SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1239        FILED ON: 1/18/2013

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1581

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Benjamin B. Downing

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to the ownership of electric meters.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1239        FILED ON: 1/18/2013

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1581

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

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An Act relative to the ownership of electric meters.

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. Chapter 164 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out section 119 and inserting place thereof the following section:-

Section 119. A distribution company may not own an electric meter, demand indicator, or any other device or appliance used to determine the charge to the customer for electric service in a building owned, occupied or otherwise used by a customer of that distribution company.

SECTION 2. Said chapter 164, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out section 120 and inserting in place thereof the following sections:-

Section 120. Any electric meter, demand indicator, or any other device or appliance used to determine the charge to the customer for electric service in use in the commonwealth shall be subject to minimum standards for such instrument promulgated by the department of public utilities. Such standards shall include, but not be limited to, tolerances for the accuracy of reading and acceptable methods by which a distribution company can derive information from the instrument for purposes of determining the charge to the customer for service. A distribution company may refuse to provide service until a meter satisfying such minimum standards is procured and installed.

SECTION 3. Section121 of chapter 164 of the General Laws is hereby repealed.

SECTION 4. Section 123 of chapter 164 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the words “and electric”.

SECTION 5.

Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, by January 1, 2015, distribution companies shall file with the department a transition plan for selling existing meters to existing customers and a plan for selling new meters to new customers. Nothing in said plans shall allow such companies to require customers to obtain meters from that distribution company.

The department shall approve a tariff based on the plans filed by each distribution company not later than July1, 2016. The tariffs approved by the department shall take effect on. January 1, 2016.

SECTION 6. Sections 1 to 3, inclusive, shall take effect on December 31, 2015.