Bill Text: NY S08830 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "energy assessment cap and consumer cost relief act" to limit certain surcharge increases; directs studies on costs associated with environmental and energy laws; directs a study on the value of assets and utility gas infrastructure discontinued as a result of laws and regulatory actions; institutes a moratorium on related surcharges, taxes, fees and cost bearing regulations for five years.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-19 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S08830 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08830-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8830

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 19, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK  --  read  twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Energy
          and Telecommunications

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public  service  law,  in relation to limits on
          surcharge increases; directing a study of the  costs  associated  with
          recent environmental and energy related laws and the value of stranded
          utility assets resulting in discontinuance and/or abandonment of util-
          ity gas infrastructure; and imposing a moratorium on new energy taxes,
          fees and regulations

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be  cited  as  the  "energy
     2  assessment cap and consumer cost relief act of 2024".
     3    §  2.  The public service law is amended by adding a new section 18 to
     4  read as follows:
     5    § 18. Limit on surcharge increases.   Notwithstanding any  law,  rule,
     6  regulation  or  order to the contrary, the commission shall not increase
     7  the amount of  the  surcharge  on  the  system  benefit  charge  or  the
     8  surcharge  for the renewable portfolio standard or the surcharge for the
     9  energy efficiency portfolio standard or any similar  fund  that  may  be
    10  created  by  order  of  the commission before the effective date of this
    11  section, whether such fund is new or is a result  of  combining  all  or
    12  some  of the surcharges referenced herein. Nothing in this section shall
    13  be construed as to prevent the commission from lowering  the  amount  of
    14  any  surcharge  either  individually  or  collectively  from  the amount
    15  collected in two thousand nineteen, except that under  no  circumstances
    16  shall the total cost of those charges exceed the total aggregate amounts
    17  collected in two thousand nineteen.
    18    §  3.  The  department  of  public  service  shall issue a request for
    19  proposals to choose an independent vendor who will  perform  a  thorough
    20  analysis  of  the costs associated with environmental and energy related
    21  laws, regulations, rules and policies adopted since 2019. Such  analysis
    22  shall  establish  not  only  the  costs already incurred, but also those
    23  anticipated future costs and specific cost impacts  on  all  classes  of

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14852-01-4
        S. 8830                             2

     1  ratepayers. A request for proposal shall be issued within 90 days of the
     2  effective  date of this act and such study and report shall be completed
     3  within 12 months of the award of the  contract.  Such  report  shall  be
     4  published  on the department's website and provided to the governor, the
     5  speaker of the assembly, the temporary  president  of  the  senate,  the
     6  minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the assembly.
     7    §  4.  The  department  of  public  service  shall issue a request for
     8  proposals and choose a qualified vendor to conduct a  study  as  to  any
     9  stranded utility assets resulting from legislative or regulatory actions
    10  that,  whether  intentional or unintentional, lead to the discontinuance
    11  and/or abandonment of  utility  gas  infrastructure.  Such  study  shall
    12  include, at a minimum, an analysis of the value and cost of said infras-
    13  tructure,  the number, type and value of jobs lost due to the discontin-
    14  uance of its use and recommendations as to cost recovery for any  inves-
    15  tor owned utility that holds such infrastructure. In addition, the study
    16  shall measure the value of stranded assets of homeowners/businesses with
    17  gas  equipment  with  remaining  useful life when gas is discontinued. A
    18  request for proposal shall be issued within 90  days  of  the  effective
    19  date  of this act and such study and report shall be completed within 12
    20  months of the award. Such report shall be published on the  department's
    21  website  and  provided to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the
    22  temporary president of the senate, the minority leader of the senate and
    23  the minority leader of the assembly.
    24    § 5. Notwithstanding any law, rule, regulation or order to the contra-
    25  ry, the public service commission and the legislature shall  not  estab-
    26  lish any new surcharge assessment, tax or fee or cost bearing regulation
    27  based  on  the  analyses performed under sections three and four of this
    28  act on energy consumers for a period of five years.
    29    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.