New Jersey A 847: Makes supplemental appropriation of $1 billion for After School Recreation in Urban Areas.

Bill Text

A847 

ASSEMBLY, No. 847 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman GERRY SCHARFENBERGER

District 13 (Monmouth)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires electric public utility to reimburse cost of 
certain customer-owned electric service equipment if damage to equipment is due 
to weather event affecting electric public utility service.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

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

�� 

An Act concerning the replacement of certain electric service 
equipment 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):

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

���� �Customer� means a customer of 
record of an electric public utility.

���� �Customer-owned electric 
service equipment� or �service equipment� means any cable, line, wire, and 
other appurtenant equipment, including a weatherhead and insulator, service 
entrance cable, customer conduit, meter base or box, and fuse or circuit 
breaker box, owned by a customer, and used for the provision of electric 
service to a building owned by the customer. ��Customer-owned electric service 
equipment� shall not include the interior electric wiring distributing 
electricity through a building owned by a customer.

���� �Distribution line� means a 
cable, line, wire, service drop, and other appurtenant equipment for the 
provision of electric distribution service from a substation of an electric 
public utility to a building or structure of a customer.

���� �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.

���� �Sustained interruption� means 
the cessation of electric public utility service to one or more customers 
lasting more than 12 consecutive hours during or after the conclusion of a 
weather event where the electric public utility service cessation was caused by 
that weather event.

���� �Weather 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, or any other condition 
that the board determines, which results in a sustained interruption of utility 
service.

���� 2.��� The board shall adopt, 
pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations requiring an electric public 
utility to reimburse a customer for the full cost of the purchase and 
installation of customer-owned electric service equipment, if the effects of a 
weather event, including, but not limited to, a power surge from a downed 
distribution line, caused the service equipment to fail or not function 
properly, and the damage was not due to the fault of the customer, as 
determined by the board based upon the result of an investigation conducted by 
the board.

���� 3.��� This act shall take 
effect on the 60th day after the date of enactment, but the Board of Public 
Utilities may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as 
shall be necessary for the timely implementation of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� 
) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the Board 
of Public Utilities (BPU) to adopt rules and regulations requiring an electric 
public utility (utility) to reimburse a customer for the full cost of the 
purchase and installation of customer-owned electric service equipment (service 
equipment), if the effects of a weather event, including, but not limited to, a 
power surge from a downed distribution line, caused the service equipment to 
fail or not function properly, and the damage was not due to the fault of the 
customer, as determined by the BPU based upon the result of an investigation 
conducted by the BPU.� The bill defines �customer-owned electric service 
equipment,� �distribution line,� and �weather event.