An Act To Increase Access to Natural Gas

Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §2304, first ¶,  as enacted by PL 1987, c. 141, Pt. A, §6, is amended to read:

Every gas utility organized under section 2101 for the purposes named in that section may lay its pipes in, along and under the roads and streets in any municipality in which it is authorized to supply gas, subject to the conditions and restrictions provided in this chapter and chapter 25. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Title, if a gas utility organized under section 2101 for the purposes named in that section is authorized as of March 1, 2013 to supply gas in a geographic area but is not serving customers in that area and will not guarantee to serve those customers within 12 months of a request to serve customers in that area, that gas utility shall allow another gas utility authorized to serve customers in this State to interconnect to its existing pipes and shall provide wholesale service to that interconnecting gas utility for the purpose of serving customers in that area.

summary

This bill requires a gas utility organized under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 35-A, section 2101 for the purposes named in that section that is authorized to supply gas in a geographic area as of March 1, 2013 but is not serving customers in that area and will not guarantee to serve those customers within 12 months of a request to serve customers in that area to allow another gas utility to interconnect to its existing pipes and requires the gas utility to provide wholesale service to that interconnecting gas utility for the purpose of serving customers in that area.