Bateman Commends PSE&G for Plan to Pay Customers for Spoiled Food from Tropical Storm Outages, Urges Utility to Do More

Senator’s Legislation Would Require Compensation up to $1,500 for Lost Food and Prescriptions

Senator Kip Bateman lauded today’s announcement by PSE&G that they would provide reimbursement to customers for wasted food and compromised medications after blackouts caused by Tropical Storm Isaias.

“Thousands of people went days without power and they lost freezers full of food,” said Bateman (R-16). “This demonstrates a sensible policy change on the part of PSE&G, and it is welcome news. I don’t think it goes quite far enough, however, considering the high cost of food and medicine today.”

According to a published news report, for residential customers PSE&G will pay up to $250 toward spoiled food and $300 for ruined medications stemming from the recent storm. To be eligible for compensation, customers must have lost power for up to 72 hours following the storm.

On Thursday, Bateman introduced legislation (S-2836) that would require power companies to reimburse up to $500 for lost food and $1,000 for temperature-sensitive prescriptions if an outage extends for more than 48 hours.

“This marks a seismic change for public utilities in this state,” said Bateman. “I think we must aware that some families have suffered significant financial losses through no fault of their own, and they deserve to be made whole.”