Bill
Bill > A659
NJ A659
NJ A659Prohibits utility from billing customer for costs incurred for certain upgrades to utility infrastructure; allows costs for certain upgrades to utility infrastructure be recovered in utility's rate base.
summary
Introduced
01/13/2026
01/13/2026
In Committee
01/13/2026
01/13/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
2026-2027 Regular Session
Bill Summary
The bill requires a public utility customer who has completed a qualified construction project to, within 90 days of completion of the construction, provide to the Board of Public Utilities (board) and to the customer's public utilities a certification from a licensed contractor that the construction on the customer's property was performed to mitigate damage to the customer's property from a previous or future natural disaster. "Qualified construction project" is defined as construction performed on the real property of a customer of a public utility to mitigate damage to the customer's real property from a previous or future natural disaster. A customer who fails to provide the certification to the board and the customer's public utilities within 90 days of the completion of the construction may be liable to the public utility for costs incurred by the public utility for necessary upgrades to its infrastructure as a result of the construction performed on the customer's property. The bill provides that any costs incurred by a public utility for necessary upgrades to its infrastructure as a result of a qualified construction project receiving certification may be recovered in a base rate case. Under the bill, a public utility is not to bill a customer to recover the costs incurred to the public utility for necessary upgrades to its infrastructure as a result of a qualified construction project, except that the public utility may bill the customer for the customer's pro rata share of any increase in the public utility's rate base or other recovery mechanism approved by the board.
AI Summary
This bill outlines new rules for how public utilities can recover costs for infrastructure upgrades necessitated by certain customer construction projects, specifically those designed to mitigate damage from natural disasters. A "qualified construction project" is defined as work done on a customer's property to protect it from past or future natural disasters. If a customer completes such a project and provides a certification from a licensed contractor to both the Board of Public Utilities (the state agency overseeing utilities) and their utility within 90 days of completion, the utility generally cannot bill that customer directly for the costs of necessary infrastructure upgrades resulting from that project. Instead, these upgrade costs can be recovered by the utility from all its customers through approved rate increases or other mechanisms determined by the Board, meaning the customer who undertook the disaster mitigation project would only pay their standard share of these broader utility costs, not the full cost of the specific upgrades. However, if the customer fails to provide the required certification within the 90-day window, they may be held responsible for the utility's upgrade costs.
Committee Categories
Transportation and Infrastructure
Sponsors (1)
Last Action
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee (on 01/13/2026)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
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bill summary
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bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2026/A659 |
| BillText | https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/A1000/659_I1.HTM |
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