WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

2024 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4010

By Delegates Pushkin, Hansen, Garcia, Williams, Young, and Linville

[Introduced February 13, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Technology and Infrastructure]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §24-2-22, relating to providing notification of utility service disruption to its' customers; and authoring the Public Service Commission to approve each utility's notification plan.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.

24-2-22. Notification of disruption of service

Each utility shall have an outage communication plan in place to notify customers of planned and unexpected disruption of utility services to all customers.  Each utility shall include in its outage communication plan a methodology for prior notice to all affected customers for planned service disruptions.  The communication plan shall include a method for notifying customers electronically and provide estimates about the length of time of the disruption.  Each utility shall provide its plan to the Commission for approval.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require utilities to have in place an approved method of notice to customers for utility service disruptions.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.