Cheshire Lawmaker Wants Utilities to Pay Fines for Repair Delays

Democratic State Rep. Vickie Nardello, who represents a portion of Cheshire, has called for legislation that would create standards for utility companies dealing with restoration of power after outages.

In a statement released Wednesday, Nardello said failure to meet those standards could result in penalties for the utilities.

Nardello and Speaker of the House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan (D-Meriden) said they will introduce legislation in the 2012 session that would direct the state's utility regulatory commission to create standards for utility companies.

Nardello, who is the House chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, said in the statement the delay in utility performance in response to last weekend's snowstorm and Tropical Storm Irene make it clear that legislation is necessary.

"Certainly we understand that the two storms we have experienced are have been unusual in their destructiveness," said Nardello. "However, the intensity and duration of our outages have been increasing over time. We must have certain expectations of our utility companies, and they have to have an accountability that is measurable," she stated.

The two lawmakers want the state's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to develop standards for response to outages.

Similar legislation approved last year in Massachusetts allows that state to penalize utility companies as much as 2.5 percent of certain revenues for the previous calendar year.