Bill Text: NY S06741 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to unauthorized changes in suppliers of natural gas and electric service.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S06741 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S06741-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6741 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE June 15, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, HAMILTON, PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules 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, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13224-01-7S. 6741 2 1 establish procedures for a customer to confirm a change in a supplier of 2 gas or electric service made by another gas or electric service supplier 3 on behalf of the customer and set forth methods for enforcing such rules 4 and regulations. 5 4. Hold order or freeze. The commission may, if it determines it to be 6 necessary, require any gas or electric corporation that owns or operates 7 the transmission lines that control routing, selection, or billing func- 8 tions necessary to implement a hold order or freeze to offer it to end- 9 use customers as a method of reducing incidents of unauthorized changes 10 in suppliers of gas or electric service. Such corporation shall perform 11 any hold order or freeze procedure in a non-discriminatory and competi- 12 tively neutral manner that does not give such corporation an advantage 13 over its competitors in the gas or electric service market. 14 5. Billing information. When a customer or a new supplier of gas or 15 electric service on behalf of a customer makes a change in a supplier of 16 gas or electric service, the new provider of gas or electric service 17 shall be responsible for insertion of a conspicuous notice on or with 18 the customer's first bill for which the change is effective or shall 19 send a separate notice within sixty days informing the customer that 20 such change was made. Any bill shall contain the name of each provider 21 of gas or electric service for which billing is provided. 22 6. Penalties. A violation of the provisions of this section is subject 23 either to the judicial penalty authorized in section twenty-five of this 24 chapter for the failure or neglect to obey or comply with a provision of 25 this chapter or the administrative penalty established in this section. 26 In seeking such judicial penalty or assessing such administrative penal- 27 ty, the commission shall consider the nature, circumstances, extent, 28 gravity and number of the violations, and with respect to the violator, 29 the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses and repeated 30 violations, and such other matters as may be appropriate and relevant. 31 The remedies provided by this section are in addition to any other reme- 32 dies provided in law. 33 7. Enforcement. The commission, after opportunity for a hearing, shall 34 have the authority to assess directly an administrative penalty against 35 any supplier of gas or electric service for each violation of the 36 provisions of this section or order of the commission implementing or 37 enforcing the provisions of this section. Such penalty shall not exceed 38 one thousand dollars for each violation associated with each meter 39 service point. All moneys recovered from any administrative penalty 40 shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the general fund. 41 8. Proceedings. Whenever the commission determines that any supplier 42 of gas or electric service is violating or about to violate any 43 provision of this section or any regulation or order of the commission 44 implementing or enforcing the provisions of this section, or has failed 45 to pay any penalty assessed pursuant to the provisions of this section, 46 the commissioner shall have power to bring an action or enforcement 47 proceeding as provided by section twenty-six of this chapter. 48 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 49 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate- 50 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation 51 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 52 authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such 53 effective date.