 |
|
4/5/2018
|
Rep. Casimiro introduces bill to require electric and cable credits for prolonged outages
|
 STATE HOUSE – Rep. Julie A. Casimiro (D-Dist. 31, North Kingstown, Exeter) has introduced legislation (2018-H 8060) that would require utility and cable companies to provide bill credits to customers after service is interrupted for 168 hours within a 30 day period.
“With the intense storms our state has suffered recently, the public has been rightfully angry about the widespread power and cable outages that plagued Rhode Island customers for an unacceptable time period before services were restored. When factoring in the rising costs of both electric and cable services that Rhode Islanders are paying monthly, it is only fair that these customers are given relief, in the form of bill credits, for time periods in which they had no service available. If the electric and cable companies’ response times to outages are not satisfactory and people are left in the dark for far too long, relief on their monthly bills is an appropriate step to compensate the customers for the hardship that these outages have caused,” said Representative Casimiro.
The companies will be prohibited from recovering the cost of the bill credits by instituting a surcharge on the customer, including any rider, adjustment clause or recovery mechanism that is added to a customer’s bill.
Credits would not be applied if the interruption of service was due to the action or inaction of the customer, such as unpaid bills, or if the service was terminated by either the customer or the service company.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Caruolo, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-6124
|
|