Establishes electric and gas utility medical baseline program for certain persons.

A2393

ASSEMBLY, No. 2393

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes electric and gas utility medical baseline
program for certain persons.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning electric and gas utility rates and
supplementing Title 48 of the Revised Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� As used in
P.L. , c. (C.�� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill):

���� �Average residential customer�
means a residential customer of a public utility who is not a medical baseline
customer and whose electricity usage or gas usage, or both if applicable,
aligns with the average reasonable energy needs of other residential customers
in the same service area.

���� �Board� means the Board of
Public Utilities.

���� �Life support equipment� means
equipment that utilizes mechanical or artificial means to sustain, restore, or
supplant a vital function; or mechanical equipment that a person relies upon
for mobility within and outside buildings.� �Life support equipment� includes,
but is not limited to: all types of respirators, iron lungs, hemodialysis
machines, suction machines, electric nerve stimulators, pressure pads and
pumps, aerosol tents, electrostatic and ultrasonic nebulizers, compressors,
intermittent positive pressure breathing machines, and motorized wheelchairs.

���� �Medical baseline� means a
quantity of electricity or gas, as applicable, which quantity is necessary to
supply an average of those reasonable energy needs of a medical baseline
customer that exceed the reasonable energy needs of an average residential customer.

���� �Medical baseline customer�
means a residential customer that requests and qualifies for a medical baseline
discount, pursuant to section 2 of P.L. ,
c. (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).

���� �Medical baseline discount�
means the discounted rate charged for a medical baseline customer�s medical
baseline, which discounted rate is not to exceed the lowest available
electricity or gas rate for residential service charged by the public utility
serving a medical baseline customer.

���� �Public utility� means a
public utility, as that term is defined in R.S.48:2-13, that provides electric
or gas distribution service in this State.

���� 2.��� a. Each public utility
shall establish a medical baseline program, through which the public utility
shall provide electric or gas service, or both when applicable, for a medical
baseline customer�s medical baseline.� A public utility shall provide a medical
baseline discount for the medical baseline, as determined by the board pursuant
to section 3 of P.L. ,
c. (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill), to a residential customer that requests a medical baseline discount
pursuant to subsection d. of this section and is eligible due to one of the
following conditions, upon written certification by a physician with a plenary
license to practice medicine and surgery in this State or a bordering State; a
physician stationed at a military or naval installation located in this State
who is licensed to practice in any state; a physician assistant licensed to
practice in this State or a bordering state; or a nurse practitioner licensed
to practice in this State or a bordering state that the person meets the
conditions constituting:

���� (1)�� dependency on life
support equipment;

���� (2)�� paraplegia or
quadriplegia;

���� (3)�� multiple sclerosis;

���� (4)�� scleroderma;

���� (5)�� treatment for a
life-threatening illness or immunocompromised status, if a licensed medical
professional certifies in writing to the public utility that additional energy
for heating, or cooling, or both, is medically necessary to sustain the life of
the person or prevent deterioration of the person�s medical condition; or

���� (6)�� any other condition the
board may determine appropriate.� The board may consult with the Department of
Health or medical experts in order to make this determination.

���� b.��� A public utility shall
provide notifications to a medical baseline customer within a reasonable amount
of time in advance of a predicted or planned service outage in the medical
baseline customer�s service area.� A public utility shall provide updates to
the medical baseline customer as reasonably available concerning the expected
length of the service outage and a timeline for expected restoration.� Any
notifications or updates provided pursuant to this subsection shall be to a
medical baseline customer�s preferred method of contact, as the medical
baseline customer shall designate with the public utility.

���� c.���� A public utility shall
publish information about the medical baseline program established pursuant to
P.L. , c. (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) on its Internet website, including,
but not limited to, information about how to request a medical baseline
discount pursuant to subsection d. of this section.� A public utility shall
include notice of medical baseline program availability with customer
communications, including, but not limited to, paper or electronic bills.

