Requires electric public utility to reimburse customers for up to $500 for spoiled food and full cost of spoiled medicine resulting from lengthy service outage following major event.

A4715

ASSEMBLY, No. 4715

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 16, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Morales and Assemblyman Stanley

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires electric public utility to reimburse
customers for up to $500 for spoiled food and full cost of spoiled medicine
resulting from lengthy service outage following major event.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning reimbursement for certain costs resulting
from a sustained electric public utility service outage 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. Beginning 90 days
after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill), an electric public utility shall
reimburse a residential customer who experienced a sustained interruption in
electric service for any food or medication that spoiled or was compromised due
to lack of refrigeration caused by the sustained interruption.

���� b.��� The reimbursement,
pursuant to subsection a. of this section, shall be of an amount:

���� (1)�� up to $500 for the
amount paid for the food that spoiled.� For any reimbursement request over
$250, a customer shall provide to the utility an itemized list of the spoiled
food and proof of purchase, including an itemized receipt; and

���� (2)�� equal to the full cost
of the amount paid for the medication that was compromised.� For any
reimbursement request over $500, a customer shall provide to the utility an
itemized list of the compromised medication and proof of purchase, including an
itemized receipt.

���� c.���� No later than 90 days
after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill), each electric public utility in the State
shall develop and implement a system for customers of the utility to apply for
a reimbursement online through the utility�s Internet website.� Applications
for reimbursement shall be made in a form and manner as determined by the
board.� An electric public utility shall reimburse a customer no later 30 days
after receipt of a customer�s request.

���� d.��� Any costs incurred by an
electric public utility pursuant to
P.L. , c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not be recoverable from
ratepayers of the utility.

���� e.���� The board shall,
pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et
seq.), adopt rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this
section.

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

���� �Board� means the Board of
Public Utilities or any successor agency.

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

���� �Major event� means an
occurrence arising from conditions beyond the control of an electric public
utility that affect the operation of an electric public utility�s distribution
system, including, but not limited to, a thunderstorm, tornado, hurricane, flood,
heat wave, snow storm, ice storm, earthquake, terrorist attack, or any other
condition that the board determines, which results in a sustained interruption
of utility service.

���� �Sustained interruption� means
the cessation of electric public utility service to one or more customers
lasting more than 72 consecutive hours after the conclusion of a major event
where the electric public utility service cessation was caused by that major
event.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires an electric
public utility (utility) to reimburse a residential customer (customer) who
experienced a �sustained interruption� caused by a �major event,� as those
terms are defined in the bill, for certain costs of spoiled food and medication,
due to the lack of refrigeration during the sustained interruption, upon the
customer filing a claim for the loss in a form and manner established by the
Board of Public Utilities (BPU).� Under the bill, a customer that experiences a
sustained interruption may be reimbursed up to $500 for the amount paid for the
food that spoiled.� For any reimbursement request over $250, a customer is to
provide to the utility an itemized list of the spoiled food and proof of
purchase, including an itemized receipt.� A customer that experiences a
sustained interruption may be reimbursed for the full cost of the amount paid
for the medication that was compromised.� For any reimbursement request over
$500, a customer is to provide to the utility an itemized list of the
compromised medication and proof of purchase, including an itemized receipt.

���� No later than 90 days after
the effective date of the bill, each utility in the State is required to
develop and implement a system for customers of the utility to apply for a
reimbursement online via the utility�s Internet website.� Applications for a
reimbursement are to be made in a form and manner as determined by the BPU, and
customers are to be reimbursed no later than 30 days after a utility�s receipt
of a reimbursement request.

���� The bill prohibits any costs
incurred by a utility pursuant to the bill to be recoverable from ratepayers of
the utility.