Bill Text: NY A04389 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates the utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the department of public service to advocate and to represent the interests of residential Long Island utility customers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A04389 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A04389-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4389 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 4, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to creating the utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the department of public service The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 2 3-c to read as follows: 3 § 3-c. Utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the 4 department of public service. 1. Definitions. When used in this section: 5 (a) "Office" means the Long Island office of the department of public 6 service. 7 (b) "Commission" means the public service commission. 8 (c) "Residential Long Island utility customer" means any resident of 9 Nassau or Suffolk county who is sold or offered for sale residential 10 utility service by a utility company. 11 (d) "Utility company" means any person or entity operating an agency 12 for public service, including, but not limited to, those persons or 13 entities subject to the jurisdiction, supervision and regulations 14 prescribed by or pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. 15 2. Establishment of the utility consumer advocate of the Long Island 16 office of the department of public service. There is established the 17 utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the department of 18 public service to advocate and to represent the interests of residential 19 Long Island utility customers. The consumer advocate shall be appointed 20 by the governor to a term of six years, upon the recommendation of the 21 county executives of Nassau and Suffolk counties and upon the advice and 22 consent of the senate. The utility consumer advocate shall possess know- 23 ledge and experience in matters affecting residential Long Island utili- 24 ty customers and shall be responsible for the direction, control and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08070-01-1A. 4389 2 1 operation of the office of utility consumer advocate for the office, 2 including its hiring of staff and retention of experts for analysis and 3 testimony in proceedings. The utility consumer advocate shall not be 4 removed for cause but may be removed only after notice and opportunity 5 to be heard, and only for permanent disability, malfeasance, a felony or 6 conduct involving moral turpitude. Exercise of independent judgment in 7 advocating positions on behalf of residential Long Island utility 8 customers shall not constitute cause for removal of the utility consumer 9 advocate. 10 3. Powers of the utility consumer advocate for the Long Island office 11 of the department of public service. The utility consumer advocate for 12 the office shall have the power and duty to: 13 (a) initiate, intervene in or participate on behalf of residential 14 Long Island utility customers in any proceedings before the commission, 15 the federal energy regulatory commission, the federal communications 16 commission, federal, state and local administrative and regulatory agen- 17 cies and state and federal courts in any matter or proceeding that may 18 substantially affect the interests of residential Long Island utility 19 customers, including, but not limited to, a proposed change of rates, 20 charges, terms and conditions of service, and the adoption of rules, 21 regulations, guidelines, orders, standards or final policy decisions 22 where the utility consumer advocate deems such initiation, intervention 23 or participation to be necessary or appropriate; 24 (b) represent the interests of residential Long Island utility custom- 25 ers before federal, state and local administrative and regulatory agen- 26 cies engaged in the regulation of energy, telecommunications, water and 27 other utility services, and before state and federal courts in actions 28 and proceedings to review the actions of utilities or orders of utility 29 regulatory agencies. Any action or proceeding brought by the utility 30 consumer advocate before a court or an agency shall be brought in the 31 name of the utility consumer advocate for the office. The utility 32 consumer advocate may join with a residential Long Island utility 33 customer or group of residential Long Island utility customers in bring- 34 ing an action; 35 (i) in addition to any other authority conferred upon the utility 36 consumer advocate, he or she is authorized, and it shall be his or her 37 duty to represent the interests of residential Long Island utility 38 customers as a party, or otherwise participate for the purpose of 39 representing the interests of such customers before any agencies or 40 courts. He or she may initiate proceedings if in his or her judgment 41 doing so may be necessary in connection with any matter involving the 42 actions or regulation of public utility companies whether on appeal or 43 otherwise initiated. The utility consumer advocate may monitor all cases 44 before regulatory agencies in the United States, including the federal 45 communications commission and the federal energy regulatory commission 46 that affect the interests of residential Long Island utility customers 47 and may formally participate in those proceedings which in his or her 48 judgment warrants such participation. 49 (ii) the utility consumer advocate shall exercise his or her independ- 50 ent discretion in determining the interests of residential Long Island 51 utility customers that will be advocated in any proceeding, and deter- 52 mining whether to participate in or initiate any proceeding and, in so 53 determining, shall consider the public interest, the resources avail- 54 able, and the substantiality of the effect of the proceeding on the 55 interest of residential Long Island utility customers;A. 4389 3 1 (c) request and receive from any state or local authority, agency, 2 department or division of the state or political subdivision such 3 assistance, personnel, information, books, records, other documentation 4 and cooperation necessary to perform his or her duties; 5 (d) enter into cooperative agreements with other government offices to 6 efficiently carry out his or her work; 7 (e) review and make recommendations to the office with respect to the 8 rates and charges, including charges related to energy efficiency and 9 renewable energy programs; 10 (f) annually review the emergency response plan of the Long Island 11 power authority and any related service provider and make recommenda- 12 tions to the authority with respect to the performance of the service 13 provider in restoring service or otherwise meeting the requirements of 14 the emergency response plan during an emergency event, defined for 15 purposes of this section as an event where widespread outages have 16 occurred in the authority's service territory due to a storm or other 17 causes beyond the control of the authority and the service provider, 18 including making determinations with respect to whether the service 19 provider is reasonably able to implement the emergency response plan, 20 whether the length of any outages related to such emergency were mate- 21 rially longer than they would otherwise have been because the service 22 provider failed to reasonably implement the emergency response plan, the 23 reasonableness of costs associated with such emergency response, the 24 costs, if any, that were unreasonably and imprudently incurred by the 25 service provider and whether the service provider would be liable for 26 any such costs pursuant to the terms and conditions of the operations 27 services agreement; 28 (g) review the annual capital expenditures proposed by the service 29 provider and recommend such improvement in the manufacture, conveying, 30 transportation, distribution or supply of electricity, or in the methods 31 employed by the service provider as in the utility consumer advocate's 32 judgment allows for safe and adequate service; and 33 (h) the purpose of the utility consumer advocate's oversight is to 34 make recommendations designed to ensure that the Long Island power 35 authority, the office and the service provider provide safe and adequate 36 transmission and distribution service at rates set at the lowest level 37 consistent with sound fiscal operating practices and ensure safe emer- 38 gency response planning. 39 4. Reports. On December first, two thousand twenty-three and annually 40 thereafter, the utility consumer advocate for the office shall issue a 41 report to the governor and the legislature, and make such report avail- 42 able to the public free of charge on a publicly available website, 43 containing, but not limited to, the following information: 44 (a) all proceedings that the utility consumer advocate for the office 45 participated in and the outcome of such proceedings, to the extent of 46 such outcome and if not confidential; 47 (b) estimated savings to residential utility consumers that resulted 48 from intervention by the utility consumer advocate for the office; and 49 (c) policy recommendations, including emergency response planning, and 50 suggested statutory amendments that the utility consumer advocate for 51 the office deems necessary. 52 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding 53 the date on which it shall have become a law.
