STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman BRIAN E. RUMPF
District 9 (Ocean)
Assemblyman GREGORY E. MYHRE
District 9 (Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Auth
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits electric public utilities from billing customers for certain services during service interruptions and requires repair of certain street lights.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning 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. a. As used in this section:
“Board” means the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities or a successor agency.
“Electric public utility” means a public utility, as that term is defined in R.S.48:2-13, that transmits and distributes electricity to end users within the State.
“Service interruption” means the cessation of electric service to a customer of an electric public utility.
b. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation, or order to the contrary:
(1) an electric public utility shall not charge a customer for the usage or provision of electricity during a service interruption; and
(2) for each billing cycle in which one or more service interruptions occur, an electric public utility shall reduce the amount of any fixed charges, which charges are not tied to a customer’s electricity usage, on a customer’s monthly bill by an amount proportionate to the length of time that a customer was without electric service due to a service interruption.
c. An electric public utility shall repair any damaged or otherwise defective street lights that are under the jurisdiction of or otherwise maintained by the electric public utility within 10 business days of the utility receiving notice that a street light has been damaged or is otherwise defective. Until a street light has been repaired, an electric public utility shall not charge a customer for the usage or provision of electricity to that street light or for any fixed charges associated with the street light.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits an electric public utility from charging a customer for the usage or provision of electricity during a service interruption. In addition, the bill requires an electric public utility, for each billing cycle in which a service interruption occurs, to reduce the amount of any fixed charges, which charges are not tied to a customer’s electricity usage, on a customer’s monthly bill by an amount proportionate to the length of time that a customer was without electric service due to a service interruption. Under the bill, “service interruption” means the cessation of electricity service to a customer of an electric public utility.
In addition, the bill requires an electric public utility to repair any damaged or otherwise defective street lights that are under the utility’s jurisdiction or otherwise maintained by the utility within 10 business days of the utility receiving notice that a street light has been damaged or is otherwise defective. Under the bill, an electric public utility is prohibited from charging a customer for electric service to the street light until the repair has been completed.