Hey Pepco, Show Me the Money!

Bill would require reimbursement for extended outages

Almost nothing is worse than losing power during extreme weather, except maybe not being able to afford to stay somewhere else. But a new bill could force power companies, like Pepco, to “pony up the dough.”

D.C. Ward 4 Councilwoman Muriel Bowser introduced a bill Tuesday that would hold electric companies in Washington accountable for long-term outages.

It’s called the “Electric Company Extreme Weather Outage Reimbursement Amendment Act.”

The bill would require power companies to pay a reasonable cost for hotel rooms if customers in the District are without electricity for more than 24 hours.

Bowser said it’s time to protect those who can’t afford alternate accommodations. In a statement she said it would require refinements, but said it’s “an initial step” in holding power companies accountable for getting repairs done as soon as possible.

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