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Senate Finance hears utilities and regulators on disconnect protections; debate centers on rulemaking vs statute
Summary
The committee reviewed H.753 (ratepayer protections) with testimony from the Public Service Department and utilities about reporting, summer high-heat rules and physician certificates for medical exemptions; utilities warned of cost-shifting and administrative burdens while the department and some senators urged clarifying language and PUC rulemaking.
The Senate Finance Committee spent substantial time on H.753, a bill that would require reporting of disconnections and direct the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to address service-protection rules for residential electric, gas and water customers during extreme conditions.
Carol Flint, a department representative, told senators the bill should say "natural gas" rather than "propane," because the department regulates natural gas disconnections while the attorney general's office handles propane. She also warned that the annual energy report is due Jan. 15, so any data the bill references will reflect either a fall point-in-time collection or state fiscal-year reporting, not…
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