Power Outage Rebate Bill Makes Sense

Like many residents, I was angered by the lengthy power failures across MetroWest that occurred during our last big winter blast on Oct. 29.

State Rep. Dan Winslow’s (R-Norfolk) Power Outage Rebate Bill (House 3829) is meant to encourage utility companies to spend more money to protect against power failures before they occur. 

Winslow has correctly noted that the utility companies ignore tree branches that are growing around power lines because it’s cheaper to deal with electricity failures after they happen. 

Since these firms are monopoly operations, it’s time for the Legislature to take action.

The proposal would force utility companies to offer a refund to customers if they are without power for more than eight hours. The refund, which would be active for each day customers are without power, would total roughly two days of the customer's average electrical bill. (The buffer period would keep firms from crediting customers for brief outages).

Sen. Scott Brown said he supports the Winslow Bill, and so do I:

"What’s at the heart of this issue is safety. We had power out in homes with young children, and seniors living alone, with temperatures dropping to freezing at night. We need to put in place financial penalties for the utilities so they will allocate sufficient resources to preventing a recurrence of the problem."

Avoidable risks to public safety are the top concerns of the bill’s proponents before Mother Nature strikes again.