Substitute House Bill No. 6551
          Substitute House Bill No. 6551

               PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-8


AN   ACT   CONCERNING   DIRECT   PETITION  OF  THE
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITY CONTROL.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Section  16-20  of  the  general  statutes  is
repealed and the following is substituted in  lieu
thereof:
    If  any public  service  company  unreasonably
fails or refuses  to  furnish  adequate service at
reasonable  rates  to   any   person   within  the
territorial limits within  which  the company has,
by its charter,  authority  to furnish the service
or, in the  case  of a nonfranchised, nonchartered
water  company,  the  general  territorial  limits
within which it operates, AND IF NO OTHER SPECIFIC
REMEDY IS PROVIDED  IN  TITLE 16 OR IN REGULATIONS
ADOPTED THEREUNDER, the  person  may bring [his] A
written  petition  to  the  Department  of  Public
Utility Control alleging  the  failure or refusal.
[Thereupon the] THE  department  shall [fix a time
and place for  a  hearing,  which shall be held no
later  than  one  hundred  fifty  days  after  the
petition is received, and shall mail notice of the
hearing date, time  and  place  to  the parties in
interest at least  one  week prior to the hearing.
Upon the hearing,  the department may, if it finds
that  the  company   has  unreasonably  failed  or
refused  to  furnish   the  person  with  adequate
service    at   reasonable    rates,    prescribe]
INVESTIGATE AND, NOT  MORE  THAN  SIXTY DAYS AFTER
RECEIPT OF A  PETITION,  (1) IF APPROPRIATE, ISSUE
AN ORDER PRESCRIBING  the  service to be furnished
by the company, [to the person and] the conditions
under which [,]  and  maximum  rates or charges at
which [,] the  service  shall  be furnished OR (2)
ORDER THAT A HEARING BE HELD ON THE MATTER OR THAT
THE  MATTER  BE   SET   FOR   ALTERNATIVE  DISPUTE
RESOLUTION. [The company  shall thereafter furnish
the service to  the  person in accordance with the
conditions so prescribed  and shall not thereafter
demand or collect  any  rate  or  charge  for  the
service in excess of the maximum rate or charge so
prescribed. This section  shall  be  construed  to
include telephone exchange  areas.] IF AT ANY TIME
DURING  SUCH  SIXTY-DAY   PERIOD,   ANY  PARTY  IN
INTEREST REQUESTS A HEARING, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL,
AFTER NOTICE TO  ALL  PARTIES  AND  NOT  MORE THAN
NINETY DAYS AFTER  RECEIVING  THE  REQUEST, HOLD A
HEARING  AND,  IF   APPROPRIATE,  ISSUE  AN  ORDER
PRESCRIBING THE SERVICE  TO  BE  FURNISHED  BY THE
COMPANY AND THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH AND MAXIMUM
RATES OR CHARGES  AT  WHICH  THE  SERVICE SHALL BE
FURNISHED.

Approved April 18, 1997