Bill Text: NY A10491 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to unauthorized changes in suppliers of natural gas and electric service.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-04-30 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A10491 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A10491-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          10491
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     April 30, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. WALLACE -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Consumer Affairs and Protection
        AN ACT to amend the public service  law,  in  relation  to  unauthorized
          changes in suppliers of natural gas and electric 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  65-c to read as follows:
     3    §  65-c.  Gas  and  electric service; changes in providers.   1. Defi-
     4  nitions. As used in this section, the following  terms  shall  have  the
     5  following meanings:
     6    (a)  "hold  order  or  freeze"  shall  mean  a directive to retain the
     7  supplier of gas or electric service; and
     8    (b) "supplier of gas or electric service" shall mean and  include  any
     9  person,  firm  or corporation that offers, sells or delivers all or part
    10  of natural gas or electric service, including, but not limited to, a gas
    11  or electric distribution company, a gas or electric corporation,  a  gas
    12  or electricity provider, marketer, aggregator or broker.
    13    2. Unauthorized changes in natural gas or electric service prohibited.
    14  No  supplier  of  gas  or electric service or any person, firm or corpo-
    15  ration acting as such supplier's agent or representative shall on behalf
    16  of a customer make or direct any change in a supplier of gas or electric
    17  service unless such supplier,  agent  or  representative  complies  with
    18  authorization and confirmation procedures established by the commission.
    19  In  construing  and enforcing the provisions of this section, the act of
    20  any person, firm or corporation acting as an agent or representative  of
    21  a  supplier  of gas or electric service shall be deemed to be the act of
    22  such supplier of gas or electric service.
    23    3. Rules and regulations. The commission shall have the  authority  to
    24  establish  rules  and  regulations  relating  to unauthorized changes in
    25  suppliers of gas or electric service, which, among  other  requirements,
    26  establish procedures for a customer to confirm a change in a supplier of
    27  gas or electric service made by another gas or electric service supplier
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13224-01-7
        A. 10491                            2
     1  on behalf of the customer and set forth methods for enforcing such rules
     2  and regulations.
     3    4. Hold order or freeze. The commission may, if it determines it to be
     4  necessary, require any gas or electric corporation that owns or operates
     5  the transmission lines that control routing, selection, or billing func-
     6  tions  necessary to implement a hold order or freeze to offer it to end-
     7  use customers as a method of reducing incidents of unauthorized  changes
     8  in  suppliers of gas or electric service. Such corporation shall perform
     9  any hold order or freeze procedure in a non-discriminatory and  competi-
    10  tively  neutral  manner that does not give such corporation an advantage
    11  over its competitors in the gas or electric service market.
    12    5. Billing information. When a customer or a new supplier  of  gas  or
    13  electric service on behalf of a customer makes a change in a supplier of
    14  gas  or  electric  service,  the new provider of gas or electric service
    15  shall be responsible for insertion of a conspicuous notice  on  or  with
    16  the  customer's  first  bill  for which the change is effective or shall
    17  send a separate notice within sixty days  informing  the  customer  that
    18  such  change  was made. Any bill shall contain the name of each provider
    19  of gas or electric service for which billing is provided.
    20    6. Penalties. A violation of the provisions of this section is subject
    21  either to the judicial penalty authorized in section twenty-five of this
    22  chapter for the failure or neglect to obey or comply with a provision of
    23  this chapter or the administrative penalty established in this  section.
    24  In seeking such judicial penalty or assessing such administrative penal-
    25  ty,  the  commission  shall  consider the nature, circumstances, extent,
    26  gravity and number of the violations, and with respect to the  violator,
    27  the  degree  of  culpability, any history of prior offenses and repeated
    28  violations, and such other matters as may be appropriate  and  relevant.
    29  The remedies provided by this section are in addition to any other reme-
    30  dies provided in law.
    31    7. Enforcement. The commission, after opportunity for a hearing, shall
    32  have  the authority to assess directly an administrative penalty against
    33  any supplier of gas or  electric  service  for  each  violation  of  the
    34  provisions  of  this  section or order of the commission implementing or
    35  enforcing the provisions of this section. Such penalty shall not  exceed
    36  one  thousand  dollars  for  each  violation  associated with each meter
    37  service point. All moneys  recovered  from  any  administrative  penalty
    38  shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the general fund.
    39    8.  Proceedings.  Whenever the commission determines that any supplier
    40  of gas or  electric  service  is  violating  or  about  to  violate  any
    41  provision  of  this section or any regulation or order of the commission
    42  implementing or enforcing the provisions of this section, or has  failed
    43  to  pay any penalty assessed pursuant to the provisions of this section,
    44  the commissioner shall have power to  bring  an  action  or  enforcement
    45  proceeding as provided by section twenty-six of this chapter.
    46    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    47  it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate-
    48  ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
    49  necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective  date  are
    50  authorized  and  directed  to  be  made  and completed on or before such
    51  effective date.