| | Emergency preamble. Whereas, Acts of the Legislature do not become | effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as | emergencies; and |
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| | Whereas, until recently, the cost of the first 300 feet of | single-phase overhead line extensions for homeowners was borne by | electric utilities; and |
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| | Whereas, the Public Utilities Commission has just approved a | policy change that requires an electric utility to provide to | homeowners for free only the first 75 feet of single-phase | overhead line extensions, increasing the cost of new homes in | some cases by several thousand dollars; and |
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| | Whereas, these new rules threaten to push the cost and | affordability of a new home out of the range of some lower-income | home buyers; and |
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| | Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create | an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and | require the following legislation as immediately necessary for | the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, | therefore, |
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §314 is enacted to read: |
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| §314.__Single-phase overhead line extensions |
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| | 1.__Single customers.__Notwithstanding any other provision of | this chapter, an electric utility may not require a customer to | pay for the installation of the first 300 feet of a single-phase | overhead line extension provided by the utility to the customer.__ | For the installation of an extension of more than 300 feet up to | 1,000 feet along a private way and up to 2,000 feet along a | public way, or 2,000 feet in part along a public way and in part | along a private way with up to 1,000 feet along a private way, | the electric utility may enter a contract with a customer that | charges the customer installation costs of up to 11 cents per | foot per month, including the first 300 feet, on the customer's | utility bill for a period of up to 5 years or until the average | length of line per customer drops to 300 feet or less.__For an | extension of over 2,000 feet along a public way or 1,000 feet | along a private way, the customer shall pay for the cost of the | extension beyond the maximum length. |
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| | 2.__Multiple customers.__For an extension that will serve more | than one customer, the utility shall calculate the average length | of line per customer to treat each customer as a single |
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