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Committee adopts bill requiring utilities to keep written disconnection policies for customers with life‑threatening conditions
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Summary
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee unanimously passed HB 641 after adding an amendment that requires customers to provide written medical documentation certifying that loss of electric service would aggravate their illness; sponsor Representative Lim and a constituent who uses medical devices testified in support.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee on Thursday unanimously approved House Bill 641, which requires electric suppliers to have written policies on handling service disconnections for residential customers with serious, life‑threatening medical conditions and to provide those policies on request.
Representative Lim, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure is narrowly focused on customers who would be endangered by a disconnection — citing people who rely on LVADs, ventilators, oxygen concentrators and refrigeration for medicines — and said the goal is transparency and consumer protection. "Simply having a policy and being able to communicate that to the consumer can make a world of difference," Lim said.
Lim introduced Tina Marsden, a constituent who previously testified about using an LVAD, as an example of why a written policy matters. Marsden described challenges during outages and emergency response, telling the committee that local emergency planning and utilities do not always prioritize individuals who require power to live. "The city does not prioritize individuals that require power to live," Marsden said.
Committee members pressed for procedural safeguards to prevent abuse by customers who might claim illness without documentation. Chair Mister Harris and others sought language requiring validated medical proof. The committee adopted an amendment that replaces the prior, broader phrase with language requiring that the customer provide a written statement from a physician, county board of health, hospital, or clinic identifying the illness, its expected duration and certifying that the illness would be aggravated by discontinuation of electric service; the chair noted the wording is verbatim from the Public Service Commission rule that applies to Georgia Power.
The amendment was seconded and approved by voice/hand vote; the committee then voted to pass the committee substitute (LC 560591S) as amended. Members declared both the amendment and the committee passage unanimous.
Under the final language, suppliers retain discretion to set specifics of their internal policies — including the length of any grace periods — but must make their written disconnection policies available to qualifying customers or anyone who requests them and must rely on medical documentation to confirm eligibility for special handling.
The committee did not set a carryover amendment or substitute beyond the one adopted; Representative Lim said he will provide the committee with the amended draft and noted the chairman or his designee will carry the bill in the Senate. The committee moved on to its next agenda item.
