Poll: Should Utility Companies Rebate Customers for Power Outages?

A Massachusetts legislator is urging passage of a new law that would force utility companies to rebate customers when there are extended outages.

State Rep. Daniel Winslow (R-Norfolk, MA) has asked the Massachusetts House Rules Committee to take action on a power outage rebate bill. According to a release from Winslow's office reported on Wrentham Patch, the bill would require rebates to customers who go without power for more than eight hours. The rebate would be for two days of their average bill for each day the customer is without power.

The move is prompted by the Halloween weekend storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers throughout Massachusetts, just two months after Tropical Storm Irene knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers.

Winslow is hoping to spur preventative maintenance like tree removal and trimming. He claims the efforts by utility companies have been inadequate.