Special Session Recap

TRHAP
October 2, 2020

My colleagues and I in the House of Representatives concluded a one day Special Session Wednesday that included some important legislation on utility companies, absentee ballots, and a variety of other topics. 

Take Back Our Grid Act
Grid Act

On Wednesday, the House took action on the most transformative Energy reform legislation on utility rates in a decade.

We are holding the big utility companies accountable to ratepayers and addressing some of the pressing issues that we have heard from many of you.

H.B. 7006 - AAC Emergency Response by Electric Distribution Companies, also known as "Take Back our Grid" legislation, creates a solid framework to not only hold utility companies accountable, but pushes them to improve their services and how they respond to future storms.

The legislation will: 

  • Establish Performance Based Ratemaking – where state regulators (PURA -Public Utilities Regulatory Authority) establishes standards the utilities must meet, develops metrics for determining progress, and allows the issuance of penalties if the utilities fail to meet the standard;
  • Require the utilities to provide $25 daily bill credits and $250 total claim for food and medicine, as well as reduced charges to residential customers without power lasting more than 96 hours;
  • Tie the portion of executive salaries that come from ratepayers to the company's performance;
  • Develop minimum staffing levels for lineman, communications personnel and others to make sure the utilities respond to storms quickly and convey timely information to their customers. 
We are not done addressing the issues of significant rate increases in July and poor performance during Tropical Storm Isaias.
 
As you may know, PURA has on-going investigations into both the Eversource rate increase and the storm response. I am certain that these investigations will lead to legislative proposals for when the legislature convenes in January.
 
The bill now heads to the Governor's desk after the Senate voted to approve this legislation on Thursday.
 
Please continue to reach out to me with your questions or concerns. I am working hard to ensure they are addressed.

Absentee Ballots

Also on Wednesday, the House approved legislation (as the Senate did yesterday) that streamlines the process for counting ballots during the 2020 General Election.

The legislation will allow state election officials to process and verify absentee ballots beginning October 30th. However, votes will still remain uncounted until November 3rd.

Click HERE to read more about this bill.

As a reminder, if you sent in an application to vote by absentee ballot, be sure to read the below graphic for the next steps.

Absentee Ballots

Temporary Rental Housing Assistance Program
 
While this wasn't an item on our Special Session agenda, I wanted to remind everyone about the state's Temporary Rental Housing Assistance Program (TRHAP).
 
Earlier this week, Governor Lamont announced that he will be doubling funding for TRHAP (which is funded through the federal CARES Act) from $20 million to $40 million.
 
Below are important things to know regarding the program: 
  • Initial priority for TRHAP assistance will be targeted at individuals and families who have been denied unemployment assistance from the Department of Labor. Potential applicants will be directed to a Centralized Call Center for Threshold eligibility, after which a detailed application must be completed.
  • Individuals who are unemployed or under-employed and who have not yet filed for unemployment assistance should file as soon as possible.
  • Individuals who would like to speak to a Call Center Representative to determine their eligibility for TRHAP assistance can call 1-860-785-3111.