Prohibits electric public utilities from billing customers for certain services during service interruptions and requires repair of certain street lights.
Summary
Assembly Bill 2849 would amend New Jersey utility law to bar electric public utilities from charging customers for electricity service during a service interruption. It also requires utilities to prorate or reduce fixed monthly charges, to the extent those charges are not tied to usage, for the portion of the billing cycle when a customer was without service. The bill defines a service interruption as the cessation of electric service to a customer.
The bill also addresses street lighting maintained by electric utilities. If a street light is damaged or defective, the utility must repair it within 10 business days after receiving notice. Until the repair is completed, the utility may not bill for electricity used by that street light or for any associated fixed charges. The measure takes effect immediately and would be added to Title 48 of the Revised Statutes governing public utilities.
Impact
The bill would create new billing restrictions for electric public utilities in New Jersey and supplement Title 48 of the Revised Statutes. It would require utilities to adjust customer bills when outages occur, potentially affecting how utilities calculate usage charges and fixed charges during service interruptions. It would also impose a specific repair deadline for defective street lights under utility jurisdiction and prohibit billing for those lights until repairs are made, affecting utility maintenance practices and municipal or customer billing arrangements tied to street lighting.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes, the available context suggests a consumer-protection and service-accountability approach rather than a contested policy debate. The measure appears aimed at ensuring customers are not billed for electricity they do not receive and at encouraging timely repair of street lights. No formal vote history or committee discussion is provided, so there is no documented opposition or support beyond the bill’s stated purpose.
Contention
The main points of potential contention are the financial and operational burdens on electric utilities. Utilities may object to mandatory bill reductions during outages, especially where outages are caused by events outside their control, and to the requirement to repair street lights within 10 business days after notice. Customers and consumer advocates would likely support the bill’s protections against paying for unavailable service and its street-light repair mandate. Because no committee transcript or vote record is included, specific disagreements among legislators or stakeholders are not documented.
Carry Over
Prohibits electric public utilities from billing customers for certain services during service interruptions and requires repair of certain street lights.
Carry Over
Prohibits electric public utilities from billing customers for certain services during service interruptions and requires repair of certain street lights.
Same As
Prohibits electric public utilities from billing customers for certain services during service interruptions and requires repair of certain street lights.