NY State Senate Bill 2021-S5805

Senate Bill S5805

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Directs the public service commission to undertake a study of consumer protections adopted by electric corporations and utilities

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 05, 2022	referred to energy and telecommunications
Mar 18, 2021	referred to energy and telecommunications

2021-S5805 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5620
Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Public Services
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S5696, A7777
2013-2014: S690, A2708
2015-2016: S916, A2903
2017-2018: S1525, A2673
2019-2020: S2764, A1019
2023-2024: S2878, A2519

2021-S5805 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Directs the public service commission to undertake a study of consumer protections adopted by electric corporations and utilities; includes reporting on the adequacy of the public service commission's assistance to customers facing disconnection of utility service.

2021-S5805 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5805

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to direct the public service commission to undertake a study of
consumer protections adopted by electric corporations and utilities

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To place a temporary moratorium on electric, gas or steam service termi-
nations to residential customers, until the Public Service Commission
(PSC) completes a review of existing consumer protection policies. The
review will evaluate the current policies' effectiveness in addressing
consumer issues and protecting consumer welfare.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The legislation directs the PSC to complete a report on the effective-
ness of existing consumer protection policies by November 15th, 2016.
The report must include analyses on the following:

1) the effectiveness of current utility procedures for notifying custom-
ers in arrears on utility charges of how they may avoid termination of
their services. This analysis must include an assessment on the avail-
ability of deferred payment agreements;

2) the adequacy of the PSC's assistance to customers, including an anal-
ysis of the commission's effectiveness in negotiating deferred payment
agreements with utilities. The PSC will also be required to collect and
include in its report certain statistics pertaining to the geographic
locations and assistance statuses of customers seeking to connect
service or avoid termination, and statistics pertaining to the PSC
shutoff hotline;

The PSC must seek comments from utilities, municipalities, consumer
advocates and the public. The PSC may use these comments as bases for
its evaluation on existing consumer protection policies.

The report must be submitted to the governor, temporary president of the
senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the senate committee on energy
and telecommunications and chair of the assembly committee on energy by.
November 15th, 2018. The report must also be posted online. If the PSC
fails to complete its review by the required date, utilities will be
prohibited from terminating electric, gas or steam service between
December 1st, 2018 and March 31st, 2019, or until the PSC completes its
review. The bill would not preclude utilities .from charging customers
for electric, gas or steam services during the moratorium period.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Many utilities terminate many consumers' electric, gas or Steam service
during winter months. Terminations during New York's cold winter months
cause significant discomfort to those targeted by the terminations, and
create significant health and safety risks. The utilities' copious
winter terminations suggest that existing consumer protection policies
are inadequate. Until the PSC identifies and suggests remedies for these
inadequacies, New York's consumers remain vulnerable to potentially
unjustified or unreasonable winter service terminations.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: S.1525

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S5805 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5805
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 18, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
   cations
 
 AN  ACT  to direct the public service commission to undertake a study of
   consumer protections adopted by electric corporations and utilities

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The New York State public service commission shall under-
 take an immediate study of  consumer  protections  adopted  by  electric
 corporations  and  municipalities ("utilities") pursuant to article 2 of
 the public service law and provide a report to the governor, the  tempo-
 rary  president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chair of
 the senate committee on energy and telecommunications and the  chair  of
 the  assembly committee on energy. Such report shall include an analysis
 of the effectiveness of current utility procedures for notifying custom-
 ers in arrears on utility charges of how they may avoid  termination  of
 electric,  gas  or steam service, including the availability of deferred
 payment agreements. In addition, such report shall review  the  adequacy
 of the commission's assistance to customers negotiating deferred payment
 agreements  with utilities in lieu of disconnection of service including
 the number of deferred payment plans by utility service  territory;  the
 number of incidences, if any, in which utilities have required more than
 the  lawfully  allowed  level of down payments or deferred payments from
 customers seeking to connect service or avoid disconnection; the  effec-
 tiveness and availability of the commission's shutoff hotline in receiv-
 ing  calls  from customers facing termination of electric, gas and steam
 service; the call volume to such hotline in each utility service  terri-
 tory;  the  monthly  number  of  electric  and natural gas customers who
 previously received utility bill assistance from the Home Energy Assist-
 ance Program whose service was terminated for bill  collection  purposes
 in  each  utility  service  area in the previous calendar year, provided
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD08968-01-1

 S. 5805                             2
 
 further that the commission shall  require  each  utility  provide  such
 information while maintaining customer confidentiality; and any proposed
 legislative  remedies  necessary  to increase customer awareness of such
 hotline. The report shall be made available to the public on the commis-
 sion's website.
   §  2. The New York State public service commission shall seek comments
 from utilities, municipalities, consumer advocates and  the  public  and
 may  include  in the report recommendations to improve existing consumer
 protection policies.
   § 3. If the study pursuant to section one of this act is not  received
 by  November  15,  2022,  the  commission  shall  institute a moratorium
 preventing utility corporations from terminating electric, gas or  steam
 service  to any residential customer in arrears with whom it has entered
 into an agreement for the provision of  such  services.  The  moratorium
 shall last for the period beginning December 1, 2022 and ending on March
 31,  2023.  Nothing  in this act shall be construed to prevent a utility
 corporation from charging customers for electric, gas or  steam  service
 or  from  offering a deferred payment agreement for the period beginning
 December 1, 2022 and ending on March 31, 2023.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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