A2393

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.