NY State Senate Bill 2025-S2182

Senate Bill S2182

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Permits the rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or municipality under certain circumstances

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules 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 21, 2025	reported and committed to rules
Jan 15, 2025	referred to energy and telecommunications

2025-S2182 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Public Service Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §39, Pub Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S9469
2023-2024: S1851

2025-S2182 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Permits the rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or municipality under certain circumstances; requires each utility corporation and municipality within six months to submit to the commission a model procedure for the calculation of estimated bills that incorporates best practices and technology and accounts for any barriers to the use of actual meter readings.

2025-S2182 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S2182

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public service law, in relation to permitting the
rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or munici-
pality under certain circumstances

 
PURPOSE:

To protect ratepayers from excessive fluctuations by requiring actual
meter readings in most instances in utility bills from month-to-month
and requiring the Public Service Commission (PSC) to institute a best
practices estimation formula that can be used as a utility industry
standard in New York State for statutorily accepted instances of bill
estimation.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: A new subdivision is added to require actual meter readings
for billing purposes with the exception of statutorily accepted

instances of bill estimation, and specifies that a utility may not
charge a customer for supply and delivery costs associated with an esti-
mated bill that does not comply with the provisions of this bill.
Section one also directs the PSC to require each utility corporation and
municipality within six months to submit to the commission a model
procedure for the calculation of estimated bills that incorporates best
practices and technology and accounts for any bathers to the use of
actual meter readings. On or before November first, two thousand twen-
ty-five, the commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to incor-
porate and adopt such model procedures for utility corporations and
municipalities. Section one also adds that utilities may acquire a meter
reading from customers by electronic means (i.e. a photograph) in addi-
tion to the existing methods already established in statute.

Section 2: Effective Date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

As home heating and cooling costs continue to increase, and while many
are still facing the financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandem-
ic, it is imperative that we give ratepayers as much stability as possi-
ble in their month-over-month utility bills. There are widespread
reports that utility companies are relying heavily on estimated billing
practices causing excessively high swings in bills month to month, often
to the difference of hundreds of dollars in additional unforeseen, and
regularly inaccurate, costs: The fact is, many ratepayers can't afford
such high estimations, especially when they're not based on previous
usage data and when utility prices are gready rising. For many house-
holds, these bills far exceed their monthly budgets, causing people to
choose between paying their utility bills and other important expenses,
with the underlying issue that these ratepayers don't even end up owing
these significantly higher bills.

This legislation seeks to protect ratepayers from excessive fluctuations
by requiring utility bills to reflect actual month-over-month meter
readings, and requires the Public Service Commission (PSC) to institute
a best practices estimation formula that can be used as a utility indus-
try standard in New York State for statutorily accepted instances of
bill estimation.

This is an opportunity to create long-term employment opportunities that
would be required to collect accurate monthly energy usage now, with an
eye towards retraining this workforce for future jobs in the energy
delivery sector, as needed. This is a win for.ratepayers and an invest-
ment in our local economies by creating more reliable, good-paying jobs.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S9469/A10511 - PASSED SENATE/referred to corporations, authorities
and commissions

2023-24: SI8518/A888C - VETOED MEM0.128

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 180 days after it shall have become a law.

2025-S2182 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2182
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- 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 permitting the
   rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation  or  munici-
   pality under certain circumstances

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 39 of  the  public  service
 law,  as  amended  by chapter 686 of the laws of 2002, are amended and a
 new subdivision 1-a is added to read as follows:
   1. (A) A utility corporation or municipality may, in  accordance  with
 such  requirements  as  the  commission  may  impose by regulation, ONLY
 render an estimated bill for [any] A billing period if[: (a)] the proce-
 dure used by such utility  or  municipality  for  calculating  estimated
 bills  has been approved by the commission, [and] the bill clearly indi-
 cates that it is based on an estimated reading, and [(b)] AT  LEAST  ONE
 OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS IS MET:
   (I)  the utility owning the meter and providing the meter reading data
 on which the estimated bill will be based or the municipality  has  made
 reasonable  effort  to  obtain  an actual meter reading AND IS UNABLE TO
 OBTAIN ONE or [(c)]
   (II) circumstances beyond the control of the utility  or  municipality
 made an actual reading of the meter extremely difficult or [(d)]
   (III)  circumstances indicate a reported reading is likely to be erro-
 neous, or [(e)]
   (IV) an estimated reading is prescribed or authorized by  the  commis-
 sion for a billing period between periods when actual meter readings are
 scheduled or for seasonal or short term customers.
   (B)  IN  ADDITION  TO THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
 SION, A UTILITY CORPORATION OR MUNICIPALITY SHALL NOT ISSUE AN ESTIMATED
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06267-01-5

