Provides a reimbursement to small businesses and residential consumers of certain utilities for failure to provide contracted services; requires the Long Island power authority to do the same.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A196
SPONSOR: Sayegh TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law and the public authorities law,
in relation to providing a reimbursement to small business and residen-
tial consumers of certain utilities for failure to provide contracted
services
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation creates a discount on residential consumer's bills and
for small businesses for times they're without contracted service by
certain service providers resulting from power outages.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the public service law by adding a new section 119-d
which states that a residential consumer or small business who has a
contract for service with a gas, electric, gas and electric, water,
steam, or a municipality providing equivalent service shall be entitled
to a discount when services are not provided for a period of at least 48
hours after the end of a failure of equipment, weather event, natural
disaster, or any other disruption in providing service. The Department
shall promulgate rules and regulations within 180 days to calculate how
a utility shall reimburse the impacted party.
Section 2 amends section 1020-f of the public authorities law, as added
by chapter 517 of the laws of 1986 by adding a new subdivision (ii) that
states that a residential consumer or small business who has a contract
for service with the authority or its service provider shall be entitled
to a discount when services are not provided for a period of at least 48
hours after the end of a failure of equipment, weather event, natural
disaster, or any other disruption in providing service. The Board shall
promulgate rules and regulations within 180 days to calculate how a
utility shall reimburse the impacted party.
Section 3 sets the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
N/A
JUSTIFICATION:
When a consumer does not receive services they depend on, they are
understandably frustrated as they wait for those services to be fixed
and they are unable to make use of these services. As can be expected,
the longer the delay the greater the anger and frustration a consumer
will feel. Hopefully upon service restoration they find themselves
de-escalating and again enjoying the services they have contracted for.
However, imagine their feelings when they open their service bill and
see that they are being charged for services that they were unable to
access, this is unconscionable.
This legislation seeks to address this concern, by giving that individ-
ual a discount on their bill based on the amount of time contracted
services were not available to them.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-20: A11020-Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
2021-22: A3044-Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
196
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SAYEGH, DICKENS, SEAWRIGHT, DeSTEFANO, THIELE,
SANTABARBARA, TAGUE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. DURSO, MILLER --
read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public service law and the public authorities law,
in relation to providing a reimbursement to small business and resi-
dential consumers of certain utilities for failure to provide
contracted services
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
2 119-d to read as follows:
3 § 119-d. Failure to provide contracted services. 1. A residential
4 consumer or small business who has a contract for service with a gas
5 corporation, electric corporation, gas and electric corporation, water
6 corporation, steam corporation or a municipality rendering equivalent
7 utility services shall be entitled to a discount when the service such
8 residential consumer or small business has contracted for is not
9 provided for by such gas corporation, electric corporation, gas and
10 electric corporation, water corporation, steam corporation or a munici-
11 pality rendering equivalent utility services for a period of at least
12 forty-eight hours after the end of a failure of equipment, weather
13 event, natural disaster or any other disruption in the providing of
14 service. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations, within
15 one hundred eighty days from the effective date of this section, to
16 calculate how a utility shall reimburse a residential consumer or small
17 business pursuant to this section. Such reimbursement shall be applied
18 to the monthly charges assessed by such gas corporation, electric corpo-
19 ration, gas and electric corporation, water corporation, steam corpo-
20 ration or a municipality rendering equivalent utility services.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01668-01-3
A. 196 2
1 2. For purposes of this section, "small business" shall mean a busi-
2 ness which is resident in this state, independently owned and operated,
3 not dominant in its field and employs fifty or less persons.
4 3. No cost created pursuant to this section shall be the responsibil-
5 ity of a ratepayer.
6 § 2. Section 1020-f of the public authorities law, as added by chapter
7 517 of the laws of 1986, is amended by adding a new subdivision (jj) to
8 read as follows:
9 (jj) Failure to provide contracted services. 1. A residential consum-
10 er or small business who has a contract for service with a service
11 provider or the authority shall be entitled to a discount when the
12 service such residential consumer or small business has contracted for
13 is not provided for by such service provider or the authority for a
14 period of at least forty-eight hours after the end of a failure of
15 equipment, weather event, natural disaster or any other disruption in
16 the providing of service. The board shall promulgate rules and regu-
17 lations, within one hundred eighty days from the effective date of this
18 subdivision, to calculate how a service provider or the authority shall
19 reimburse a residential consumer or small business pursuant to this
20 subdivision. Such reimbursement shall be applied to the monthly charges
21 assessed by such service provider or the authority.
22 2. For purposes of this subdivision, "small business" shall mean a
23 business which is resident in this state, independently owned and oper-
24 ated, not dominant in its field and employs fifty or less persons.
25 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
