STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5593

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      March 8, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
          cations

        AN  ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to mandating budget
          expenditures by gas and electric corporations to improve power  outage
          response and to stormproof power lines

          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  73-b to read as follows:
     3    § 73-b. Mandatory budget expenditures to improve power outage response
     4  and  to stormproof power lines. 1. For the year two thousand twenty-four
     5  and every year thereafter, every gas  corporation  and  electric  corpo-
     6  ration in this state shall dedicate and use forty percent of its operat-
     7  ing  budget  for the purpose of improving such corporation's response to
     8  power outages and storm related damage. Such budget  expenditures  shall
     9  be  used specifically for: (a) infrastructure hardening; (b) storm resi-
    10  lience; (c) improving response time to power outages and  storm  related
    11  damage, and the effectiveness of such response; (d) removing power lines
    12  from  trees;  and  (e)  removing trees and tree limbs in the vicinity of
    13  power lines.   The objective of such budget  expenditures  shall  be  to
    14  stormproof  power  lines  throughout  the  state to reduce the number of
    15  power outages and storm related damage in this state.
    16    2. On or before April first, two thousand twenty-four and on or before
    17  every July first, October first, January first and April  first,  there-
    18  after,  every  gas  corporation  and  electric corporation in this state
    19  shall file a report with the commission setting forth documentation,  as
    20  determined by the commissioner, necessary to substantiate its compliance
    21  with the provisions of subdivision one of this section.
    22    3.  Any  application  by  a  gas  corporation  or electric corporation
    23  submitted to the commission to increase any rate charged to its  custom-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03842-01-3
        S. 5593                             2

     1  ers  shall  include  documentation,  as  determined by the commissioner,
     2  necessary to substantiate its compliance with the provisions of subdivi-
     3  sion one of this section.
     4    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.