NY State Senate Bill 2015-S2540

Senate Bill S2540

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Provides that every schedule of rates of gas and electric corporations which is based on operation of over 18 months, shall be reviewed annually

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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2016	referred to energy and telecommunications
Jan 26, 2015	referred to energy and telecommunications

2015-S2540 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Public Service Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §66, Pub Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S1979
2013-2014: S616
2017-2018: S3303
2019-2020: S2147
2021-2022: S1229
2023-2024: S453

2015-S2540 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that every gas or electric rate schedule, which is based on projections of revenues, expenditures and utility operations for more than 18 months, shall be annually reviewed by the public service commission; such review proceeding shall include all the parties involved in the proceeding at which such schedule was originally approved.

2015-S2540 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S2540

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the public service law, in relation to
requiring annual reviews of multi-year rate plans

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

In its January 2007 report, the Assembly Queens Power Outage Task
Force recommended several measures to improve oversight of utilities
and prevent future blackouts. This bill will restore utility
accountability by requiring annual reviews of utility performance
under multi-year rate plans.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Bill § 1 amends paragraph (f) of subdivision 12 of § 66 of the Public
Service Law to require that any utility rate filing based on future
revenues, expenditures and operations for a period of more than 18
months must also include annual revenue and expenditure projections
and benchmarks for maintenance and operations, service quality and
other items deemed appropriate by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The PSC shall commence a proceeding to review the continued validity
of such projections not more than 3 months after the anniversary date
of the date such schedule became effective.  Participation in this
proceeding would be open to each party to the original proceeding and
any new parties that are likely to contribute to the development of a

complete record. Similar review proceedings shall be commenced in
subsequent years of the multi-year rate plan.

EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS HILL WOULD ALTER:

Current law does not address the diminution of opportunities for PSC
and public oversight created by the use of multi-year rate plans.

JUSTIFICATION:

In the Summer of 2006, the western part of Queens suffered a massive
power outage that lasted 9 days. The Assembly Queens Power Outage Task
Force studied the outage's causes and the inadequate responses by the
company responsible for the transmission and distribution system,
Consolidated Edison, and by the Public Service Commission.  One
underlying cause of this debacle was found to be the reliance by New
York's utility regulators on antiquated laws, regulations and policies
that let companies engaged in energy transmission and distribution
operate without effective oversight.

The Task Force found that the increasing use of negotiated multi-year
rate plans was undercutting the ability of the PSC, its staff and
other interested members of the public to oversee the operations of
regulated public utilities. Historically, one of the mainstays of
utility regulation was the practice of conducting annual rate cases
before the PSC with full involvement of the Consumer Protection Board
and other public interveners. This practice promoted regular, timely
and effective feedback on utilities' activities, undertakings and
expenditures.


In recent years, the PSC's growing reliance on multi-year rate plans
has reduced both the frequency and effectiveness of outside scrutiny
of utility performance. The Task Force found that this could be an
underlying factor in Consolidated Edison's decisions to defer or
minimize maintenance expenditures, potentially compromising the safety
and reliability of the grid. This bill will restore the prior practice
of more regular and thorough reviews of utility actions under
multi-year rate plans, resulting in more attention to service
reliability and safety issues.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2014: Senate Bill #616 (Gianaris) - Died in Senate Energy and
Telecommunications Committee
2012: Senate Bill #1976 (Gianaris) - Died in Senate Energy and
Telecommunications Committee
2012: Assembly Bill 42365 (Hevesi) - Died in Assembly Energy Committee
2010: Assembly Bill #1672 (Gianaris) - Died in Assembly Ways and Means
Committee
2008: Assembly Bill 4,8622 (Gianaris) - Died in Assembly Ways and
Means Committee

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

180th day after enactment; provided that the Public Service Commission
is immediately authorized and directed to promulgate rules and take
other actions needed to fully implement the bill on such date.

