New York A 6853: Enacts the "Long Island power authority rate reform act"

Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6853
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 12, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. THIELE, ENGLEBRIGHT, JEAN-PIERRE, MONTESANO, RA,
M. MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations,
Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law and the public service law,
in relation to enacting the "Long Island power authority rate reform
act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Long Island power authority rate reform act".
3 § 2. Subdivision (u) of section 1020-f of the public authorities law,
4 as added by section 7 of part A of chapter 173 of the laws of 2013, and
5 paragraph 2-a as added by chapter 471 of the laws of 2014, is amended to
6 read as follows:
7 (u) Rate plans. Subject to subdivision six of section one thousand
8 twenty-k of this title to fix rates and charges for the furnishing or
9 rendition of gas or electric power or of any related service at the
10 lowest level consistent with sound fiscal and operating practices of the
11 authority and which provide for safe and adequate service. In implement-
12 ing this power:
13 1. The authority and the service provider shall, on or before February
14 first, two thousand fifteen, submit for review to the department of
15 public service a three-year rate proposal for rates and charges to take
16 effect on or after January first, two thousand sixteen.
17 2. The authority and the service provider shall thereafter submit for
18 review to the department of public service any rate proposal that would
19 increase the rates and charges and thus increase the aggregate revenues
20 of the authority by more than two and one-half percent to be measured on
21 an annual basis[; provided, however, that the authority may place such
22 rates and charges into effect on an interim basis, subject to prospec-
23 tive rate adjustment; provided, further, that a final rate plan issued
EXPLANATION--Matter in (underscored) is new; matter in bracketsitalics
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05786-01-1

A. 6853 2
1 by the authority that would not so increase such rates and charges shall
2 not be subject to the requirements of paragraph four of this subdivision
3 and shall be considered final for the purposes of review under article
4 ]. The authorityseventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules
5 and/or the service provider may otherwise submit for review to such
6 department any rate proposal irrespective of its effect on revenues.
7 2-a. The authority and the service provider shall not submit any rate
8 proposal that shall assess any fee, penalty or other charge of any kind
9 for the voluntary termination of electric service to any residential
10 customer for the purpose of utilizing alternative sources of electric
11 generation in excess of that charged to customers who terminate their
12 electric service for any other reason.
13 3. The authority shall not fix any final rates and charges proposed
14 that would not be subject to review by the department of public service
15 pursuant to paragraphs one and two of this subdivision until after hold-
16 ing public hearings thereon upon reasonable public notice, with at least
17 one such hearing to be held each [ ] county [in in the of Suffolk and the
18 ] county of Nassau within the service area upon at least thirty days
19 .notice to the public
20 4. Any recommendations associated with a rate proposal submitted
21 pursuant to paragraphs one and two of this subdivision shall be provided
22 by the department of public service to the board of the authority imme-
23 diately upon their finalization by the department. [Unless the board of
24 the authority makes a preliminary determination in its discretion that
25 any particular recommendation is inconsistent with the authority's sound
26 fiscal operating practices, any existing contractual or operating obli-
27 gations, or the provision of safe and adequate service, the board shall
28 implement such recommendations as part of its final rate plan and such
29 final determination shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of this
30 subdivision and be considered final for the purposes of review under
31 article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules. The board
32 shall make any such preliminary determination of inconsistency within
33 thirty days of receipt of such recommendations, with notice and the
34 basis of such determination being provided to the department of public
35 service, and contemporaneously posted on the websites of the authority
36 and its service provider. The board shall thereafter, within thirty days
37 of such posting and with due advance notice to the public, hold a public
38 hearing with respect to its preliminary determination of inconsistency.
39 At such hearing, the department of pub