Bill Text: NY A07554 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Directs the department of public service to prepare written reports on the effect the COVID-19 state of emergency has on certain utilities of electric, gas, water, wastewater, and telephone service to commercial and residential customers in the state and on the affordability of services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-03 - substituted by s5451c [A07554 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A07554-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Directs the department of public service to prepare written reports on the effect the COVID-19 state of emergency has on certain utilities of electric, gas, water, wastewater, and telephone service to commercial and residential customers in the state and on the affordability of services.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-03 - substituted by s5451c [A07554 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A07554-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7554 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 13, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions AN ACT directing the department of public service to prepare a written report on the effect of the COVID-19 state of emergency on certain utilities (Part A); and directing the department of environmental conservation to prepare a written report on the effect of the COVID-19 state of emergency on wastewater utilities (Part B) The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act enacts into law components of legislation relating 2 to the effects of the COVID-19 state disaster emergency on utilities' 3 services. Each component is wholly contained within a Part identified as 4 Parts A through B. The effective date for each particular provision 5 contained within such Part is set forth in the last section of such 6 Part. Any provision in any section contained within a Part, including 7 the effective date of the Part, which makes reference to a section "of 8 this act", when used in connection with that particular component, shall 9 be deemed to mean and refer to the corresponding section of the Part in 10 which it is found. Section four of this act sets forth the general 11 effective date of this act. 12 § 2. Legislative findings and declaration. In response to the COVID-19 13 pandemic, chapter 108 of the laws of 2020 was adopted to ensure that New 14 Yorkers would not be deprived of a minimum standard of decency. The law 15 prohibited termination of utility services at a pivotal moment when it 16 became evident that sanitary conditions were required to combat the 17 COVID-19 virus. The legislature finds and declares that it is unknown to 18 the state the number of New Yorkers whom had their services terminated 19 or disconnected during the pandemic. The legislature finds that many 20 utility customers rely on continuous service for heat, water, and elec- 21 tricity to power necessary equipment, such as life-saving health care 22 devices. Now, as vaccine approvals and distributions signal a potential EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03808-03-1A. 7554 2 1 end to the pandemic, the legislature finds and declares that it is 2 imperative to ascertain the disruptive effects the pandemic had on util- 3 ity customers and utility services, so that evidence-based policy can 4 be properly crafted thereafter. 5 PART A 6 Section 1. 1. As used in this act: 7 a. "Assistance program" shall mean any program offered to eligible 8 low-income customers to assist with the costs of electricity, gas, 9 water, and telephone including but not limited to the low-income home 10 energy assistance program, any low-income affordability plans as 11 provided by public service commission case number 14-M-0565, and/or any 12 other financial assistance program provided by individual utilities, 13 counties or municipalities. 14 b. "COVID-19 state of emergency" shall mean the state disaster emer- 15 gency declared pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020. 16 c. "Department" shall mean the department of public service. 17 d. "Municipality" shall have the same meaning as subdivision 16 of 18 section 2 of the public service law and shall include potable water 19 districts and potable water systems owned and/or operated by a city, 20 town, village or other governmental subdivision. 21 e. "Telephone corporation" shall have the same meaning as subdivision 22 17 of section 2 of the public service law. 23 f. "Utility" shall mean a municipality, telephone corporation, utility 24 corporation, steam corporation, water-works corporation, an electric 25 corporation as defined in subdivision 13 of section 2 of the public 26 service law, a gas corporation as defined in subdivision 11 of section 2 27 of the public service law, a combination gas and electric corporation as 28 defined in subdivision 14 of section 2 of the public service law, and a 29 steam corporation as defined in subdivision 22 of section 2 of the 30 public service law. 31 g. "Utility corporation" shall have the same meaning as subdivisions 32 23 and 24 of section 2 of the public service law. 33 h. "Water-works corporation" shall have the same meaning as subdivi- 34 sion 27 of section 2 of the public service law. 35 2. a. Within 30 days after the effective date of this act, the depart- 36 ment shall prepare and submit to the governor and the legislature a 37 written report that shall make findings and recommendations concerning 38 the effect the COVID-19 state of emergency has had on the provision by 39 utilities of electric, gas, water, and telephone service to commercial 40 and residential customers in this state. An updated report shall be 41 submitted monthly until 180 days after the end of the COVID-19 state of 42 emergency and thereafter shall be submitted quarterly by and for each 43 utility until such a covered entity ceases to provide service in New 44 York state. Without unreasonably exposing consumer personally identifi- 45 able information in a manner that violates public service law, depart- 46 ment and public service commission practice or federal law, the reports 47 shall include but not be limited to the following, with all information 48 to be broken down by utility, type of service provided, month, customer 49 class, municipality, zip code, county, and United States Census American 50 Community Survey Public Use Micro-data Area: 51 (1) the number of customers and how that number compares to the previ- 52 ous year's number of customers at the same time; 53 (2) the number of disconnection notices sent due to non-payment, 54 disconnections due to non-payment, reconnections of customers that wereA. 