New York A 6542: Enacts the utility shutoff protection act

Bill Text

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A06542 Summary:

BILL NOA06542 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS S05690

&nbsp

SPONSORMamdani

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §§2, 32, 33 & 34, Pub Serv L

&nbsp

Protects residential customers from utility service shutoffs due to non-payment during summer and winter periods of extreme heat or cold; allows such utility services to be discontinued for non-payment outside such periods; requires an annual report to be submitted to the governor and legislature and posted publicly online.

Go to top A06542 Actions:

BILL NOA06542 

&nbsp

03/05/2025referred to corporations, authorities and commissions

01/05/2026enacting clause stricken

Go to topA06542 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA06542 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA06542 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 6542

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 March 5, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. MAMDANI -- read once and referred to the Commit-
 tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions

 AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to enacting the
 "utility shutoff protection act"

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "utility
 2 shutoff protection act".
 3 § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares that:
 4 1. It is the duty of the legislature to ensure that New York residents
 5 are protected from utility disconnections for nonpayment during periods
 6 of extreme heat or cold, when they would be relying on air conditioning
 7 or heating the most.
 8 2. New York's utility shutoff moratorium during the COVID-19 pandemic
 9 provided crucial relief for millions of households, enabling zero utili-
 10 ty shutoffs in 2021, but the expiration of this COVID-19 moratorium -
 11 absent any accompanying legislation to curb utility companies' record
 12 high gas and electricity rates - has left New York residents at risk of
 13 having their power cut off for nonpayment. According to NY Department of
 14 Public Service (DPS) data, more than 180,000 New York households experi-
 15 enced gas or electricity shutoffs for nonpayment in 2023.
 16 3. This act serves as an expansion of existing residential utility
 17 protections in New York state. Residential service cannot be terminated
 18 for nonpayment Friday through Sunday, on public holidays, the day before
 19 a holiday, or on a day before the utility business office is closed. New
 20 York also bans utility shutoffs during the two-week period that includes
 21 Christmas and New Year's Day. Altogether, state law protects residents
 22 from utility shutoffs between 170 and 180 calendar days, or about 50
 23 percent of the year.
 24 4. This legislation provides much-needed coherence and predictability
 25 to the presently scattered landscape of private residential shutoff

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD00373-02-5

 A. 6542 2

 1 policies. Every utility regulated by the Public Service Commission
 2 (hereinafter, "the commission") already follows certain seasonal and
 3 temperature-based restrictions on disconnecting residents, but these
 4 policies vary dramatically across companies. Con Edison, which serves
 5 most of New York city and Westchester county, already suspends residen-
 6 tial shutoffs on 204 calendar days per year, on average, based on
 7 National Weather Service data. But National Grid-the primary utility
 8 provider in upstate New York that serves 2.2 million customers in
 9 Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, and most of the Mohawk valley and the north
 10 country-lacks any shutoff protection during colder weather. New York
 11 residents' safety during the hottest and coldest months of the year
 12 should never depend on where they live or who their energy provider is.
 13 5. Finally, this act aligns with the surge in utility shutoff morato-
 14 ria nationwide, as the climate crisis continues to accelerate the
 15 frequency and severity of extreme weather. According to a 2023 Congres-
 16 sional Research Service report, 32 U.S. states have alr