Bill > H0753

This bill, titled the "Vermont Energy Equity Law," mandates that the Public Utility Commission (PUC), Vermont's regulatory body for utilities, create new rules to better protect residential customers from having their essential utility services like gas, electricity, and water shut off. Specifically, the PUC must update existing rules to ensure that a doctor's note certifying a serious health risk from disconnection will prevent or require reconnection of service, and that utilities cannot disconnect service during extreme heat, as defined by the PUC. Furthermore, utilities will be required to develop and submit plans to the PUC outlining how they will minimize involuntary residential disconnections to the lowest practical number. The bill also amends existing law regarding alternative utility regulation to include reducing involuntary disconnections as a factor in approving such plans, ensuring that the financial success of utilities is not solely tied to increased sales and that they are incentivized to improve service quality and reliability, including reducing disconnections.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2026/H.753