BILL NUMBER: S3287

SPONSOR: PARKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public service law, in relation to services provided
to residential customers by energy service companies

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Prohibits services provided to residential customers by certain energy
service companies.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

The public service law is amended by adding a new section 54 to read as
follows:

Beginning January first, two thousand twenty-two, no energy service
company shall execute a new contract for generation services with any
individual residential retail customer. This section shall not apply to
              

any government body that aggregates the load of residential retail
customers as part of a community choice aggregation program approved by
the commission. Any violation of this section shall be deemed a decep-
tive act or practice and the attorney general is hereby authorized to
bring an action under such article to enforce this section and to obtain
civil penal- ties, injunctive relief, and any other relief awarded
pursuant to article twentytwo-a.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to the Public Service Commission's (PSC) brief in Case
15-M-0127, "approximately two million New York State residential utility
customers who took commodity service from an ESCO collectively paid
almost $1.2 billion more than they would have paid if they purchased
commodity from their distribution utility during the 36-months ending
December 31, 2016. Additionally, small commercial customers paid $136
million more than they would have paid if they instead simply remained
with their default utilities for commodity supply for the same 36-month
period. Combining the residential and small commercial customer classes,
mass market customers were "overcharged" by over $1.3 billion dollars
over this time period. Finally, the data also shows that low-income
customers (a subset of the residential customer mentioned above) who
took commodity service from an ESCO collectively paid in excess of $146
million more than they would have paid if they took commodity supply
from their utility." To put these numbers in perspective, New Yorkers
are overcharged roughly $1.5 million per day. Recently, Connecticut and
Massachusetts have introduced similar legislation to help protect
customers from over- charges by energy service companies.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATION:

2019/20:S3758-Referred to Energy and Telecommunications.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Undetermined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.