ORDER OF CITY COUNCILLOR JOHN M. TOBIN, JR

WHEREAS: Several city neighborhoods have recently experienced both non-weather related unplanned power outages and planned outages; and

WHEREAS: NSTAR currently has an arbitrary policy that power has to be out for 12 consecutive hours in order for a business owner to submit a reimbursement claim; and

WHEREAS: The City of Boston’s Public Health Department may order a restaurant to dispose of any food that has not been properly refrigerated for less than 12 hours, in some cases as little as 3 hours; and

WHEREAS: Many restaurants would not serve food that was not properly refrigerated for a short period of time due to the high standards that many of the city’s restaurants embrace; Therefore be it

ORDERED: That the appropriate Boston City Council committee conduct a hearing to discuss a better business and communication model when dealing with both businesses and residents during planned and unplanned power outages; and Therefore be it further

ORDERED: That NSTAR review the possibility of installing backup generators to businesses and have the cost of the generators spread out over a period of time on the customer’s bill.

Filed in City Council: Wednesday, October 5, 2005