Hartford, CT (WFSB) – Legislators returned to the state capital for a special session.
On Wednesday, the State House voted on ten bills, and the state Senate will consider these issues on Thursday.
The big item on their Wednesday agenda was a bill to “get our grid back”.
Legislation aims to change the way utility companies operate, create more transparency and improve how storms are handled.
The House of Representatives passed the bill at 10:30 p.m.
Legislators spent hours debating this.
The bill would change the way utilities control companies such as EverSource and United Illuminating, switch to a performance-based system, and provide refunds after 96 hours of failure.
BREAKING: Citi H House of Representatives passes bill changing the way it controls utility companies such as Eversource and UI – switches to performance-based systems and provides refunds to users after 96 hours of failure. pic.twitter.com/sKPPqWzVMU
– Sharon Johnson (ron sharon_johnson5) October 1, 2020
“This bill was born out of what I call a perfect storm,” said Republican Charles Ferraro.
Bill does a lot of things.
This will limit the profits made by utility companies, give more time to state regulators to review rate increases, and reimburse consumers who lose food or medicine due to power outages.
This is a direct response to the tropical storm Isaiah in August and the harsh criticism of the massive power outage that lasted for days.
“We believe some of these changes will change the way we respond to storms, and we say we need to respond sooner or later,” said Rep. Matt Ritter.
Legislators passed Bill 136 to 4.
Related: Legislators hear from the public, Eversource about storm response, rate hike
Some other bills clean and redevelop the brown sites, which are sites in the polluted state.
Related: Utilities control, absentee ballots list when special session starts on Tuesday
There is also a bill to address funding for school construction projects.
The House of Representatives takes place on Wednesday. The Senate enters Thursday. There may be another session on Friday.
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