Legislators to Discuss Malloy's Storm Response Bill

Gov. Dannel Malloy's proposal to authorize the Public Utility Regulatory Authority to develop standards for all utilities’ responses to emergencies, storms and natural disasters will be discussed during a public hearing before the General Assembly on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

The bill, which is in response to the widespread outages across the state during Tropical Storm Irene in August and Winter Storm Alfred in October, seeks to ensure minimum staffing, equipment, utility crews, and private contractors to serve customers in restoring service.

Malloy announced in January that his administration would take recommendations from and introduce them as legislation. The panel submitted a 39-page report, which called the storms a "wake-up call to Connecticut" and said "the state must do more to prevent, plan for, and respond to emergencies and natural disasters."