New York A 4078: Relates to establishing requirements and penalties for combination utility companies during service outages

Bill Text

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A04078 Summary:

BILL NOA04078 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS S01535

&nbsp

SPONSORCunningham

&nbsp

COSPNSRShimsky, Eichenstein, McDonough, Brown K

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Add §66-x, Pub Serv L

&nbsp

Relates to establishing requirements and penalties for combination utility companies during service outages; provides that a penalty for failure to reasonably comply with requirements that protect the overall reliability and continuity of combination utility company services shall be up to one hundred dollars per violation or for a pattern or practice of such violations up to one thousand dollars per violation.

Go to top A04078 Actions:

BILL NOA04078 

&nbsp

01/31/2025referred to energy

01/07/2026referred to energy

Go to topA04078 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA04078 Floor&nbspVotes:

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

Go to topA04078 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 4078

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 January 31, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the
 Committee on Energy

 AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to establishing
 requirements and penalties for combination utility companies during
 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 66-x to read as follows:
 3 § 66-x. Establishment of requirements and penalties for combination
 4 utility companies during service outages. 1. (a) The commission shall
 5 have the power to establish standards of acceptable performance for
 6 combination utility companies in the event of a power outage and subse-
 7 quent power restoration.
 8 (b) The commission shall also provide for a penalty in the event that
 9 a combination utility company is determined by the commission to have
 10 failed to reasonably comply by a preponderance of the evidence with any
 11 provision of this chapter, or an order or regulation adopted under the
 12 authority of this chapter, which protects the overall reliability and
 13 continuity of combination utility company services, including but not
 14 limited to restoring service or otherwise meeting the requirements of an
 15 emergency service plan following a major outage event or emergency. Such
 16 penalty shall be up to one hundred dollars per violation of this section
 17 or, for a pattern or practice of such violations, of up to one thousand
 18 dollars per violation. A violation shall be judged per individual
 19 account and shall include both residential and commercial customers.
 20 (c) For the purposes of this section, "combination utility company"
 21 shall mean a utility company that provides electric, gas, or steam
 22 service in a city with a population of one million or more.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD02297-01-5

 A. 4078 2

 1 2. The commission shall establish a schedule of customer credits or
 2 rebates, which shall be awarded to customers that experience service
 3 outage conditions and for missed installation appointments.
 4 3. The commission is authorized to open an investigation to review the
 5 performance of any combination utility company in restoring service or
 6 otherwise meeting the requirements of an emergency response plan during
 7 an emergency event. If, after evidentiary hearings or other investigato-
 8 ry proceedings, the commission finds that the combination utility compa-
 9 ny failed to reasonably implement its emergency response plan or the
 10 length of such combination utility company's outages were materially
 11 longer than they should have been, because of such combination utility
 12 company's failure to reasonably implement its emergency response plan,
 13 the commission may deny the recovery of any part of the service restora-
 14 tion costs caused by such failure, commensurate with the degree and
 15 impact of the service outage; provided, however, that nothing in this
 16 section limits the commission's authority to otherwise commence a
 17 proceeding pursuant to sections twenty-four, twenty-five and twenty-
 18 five-a of this chapter, provided