���� d.��� A public utility shall
make available an application for residential customers of the public utility
to apply to participate in the medical baseline program.� An application for
its medical baseline program shall include, but not be limited to, the following
information:

���� (1)�� any appropriate personal
information, including a preferred method of contact for the public utility to
use in compliance with subsection b. of this section, and account information;

���� (2)�� a written certification
of medical eligibility for the medical baseline program pursuant to subsection
a. of this section; and

���� (3)�� any other information as
may be reasonably necessary for the public utility�s administration of a
medical baseline program.

���� 3.��� a. The board shall
decide the medical baseline for the purposes of P.L. ,
c. (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).� The medical baseline may be determined using any reasonable methods
the board determines appropriate, including, but not limited to: universally
among all public utilities; separately for each public utility; by geographical
location; separately for electric and gas service; using medical baseline
customers� individual or categorical needs; or by season.

���� b.��� The board shall review
the medical baseline as necessary, but not less than once every third calendar
year, to ensure its calculation accurately represents the current needs of
medical baseline customers in this State and achieves the purposes of P.L. ,
c. (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill).

���� c.���� In determining or
reviewing the medical baseline pursuant to this section, the board shall
consider:

���� (1)�� the affordability of
average residential customer rates;

���� (2)�� differences in energy
needs among residential customers for electricity, gas, or both;

���� (3)�� any impact of geographic
location, weather conditions, or time of year on electric or gas usage or
rates;

���� (4)�� the energy needs of
medical baseline customers generally and, as appropriate, with regard to any
unusual energy needs of medical baseline customers with specific conditions;
and

���� (5)�� any other factor the
board deems appropriate.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires each public
utility that provides electric or gas distribution service in this State to
establish a medical baseline program.� Through the medical baseline program, a
public utility is to provide a medical baseline discount for residential
customers that request it and that qualify due to one of the following
conditions, upon written certification by certain medical professionals
pursuant to the bill: (1) dependency on life support equipment; (2) paraplegia
or quadriplegia; (3) multiple sclerosis; (4) scleroderma; (5) treatment for a
life-threatening illness or immunocompromised status, if a licensed medical
professional certifies in writing to the public utility that additional energy
for heating, or cooling, or both, is medically necessary to sustain the life of
the person or prevent deterioration of the person�s medical condition; or (6)
any other condition the Board of Public Utilities (board) may determine
appropriate. �The board may consult with the Department of Health or medical experts
in order to make this determination.

���� The medical baseline discount
means the discounted rate charged for a medical baseline customer�s medical
baseline, which discounted rate is not to exceed the lowest available
electricity or gas rate for residential service charged by the public utility serving
a medical baseline customer.� The medical baseline, to be determined by the
board, is a quantity of electricity or gas, as applicable, which quantity is
necessary to supply an average of those reasonable energy needs of a medical
baseline customer that exceed the reasonable energy needs of an average
residential customer.� The board may determine the medical baseline using any
reasonable methods it determines appropriate, including, but not limited to:
universally among all public utilities; separately for each public utility; by
geographic location; separately for electric and gas service; using medical
baseline customers� individual or categorical needs; or by season.

���� The board is required to
review the medical baseline as necessary, but not less than every third
calendar year, to ensure its calculation accurately represents the current
needs of medical baseline customers in this State and achieves the bill�s
purposes.� The board is to consider certain factors described in the bill when
determining or reviewing the medical baseline.

���� A public utility is required
to make available an application for residential customers of the public
utility to its medical baseline program.� An application for the medical
baseline program is to include certain information as described in the bill.

���� In addition to the medical
baseline discount, a public utility is to provide notifications to a medical
baseline customer within a reasonable amount of time in advance of a predicted
or planned service outage in the medical baseline customer�s service area.� A
public utility is to provide updates as reasonably available concerning the
expected length of the service outage and a timeline for expected restoration.�
The notifications or updates are required to be provided to a medical baseline
customer�s preferred method of contact.

���� A public utility is required
to publish information about the medical baseline program on its Internet
website, including, but not limited to, information about how to request a
medical baseline discount.� A public utility is also required to include notice
of medical baseline program availability with customer communications,
including, but not limited to, paper or electronic bills.