates to consumers.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Section 1F of chapter 164 of the General Laws, as most recently amended by chapter 133 of the Acts of 2009, is hereby further amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new subsection:-

(10) (a) It shall be unlawful for a distribution company to charge a retail customer for the cost of two days of electric service for each one day said customer is without electric service, provided that the disruption in service is not due to the customer’s inability to pay for service or any act or misfeasance by the customer. 

(b) For the purposes of this section, when in reference to time without electric service, the term “day” shall be equal to a period of eight hours or more in any twenty-four hour period from midnight to midnight.  When calculating the value for reimbursement of two days of electric service, said value shall equal the average 24 hour daily cost incurred by a retail customer in the preceding month.  If the retail customer did not purchase electricity in the preceding month, the amount reimbursed shall be no less than $10 per day for residential retail customers, and no less than $40 per day for commercial and industrial retail customers. 

(c) Violations of this section shall be enforceable pursuant to chapter 93A of the General Laws in addition to the provisions of this chapter.