Senator Jen Flanagan will testify in front of the tLegislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy at a public hearing on April 1, 2009 at 1pm in room A2 of the State House. She will be testifying on six bills she filed in response to the ice storm of December 2008.

These bills are proposing to allow the Department of Public Utilities to take harsher steps against any utility company that fails to live up to their responsibilities to rate payers. Senator Flanagan is also proposing to mandate staffing levels, inspections, preventative maintenance, and tree trimming.

Senator Flanagan's Legislation being considered

• S1495 An Act Regarding Mutual Assistance Agreements
• S1494 An Act Regarding Service Outage Restoration Penalties
• S1491 An Act to Promote Utility System Reliability
• S1493 An Act Regarding Service Quality Penalties
• S1492 An Act to Provide Emergency Relief for Electric Customers (co-filed with Secretary of State William Galvin)
• S1490 An Act Amending Utility Rate Hearings