Substitute Senate Bill No. 842
          Substitute Senate Bill No. 842

               PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-20


AN  ACT  CONCERNING  TERMINATION  OF  GAS  SERVICE
DURING THE WINTER.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Section  1.  Subdivision (1) of subsection (b)
of section 16-262c  of  the  general  statutes  is
repealed  and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof:
    (b)   (1)   From   November   first  to  April
fifteenth, inclusive, no electric company  and  no
municipal  utility  furnishing  electricity  shall
terminate  or  refuse  to  reinstate   residential
electric  service  in  hardship  cases  where  the
customer lacks the financial resources to pay  his
or  her  entire  account.  From  November first to
April fifteenth, inclusive, no gas company and  no
municipal  utility  furnishing gas shall terminate
or refuse to reinstate residential gas service  in
hardship  cases  where  the customer uses such gas
for heat and lacks the financial resources to  pay
his  or  her  entire account, except a gas company
that,  between   April   sixteenth   and   October
thirty-first,   terminated   gas   service   to  a
residential customer who uses  gas  for  heat  and
who,  during the previous period of November first
to April fifteenth,  had  gas  service  maintained
because   of   hardship   status,  may  refuse  to
reinstate the gas service from November  first  to
April  fifteenth,  inclusive, only if the customer
has failed to pay,  since  [April  fifteenth]  THE
PRECEDING  NOVEMBER  FIRST,  the  lesser  of:  (A)
Twenty  per  cent  of  the  outstanding  principal
balance  owed  the  gas  company as of the date of
termination, (B) one hundred dollars, or  (C)  the
minimum   payments   due   under   the  customer's
amortization agreement. Notwithstanding any  other
provision of the general statutes to the contrary,
no  electric  or  gas  company  and  no  municipal
utility   furnishing   electricity  or  gas  shall
terminate  or  refuse  to  reinstate   residential
electric  or  gas service where the customer lacks
the financial resources to pay his or  her  entire
account  and for which customer or a member of the
customer's household the termination or failure to
reinstate    such    service    would   create   a
life-threatening situation.
    Sec.  2.  This  act  shall take effect July 1,
1997.

Approved May 6, 1997