1. a. Any public utility as defined in R.S.48:2-13, which discontinues gas, electric or water service to a multifamily housing unit customer for safety related purposes, shall provide written or verbal notice of the discontinuance to the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which the customer’s premises are located or the Superintendent of the State Police, as appropriate, within 12 hours after the utility discontinues service to the customer, except that if service has been fully restored to the customer prior to the expiration of the 12 hours, the utility shall not be required to provide notice pursuant to this subsection.

For the purposes of this section, “multifamily housing unit customer” means a customer who resides in housing in which three or more units of dwelling space are occupied, or are intended to be occupied, by three or more persons who live independently of one another.

b. The notice required by subsection a. of this section shall include the name of the customer and the address of the premises where service was discontinued provided that such information is available to the public utility.

L.2002,c.107,s.1.