NY State Senate Bill 2009-S2095

Senate Bill S2095

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Provides that a customer may switch electric service from a person, corporation or municipality to a rural electric cooperative in certain instances

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to energy and telecommunications
Feb 11, 2009	referred to energy and telecommunications

2009-S2095 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2059
Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Rural Electric Cooperative Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§14 & 67, Rur Elec Coop L; amd §66, Pub Serv L

2009-S2095 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Expands powers of rural electric cooperatives by eliminating the prohibition that such cooperatives shall not distribute, sell, supply or dispose of electric energy to any premises or building receiving and using central station electric service; makes provisions for determining the consideration to be paid for such service by either mutual agreement or by the public service commission if mutual agreement cannot be reached.

2009-S2095 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2095

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the rural electric cooperative law and the public
service law, in relation to the powers of rural electric cooperatives


 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

The purpose of this legislation is to remove inequitable restrictions
upon competition placed upon rural cooperatives and foster economic
efficiency and lower cost to electric customers.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Subdivision (d) of section 14 of the Rural Electric Cooperative Law is
amended. Section 66 of the Public Service Law is amended by adding
anew subdivision 29.

 JUSTIFICATION :

The Public Service Commission has directed that the utility industry
move towards a more efficient system of competition in New York. A
number of municipalities have recently undertaken studies with the
goal of lowering energy costs.

New York rural energy cooperatives were created in 1941 to provide
electric service in areas not served by private power companies. Each
cooperative is a non-profit electric utility own~d by the customers it
serves and governed by a board of directors elected by the cooperative
membership. There are four rural electric cooperatives based in
Steuben, Madison, Otsego, and Delaware counties which serve
approximately 15,000 New York Customers.

New York Rural electric cooperatives have successfully demonstrated
that they can efficiently provide low cost electricity in rural areas.
Cooperatives are able to respond to price, quality, and capacity
concerns quickly because they are customer owned. The cooperative
structure offers highly attractive rates to business customers as
well.

Unfortunately rural residents currently served by other high cost
utilities are unable to obtain the benefits of lower cost power
provided by rural electric cooperatives.

If the current customer service restrictions are removed, rural
electric cooperatives can provide power source choice to additional
customers as limited only by their available resources and will be
able to compete on a more equitable playing field with investor owned
and municipal utilities that are able to solicit customers currently
served by other power companies.

The change in section 61 merely brings cooperative practices in line
with current law. In the late 1960's federal law regarding rural
cooperative borrowing changed to require cooperatives to obtain at
least 30% of their borrowing from private, market rate sources rather
than solely through obligations of the United States Government. The
Federal borrowing restriction in New York was originally passed in
1942 and was never changed when the federal law was amended. This bill
will correct that oversight.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

Formerly A-5058 of 2008, passed Assembly.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

No cost to the State and Local Government.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2009-S2095 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2095

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 11, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. VALESKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
  cations

AN  ACT  to  amend  the  rural  electric  cooperative law and the public
  service law, in relation to the powers of rural electric cooperatives

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision (d) of section 14 of the rural electric cooper-
ative law is amended to read as follows:
  (d) To generate, manufacture, purchase, acquire, accumulate and trans-
mit  electric  energy,  and  to distribute, sell, supply, and dispose of
electric energy to its members, to governmental agencies  and  political
subdivisions,  and  to  other persons not in excess of ten per centum of
the number of its members, provided, however, that  such  other  persons
shall become members within one year after they commence taking electric
service  from  the  cooperative; and provided, further however, that the
furnishing by a cooperative of electric cold storage or processing plant
service shall not be deemed to be distributing,  selling,  supplying  or
disposing  of  electric  energy,  and  provided, further however, that a
cooperative [shall not] MAY, WITHIN THE TERRITORY WHERE THE  COOPERATIVE
HOLDS A FRANCHISE, distribute, sell, supply or dispose of electric ener-
gy to any premises or building receiving and using central station elec-
tric  service or entitled to receive such service as provided by section
twelve of the transportation corporations law on the effective  date  of
this  chapter  or  to  any premises or buildings hereafter served by any
person, corporation or municipality supplying central  station  electric
service,  if  no  co-operative  service is available to such premises or
building at the time of such installation, [without  the  consent]  WITH
THE MUTUAL AGREEMENT of the person, corporation, or municipality supply-
ing  or  required  by  said  section twelve of the transportation corpo-
rations law  to  supply  such  central  station  electric  service,  AND

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD04734-01-9

S. 2095                             2

PROVIDED,  FURTHER,  THAT IN THE EVENT THAT SUCH MUTUAL AGREEMENT IS NOT
REACHED WITHIN NINETY DAYS OF THE STATEMENT OF INTEREST BY  THE  COOPER-
ATIVE, THEN THE CONSIDERATION TO THE PERSON, CORPORATION OR MUNICIPALITY
FOR  SUCH  SERVICES BY THE COOPERATIVE SHALL BE DETERMINED WITHIN NINETY
DAYS  BY  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE  COMMISSION   PURSUANT   TO   SUBDIVISION
TWENTY-NINE OF SECTION SIXTY-SIX OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE LAW.  THE COOPER-
ATIVE  SHALL  HAVE NINETY DAYS TO ACCEPT THE CONSIDERATION AS DETERMINED
BY THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION;
  S 2. Section 66 of the public service law is amended by adding  a  new
subdivision 29 to read as follows:
  29.  IN  THE  EVENT THAT A MUTUAL AGREEMENT IS NOT REACHED PURSUANT TO
SUBDIVISION (D) OF SECTION FOURTEEN OF THE  RURAL  ELECTRIC  COOPERATIVE
LAW, THE COMMISSION SHALL DETERMINE WITHIN NINETY DAYS THE CONSIDERATION
BY  THE  RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE TO THE PERSON, AS DEFINED IN SECTION
TWO OF THE RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE LAW, TO THE  ELECTRIC  CORPORATION
OR  TO THE MUNICIPALITY FOR SERVICES, AS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION (D) OF
SECTION FOURTEEN OF THE RURAL  ELECTRIC  COOPERATIVE  LAW,  TAKING  INTO
ACCOUNT  THE  OVERALL ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF SUCH SERVICES AND CONSIDER-
ATION AND WHETHER THE CONSIDERATION AVOIDS ANY NEGATIVE  EFFECT  ON  THE
CUSTOMERS  OF  THE ELECTRIC CORPORATION OR THE MUNICIPALITY. THE COMMIS-
SION SHALL INFORM THE RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE OF ITS DETERMINATION.
  S 3. The opening paragraph of section 67 of the rural electric cooper-
ative law is amended to read as follows:
  Cooperatives and foreign corporations doing  business  in  this  state
pursuant to this chapter shall be exempt in all respects from the juris-
diction  and  control of the public service commission of this state and
shall not be subject to the provisions of the public service law, EXCEPT
FOR THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION TWENTY-NINE OF  SECTION  SIXTY-SIX  OF
THE  PUBLIC SERVICE LAW.  Each cooperative, however, shall file with the
public service commission an annual report verified by the oath  of  the
president,  vice-president,  treasurer,  secretary,  general manager, or
receiver, if any. The report shall show in detail
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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