The legislature's Energy & Technology Committee will hold a special listening session tomorrow to hear comments on a bill being proposed to address the problems in the most recent Eversource storm recovery. The listening session will start at 10:30am. The committee is co-chaired by Danbury Representative David Arconti.
The draft bill requires Electric Distribution Companies to open, operate and staff Regional Service Centers, staffed with Connecticut- based grid and power line service workers. The bill calls for residential customers to get a $125 credit to their account for each day a power outage exceeds 72 hours and a reimbursement of up to $500 for any food or prescription drug that spoiled due to power outages lasting more than 72 hours.
The bill also puts a number of requirements on PURA. They would have to initiate a proceeding to investigate, develop, and adopt a framework for implementing performance-based regulation of EDCs and other utilities; consider the implementation of penalties in addition to incentives based on performance; and to initiate a proceeding to consider the implementation of an interim rate decrease, low-income rate and economic development rates. The bill prohibits PURA from allowing EDCs to recover executive compensation packages in rates which exceed comparable compensation packages in other states.