WEST virginia legislature

2024 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 4010

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

[Originating in the Committee on Technology and Infrastructure; Reported February 23, 2024]

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; requiring utilities to have an outage communication plan; and authorizing the Public Service Commission to receive 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 and provide estimates about the length of time of the disruption.  Each utility shall provide its plan to the Commission.

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.