Without opposition, the West Virginia House of Delegates has passed legislation that would require utilities to have plans to notify customers of service disruptions.
The House voted 95-0 Friday with no debate to pass House Bill 3263, which would require utility outage communication plans for both planned and unexpected service disruptions. The communication plans would have to include a method for notifying customers and provide estimates about the length of time of the disruption. Each utility would have to provide its plan to the state Public Service Commission.
Sponsored by delegates Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, and Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, HB 3263 follows nearly identical legislation in last year’s HB 4010, which also passed the House without opposition before stalling in the Senate.
“[Utilities] know how to get a hold of us when we owe them money,†Pushkin said at an environmental advocates’ rally at the Capitol Monday.
Now HB 3263 goes before the Senate.
The legislation is a response to Mountaineer Gas drawing criticism for not doing more to communicate with residents following an extended gas outage which left more than 1,000 customers without service on ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s West Side in November 2023.
W.Va. ranked last in electric reliability, overall performance
HB 3263 could loom especially large in West Virginia given the state’s high frequency of outages.
West Virginia finished last in reliability and overall performance in a ranking of electric utility performance among all states released in 2022 by the Citizens Utility Board, an Illinois consumer advocate group.
Appalachian Power’s West Virginia coverage area ranked in the highest 3% of all 958 listed utilities nationwide in outage minutes per year and outage minutes per interruption, as well as the highest 9% in non-momentary electric interruption frequency in 2021, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.
‘Large number’ of nonresponses to PSC order
In October 2024, the PSC issued an order requiring all cable TV service providers and all non-motor carrier utilities in West Virginia to have a process in place to notify customers by text message and email regarding service outages and request updated contact information from customers.
The cable TV service providers and utilities were directed to file a response within 60 days of the order to tell the PSC whether they had those processes in place and seek updated contact information. Those without a process in place to contact customers by text message and email were directed to file a response and describe their plan to implement such a process.
In an order this month closing the case but leaving the requirements in effect, the PSC said a “large number†of entities didn’t respond to its October order. The PSC said it had received 123 responses from utilities and cable TV service providers. Of those that responded, nearly all entities were complying with the October order.
Mike Tony covers energy and the environment. He can be reached at mtony@hdmediallc.com or 304-348-1236. Follow @Mike__Tony on X.