2015-S2540 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  2540

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 26, 2015
                               ___________

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

AN  ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring annual
  reviews of multi-year rate plans

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

  Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 12 of section 66 of the public
service  law,  as amended by chapter 154 of the laws of 1989, is amended
to read as follows:
  (f) Whenever there shall be filed with the commission by  any  utility
any  schedule stating a new rate or charge, or any change in any form of
contract or agreement or any rule or regulation relating  to  any  rate,
charge  or service, or in any general privilege or facility, the commis-
sion may, at any time within sixty days from the date when such schedule
would or has become effective, either upon complaint  or  upon  its  own
initiative,  and, if it so orders, without answer or other formal plead-
ing by the utility, but upon reasonable notice, hold a hearing  concern-
ing  the propriety of a change proposed by the filing. If such change is
a major change, the commission shall hold such a hearing.  Pending  such
hearing  and  decision  thereon,  the  commission, upon filing with such
schedule and delivering to the utility, a statement in  writing  of  its
reasons  therefor,  may  suspend the operation of such schedule, but not
for a longer period than one hundred and twenty  days  beyond  the  time
when  it  would  otherwise  go  into effect. After full hearing, whether
completed before or after the schedule goes into effect, the  commission
may  make  such  order  in  reference  thereto  as  would be proper in a
proceeding begun after the rate, charge, form of contract or  agreement,
rule,  regulation,  service,  general  privilege  or facility had become
effective. If any such hearing cannot be concluded within the period  of

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07816-01-5

S. 2540                             2

suspension as above stated, the commission may extend the suspension for
a further period, not exceeding six months.
  IF ANY SUCH SCHEDULE IS BASED ON PROJECTIONS OF REVENUES, EXPENDITURES
AND  UTILITY  OPERATIONS  FOR A PERIOD OF MORE THAN EIGHTEEN MONTHS, THE
COMMISSION SHALL ORDER THAT SUCH SCHEDULE INCLUDE ANNUAL PROJECTIONS  OR
REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES AND BENCHMARKS FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS,
SERVICE   QUALITY  AND SUCH OTHER PROJECTIONS AS THE COMMISSION MAY DEEM
APPROPRIATE, AND SHALL COMMENCE A PROCEEDING  TO  REVIEW  THE  CONTINUED
VALIDITY  OF SUCH PROJECTIONS NOT MORE THAN THREE MONTHS AFTER THE ANNI-
VERSARY  DATE OF THE DATE SUCH SCHEDULE BECAME EFFECTIVE. ALL PARTIES TO
THE  PROCEEDING AT WHICH THE SCHEDULE WAS ORIGINALLY CONSIDERED SHALL BE
ENTITLED TO  PARTY STATUS IN THE REVIEW PROCEEDING;  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,
THAT  NOTHING  IN  THIS PARAGRAPH SHALL PRECLUDE THE ADMISSION  OF ADDI-
TIONAL PERSONS TO THE PROCEEDING IF  THEIR  INTERVENTION  IS  LIKELY  TO
CONTRIBUTE  TO   THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF A COMPLETE RECORD OR IS  OTHERWISE
FAIR AND IN THE  PUBLIC INTEREST.  UPON A DETERMINATION THAT ANY OF  THE
PROJECTIONS WAS NOT MET OR IS IN NEED OF RECONSIDERATION, THE COMMISSION
MAY  MAKE  SUCH  ORDERS  AS  IT  DEEMS  APPROPRIATE. A REVIEW PROCEEDING
COMMENCED PURSUANT TO THIS PARAGRAPH  MAY  BE  DEEMED  TO  CONSTITUTE  A
PROCEEDING  UNDERTAKEN  PURSUANT  TO SUBDIVISION TWENTY OF THIS SECTION.
SIMILAR REVIEW PROCEEDINGS SHALL BE COMMENCED NOT MORE THAN THREE MONTHS
AFTER ANY SUBSEQUENT ANNIVERSARY DATE OF THE ORIGINAL SCHEDULE'S  EFFEC-
TIVE  DATE,  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH PROCEEDINGS SHALL CONSIDER ANY
REVISED PROJECTIONS ORDERED IN PRIOR REVIEW PROCEEDINGS.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law. Provided that the public service  commission
is  immediately  authorized  and  directed  to take any and all actions,
including but not limited to the promulgation of  any  necessary  rules,
necessary to fully implement the provisions of this act on its effective
date.

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