Bill Text: NY A05620 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to energy [A05620 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A05620-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5620

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 22, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Energy

        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:

     1    Section 1. The New York State public service commission  shall  under-
     2  take  an  immediate  study  of  consumer protections adopted by electric
     3  corporations and municipalities ("utilities") pursuant to article  2  of
     4  the  public service law and provide a report to the governor, the tempo-
     5  rary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chair  of
     6  the  senate  committee on energy and telecommunications and the chair of
     7  the assembly committee on energy. Such report shall include an  analysis
     8  of the effectiveness of current utility procedures for notifying custom-
     9  ers  in  arrears on utility charges of how they may avoid termination of
    10  electric, gas or steam service, including the availability  of  deferred
    11  payment  agreements.  In addition, such report shall review the adequacy
    12  of the commission's assistance to customers negotiating deferred payment
    13  agreements with utilities in lieu of disconnection of service  including
    14  the  number  of deferred payment plans by utility service territory; the
    15  number of incidences, if any, in which utilities have required more than
    16  the lawfully allowed level of down payments or  deferred  payments  from
    17  customers  seeking to connect service or avoid disconnection; the effec-
    18  tiveness and availability of the commission's shutoff hotline in receiv-
    19  ing calls from customers facing termination of electric, gas  and  steam
    20  service;  the call volume to such hotline in each utility service terri-
    21  tory; the monthly number of  electric  and  natural  gas  customers  who
    22  previously received utility bill assistance from the Home Energy Assist-
    23  ance  Program  whose service was terminated for bill collection purposes
    24  in each utility service area in the  previous  calendar  year,  provided
    25  further  that  the  commission  shall  require each utility provide such

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08968-01-1
        A. 5620                             2

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