In light of Hurricane Sandy's aftermath, a New Jersey bill would ensure hospitals and other critical facilities get their power back on as soon as possible during emergencies, according to a New Jersey Spotlight report.
The October 2012 storm left 251 healthcare facilities without power, including 38 acute-care hospitals. One hospital in Ocean County was still without power when the rest of community had electricity restored, an official from the New Jersey Hospital Association said in the report.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Gary Schaer, would require the state Board of Public Utilities to adopt rules and regulations requiring the state's four electric utilities to give hospitals, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes priority consideration for power restoration after an extended outage following a major storm.
Assemblyman Schaer noted that hospitals are equipped with backup generators, but they can only last so long, and some hospitals and other healthcare facilities were off-grid for days, according to the report.
The bill cleared the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee last week in a bipartisan vote. It now heads to the Assembly, according to the report.
"If any good came out of Hurricane Sandy, it was the lessons we learned in the aftermath as we attempted to resume a sense of normalcy throughout our state," Assemblyman Schaer said in the report.
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