 S. 2182                             2
 
 BILL TO A CUSTOMER FOR ANY CONSECUTIVE BILLING PERIOD UNDER ANY  CIRCUM-
 STANCES,  UNLESS THE UTILITY IS UNABLE TO OBTAIN AN ACTUAL METER READING
 DUE TO (I) THE CUSTOMER'S FAILURE TO PROVIDE REASONABLE  ACCESS  TO  THE
 METER  FOR  AN ACTUAL READING, OR (II) A DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMER-
 GENCY WHICH PREVENTS THE ABILITY TO OBTAIN AN ACTUAL METER READING.
   (C) OUTSIDE OF THE CRITERIA FOR RENDERING ESTIMATED  BILLING  PURSUANT
 TO THIS SECTION, ALL OTHER BILLS SHALL USE ACTUAL METER READINGS.
   (D)  A UTILITY CORPORATION OR MUNICIPALITY SHALL NOT CHARGE A CUSTOMER
 FOR ANY SUPPLY OR DELIVERY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH AN ESTIMATED BILL  THAT
 DOES NOT COMPLY WITH THIS SECTION NOR BE ABLE TO RECOVER FROM ANY OF ITS
 CUSTOMERS ANY REVENUE THAT THE UTILITY IS PRECLUDED FROM COLLECTING FROM
 AN  INDIVIDUAL  CUSTOMER  BY  THIS  SECTION. NOTHING IN THIS SUBDIVISION
 SHALL BE INTERPRETED OR OTHERWISE CONSTRUED  AS  PREEMPTING  SETTLEMENTS
 WITH  THE  COMMISSION  OR  DEPARTMENT  THAT  ARE  MORE STRICT THAN THOSE
 CONTAINED IN THIS SUBDIVISION.
   1-A. THE COMMISSION SHALL REQUIRE EACH UTILITY CORPORATION AND MUNICI-
 PALITY WITHIN SIX MONTHS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION TO
 SUBMIT TO THE COMMISSION A REVISED MODEL  FOR  THE  CALCULATION  OF  AND
 PROCEDURES FOR ESTIMATED BILLING THAT COMPLIES WITH THIS ARTICLE, INCOR-
 PORATES  BEST PRACTICES AND TECHNOLOGY, AND ACCOUNTS FOR ANY BARRIERS TO
 THE USE OF ACTUAL METER READINGS. NO  LATER  THAN  NOVEMBER  FIRST,  TWO
 THOUSAND  TWENTY-SIX,  THE  COMMISSION  SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGU-
 LATIONS TO INCORPORATE AND  ADOPT  SUCH  MODEL  PROCEDURES  FOR  UTILITY
 CORPORATIONS AND MUNICIPALITIES.
   2.  Where  a  utility corporation owning the meter and supplying meter
 reading data for a bill or a municipality fails  to  gain  access  to  a
 meter  [for a period of four months or two billing periods, whichever is
 greater], the corporation or municipality shall take reasonable  actions
 to  obtain  an  actual  meter reading FOR THE SUBSEQUENT BILLING PERIOD.
 Such additional actions may include, but not be limited  to:  making  an
 appointment  with  the customer or such other person who controls access
 to the meter for a reading at a time other than within  normal  business
 hours,  offering  the customer the opportunity to [phone in a] SUBMIT AN
 ACTUAL meter reading BY TELEPHONE OR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION, WHICH  MAY
 INCLUDE SUBMISSION OF A PHOTOGRAPH OF SUCH METER READING, or providing a
 card  to  the customer on which [he or she] SUCH CUSTOMER may record the
 reading and mail it to the utility or municipality.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.  Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
 completed on or before such effective date.

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