Bill Text: NJ A2945 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires electric public utilities to establish toll-free telephone number to be used by public for reporting damaged equipment and dangerous vegetation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-20 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee [A2945 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A2945-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PARKER SPACE
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Requires certain public utilities to establish toll-free telephone number to be used by public for reporting damaged equipment and dangerous vegetation.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning certain communication measures by electric public utilities and supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
"Dangerous vegetation" means a tree, or portion thereof, and any other vegetation which touches or otherwise interferes with the distribution infrastructure of an electric public utility, as determined by the utility.
"Distribution infrastructure" means a wire, line, pole, or other appurtenant equipment used by an electric public utility to provide electric distribution service from a substation of the utility to a customer, but shall not include a service line and its appurtenant equipment to an individual customer.
"Electric public utility" or "utility" means a public utility, as that term is defined in R.S.48:2-13, that is investor-owned, and operates an electricity distribution system in this State.
2. a. An electric public utility shall establish and maintain a toll-free telephone number that may be used by the public to report to the utility the existence of broken or otherwise damaged distribution infrastructure of the utility or the presence or threat of dangerous vegetation to the utility's distribution infrastructure.
b. An electric public utility shall publish the toll-free telephone number required, pursuant to subsection a. of this section, and an explanation of the purpose of the toll-free telephone number, on every periodic bill sent to each customer of the utility and in a prominent location on the homepage of the utility's Internet website.
3. This act shall take effect immediately, but shall remain inoperative for 60 days following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires an electric public utility (utility) to establish and maintain a toll-free telephone number that may be used by the public to report to the utility the existence of broken or otherwise damaged "distribution infrastructure" of the utility or the presence or threat of "dangerous vegetation" to the utility's distribution infrastructure, as those terms are defined in the bill. The utility is to publish the toll-free telephone number and an explanation of the purpose of the toll-free telephone number on every periodic bill sent to each customer of the utility and in a prominent location on the homepage of the utility's Internet website.