7554 3 1 disconnected for non-payment, average time between service disconnection 2 due to non-payment and service reconnection, and how those numbers 3 compare to the previous year at the same time; 4 (3) the number of liens on real property placed, sold, or enforced due 5 to non-payment, and how those numbers compare to the previous year at 6 the same time; 7 (4) the number of customers in arrears by 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 8 180 days at the end of each month, the total dollar amount owed and 9 average amount owed per customer in each of those categories, and how 10 those numbers compare to the previous year at the same time, provided 11 however that if the provision of such data beyond the current electric, 12 gas and steam utility standard of 60 day arrears would raise rates 13 unreasonably for residential or commercial ratepayers, the department 14 shall work with the utilities to take advantage of pending or ongoing 15 upgrades or replacement of utility information technology systems to 16 lower such bill impacts to two percent or less per year over the period 17 necessary to attain reports of the granularity set forth in this act; 18 (5) the number of customers that became eligible for disconnection due 19 to bill non-payment but were not disconnected because of any legally 20 mandated or voluntary suspension of disconnections due to the COVID-19 21 state of emergency, or for any other statutory, regulatory or voluntary 22 reason irrespective of the COVID-19 emergency, or such other states of 23 emergency as may follow the end of the COVID-19 emergency; 24 (6) the number of customers that declared a change in financial 25 circumstances due to the COVID-19 state of emergency pursuant to 26 sections 32, 89-b, 89-l and 91 of the public service law; 27 (7) the number of customers enrolled in deferred payment agreements at 28 the end of each month, the total dollar amount of arrears and average 29 amount of arrears per customer subject to such agreements, the average 30 length of the repayment term under such agreements, and how those 31 numbers compare to the previous year at the same time; 32 (8) the number of customers that entered into, successfully completed, 33 or defaulted from a deferred payment agreement, the total dollar amount 34 of arrears and average amount of arrears per customer subject to such 35 agreements, and how those numbers compare to the previous year at the 36 same time; 37 (9) available customer assistance programs, including terms of eligi- 38 bility, available budget for each program, and any enhancements to the 39 programs that have been made or are planned to address actual or antic- 40 ipated increased demand; 41 (10) the number of customers that applied for financial assistance 42 under each applicable assistance program, and how those numbers compare 43 to the previous year at the same time; 44 (11) the number of customers receiving assistance under each assist- 45 ance program at the end of each month, and how that number compares to 46 the previous year at the same time; 47 (12) the number of customers charged late fees, penalties, and inter- 48 est, the total dollar amount of late fees, penalties, and interest 49 charged and average amount of late fees, penalties, and interest per 50 customer subject to such charges, and how those numbers compare to the 51 previous year at the same time; 52 (13) the average and median dollar amount billed to customer accounts 53 and the average and median utility usage per customer account, and how 54 those numbers compare to the previous year at the same time; 55 (14) the total dollar amounts billed to and collected from customer 56 accounts and how those amounts compare to the previous year at the sameA. 7554 4 1 time, except that such data need not be broken down by municipality and 2 zip code within the service area of a utility; 3 (15) the methods and contents of general communications by utilities 4 to customer accounts concerning their rights and available assistance 5 programs, excluding any customer-specific communications; and 6 (16) the department's assessment of whether existing customer assist- 7 ance programs are presently and will in the future be sufficient to meet 8 the financial needs of customer accounts in arrears who are unable to 9 pay those arrears in full, as well as the needs of customer accounts who 10 may be unable to pay bills for current service. 11 b. Each utility shall, within 21 days of the effective date of this 12 act, monthly thereafter until 180 days after the end of the COVID-19 13 state of emergency, and quarterly thereafter until such a covered entity 14 ceases to provide service in New York state, file with the department, 15 in a form and manner determined by the department, the information 16 required pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision. Each utility shall 17 publish on its website the data it reports pursuant to this paragraph, 18 simultaneously with submission of the data to the department. 19 3. The department shall publish on its website the reports required 20 pursuant to subdivision two of this section, simultaneously with the 21 submission of each report. The reports shall include presentations of 22 the information required pursuant to subdivision two of this section in 23 a spreadsheet format. 24 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 25 PART B 26 Section 1. 1. As used in this act: 27 a. "Assistance program" shall mean any program offered to eligible 28 low-income customers to assist with the costs of wastewater services. 29 b. "COVID-19 state of emergency" shall mean the state disaster emer- 30 gency declared pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020. 31 c. "Department" shall mean the department of environmental conserva- 32 tion. 33 d. "Municipality" shall mean a county, city, town or village and shall 34 include wastewater districts and systems owned and/or operated by a 35 city, town, village or other governmental subdivision. 36 e. "Utility" shall mean a municipality or other entity providing 37 wastewater services to customers in the state. 