Bill Text: NY S00927 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

---

Bill Title: Requires utility companies maintain a toll free number for consumers to call to report service outages which shall be made available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S00927 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S00927-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         927--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. KAPLAN, MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommu-
          nications  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the public service law, the public authorities  law  and
          the  general  business law, in relation to requiring utility companies
          maintain a toll free number for reporting service outages

          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  119-d to read as follows:
     3    § 119-d. Toll free number for service outages.    1.  Any  gas  corpo-
     4  ration, electric corporation, gas and electric corporation, water corpo-
     5  ration, steam corporation or a municipality rendering equivalent utility
     6  services  is  required  to  establish,  provide and maintain a toll free
     7  phone number for consumers of such utility to call for reporting service
     8  outages. Such toll free number shall:
     9    a. be attended twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week;
    10    b. have the capacity to adequately  address  a  surge  in  phone  call
    11  volume during an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions;
    12    c.  be posted clearly and conspicuously on the homepage of the utility
    13  company's website; and
    14    d. be posted clearly and conspicuously  on  the  first  page  of  each
    15  consumer's billing statement.
    16    2.  The  failure  to  comply with the provisions in this section shall
    17  subject any gas corporation,  electric  corporation,  gas  and  electric
    18  corporation,  water  corporation,  steam  corporation  or a municipality
    19  rendering equivalent utility services to  the  penalties  authorized  in
    20  section twenty-five of this chapter.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02590-08-1
        S. 927--A                           2

     1    3. Any municipality shall have the opportunity to petition the commis-
     2  sion  for  an  exemption  from  the requirements of this section if such
     3  municipality can show that such requirements are unduly burdensome.
     4    §  2.  The  public  authorities law is amended by adding a new section
     5  1020-mm to read as follows:
     6    § 1020-mm. Toll free  number  for  service  outages.  1.  The  service
     7  provider  shall  be  required  to establish, provide and maintain a toll
     8  free phone number for consumers  of  service  provided  by  the  service
     9  provider  to  call  for reporting service outages. Such toll free number
    10  shall:
    11    (a) be attended twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week;
    12    (b) have the capacity to adequately address  a  surge  in  phone  call
    13  volume during an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions;
    14    (c) be posted clearly and conspicuously on the homepage of the author-
    15  ity's website; and
    16    (d)  be  posted  clearly  and  conspicuously on the first page of each
    17  consumer's billing statement.
    18    2. The failure to comply with the provisions  of  this  section  shall
    19  subject  the  service  provider  to  the penalties authorized in section
    20  twenty-five of the public service law.
    21    § 3.  The general business law is amended  by  adding  a  new  section
    22  399-yyyy to read as follows:
    23    § 399-yyyy. Toll free number for cable television and internet service
    24  outages.  1. Any cable television or internet service provider rendering
    25  equivalent utility services is required to establish, provide and  main-
    26  tain  a toll free phone number for consumers of such utility to call for
    27  reporting service outages. Such toll free number shall:
    28    (a) be attended twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week;
    29    (b) have the capacity to adequately address  a  surge  in  phone  call
    30  volume during an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions;
    31    (c)  be  posted clearly and conspicuously on the homepage of the cable
    32  television or internet service provider's website; and
    33    (d) be posted clearly and conspicuously on  the  first  page  of  each
    34  consumer's billing statement.
    35    2.  The  failure  to  comply with the provisions in this section shall
    36  subject any cable television  or  internet  service  provider  rendering
    37  equivalent utility services to the penalties authorized in section twen-
    38  ty-five of the public service law.
    39    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    40  have become a law.