38 2. a. Within 30 days after the effective date of this act, the depart- 39 ment shall prepare and submit to the governor and the legislature a 40 written report that shall make findings and recommendations concerning 41 the effect the COVID-19 state of emergency has had on the provision by 42 utilities of wastewater service to commercial and residential customers 43 in this state. An updated report shall be submitted monthly until 180 44 days after the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency and thereafter 45 shall be submitted quarterly by and for each utility until such a 46 covered entity ceases to provide service in New York state. Without 47 unreasonably exposing consumer personally identifiable information in a 48 manner that violates public service law, department and public service 49 commission practice or federal law, the reports shall include but not be 50 limited to the following, with all information to be broken down by 51 utility, type of service provided, month, customer class, municipality, 52 zip code, county, and United States Census American Community Survey 53 Public Use Micro-data Area:A. 7554 5 1 (1) the number of customers and how that number compares to the previ- 2 ous year's number of customers at the same time; 3 (2) the number of disconnection notices sent due to non-payment, 4 disconnections due to non-payment, reconnections of customers that were 5 disconnected for non-payment, average time between service disconnection 6 due to non-payment and service reconnection, and how those numbers 7 compare to the previous year at the same time; 8 (3) the number of liens on real property placed, sold, or enforced due 9 to non-payment, and how those numbers compare to the previous year at 10 the same time; 11 (4) the number of customers in arrears by 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 12 180 days at the end of each month, the total dollar amount owed and 13 average amount owed per customer in each of those categories, and how 14 those numbers compare to the previous year at the same time, provided 15 however that if the provision of such data would raise rates unreason- 16 ably for residential or commercial customers, the department shall work 17 with the utilities to take advantage of pending or ongoing upgrades or 18 replacement of utility information technology systems to lower such bill 19 impacts to two percent or less per year over the period necessary to 20 attain reports of the granularity set forth in this act; 21 (5) the number of customers that became eligible for disconnection due 22 to bill nonpayment but were not disconnected because of any legally 23 mandated or voluntary suspension of disconnections due to the COVID-19 24 state of emergency, or for any other statutory, regulatory or voluntary 25 reason irrespective of the COVID-19 emergency, or such other states of 26 emergency as may follow the end of the COVID-19 emergency; 27 (6) the number of customers that declared a change in financial 28 circumstances due to the COVID-19 state of emergency; 29 (7) the number of customers enrolled in deferred payment agreements at 30 the end of each month, the total dollar amount of arrears and average 31 amount of arrears per customer subject to such agreements, the average 32 length of the repayment term under such agreements, and how those 33 numbers compare to the previous year at the same time; 34 (8) the number of customers that entered into, successfully completed, 35 or defaulted from a deferred payment agreement, the total dollar amount 36 of arrears and average amount of arrears per customer subject to such 37 agreements, and how those numbers compare to the previous year at the 38 same time; 39 (9) available customer assistance programs, including terms of eligi- 40 bility, available budget for each program, and any enhancements to the 41 programs that have been made or are planned to address actual or antic- 42 ipated increased demand; 43 (10) the number of customers that applied for financial assistance 44 under each applicable assistance program, and how those numbers compare 45 to the previous year at the same time; 46 (11) the number of customers receiving assistance under each assist- 47 ance program at the end of each month, and how that number compares to 48 the previous year at the same time; 49 (12) the number of customers charged late fees, penalties, and inter- 50 est, the total dollar amount of late fees, penalties, and interest 51 charged and average amount of late fees, penalties, and interest per 52 customer subject to such charges, and how those numbers compare to the 53 previous year at the same time; 54 (13) the average and median dollar amount billed to customer accounts 55 and the average and median utility usage per customer account, and how 56 those numbers compare to the previous year at the same time;A. 7554 6 1 (14) the total dollar amounts billed to and collected from customer 2 accounts and how those amounts compare to the previous year at the same 3 time, except that such data need not be broken down by municipality and 4 zip code within the service area of a utility; 5 (15) the methods and contents of general communications by utilities 6 to customer accounts concerning their rights and available assistance 7 programs, excluding any customer-specific communications; and 8 (16) the department's assessment of whether existing customer assist- 9 ance programs are presently and will in the future be sufficient to meet 10 the financial needs of customer accounts in arrears who are unable to 11 pay those arrears in full, as well as the needs of customer accounts who 12 may be unable to pay bills for current service. 13 b. Each utility shall, within 21 days of the effective date of this 14 act, monthly thereafter until 180 days after the end of the COVID-19 15 state of emergency, and quarterly thereafter until such a covered entity 16 ceases to provide service in New York state, file with the department, 17 in a form and manner determined by the department, the information 18 required pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision. Each utility shall 19 publish on its website the data it reports pursuant to this paragraph, 20 simultaneously with submission of the data to the department. 21 3. The department shall publish on its website the reports required 22 pursuant to subdivision two of this section, simultaneously with the 23 submission of each report. The reports shall include presentations of 24 the information required pursuant to subdivision two of this section in 25 a spreadsheet format. 26 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 27 § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 28 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 29 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 30 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 31 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 32 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 33 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 34 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 35 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 36 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 37 the applicable effective date of Parts A through B of this act shall be 38 as specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.
