Senate Bill S2397

2011-2012 Legislative Session

Relates to clarifying the regulatory authority of the New York power authority over any municipality that owns and operates an electric distribution system

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 04, 2012	referred to energy and telecommunications
Jan 19, 2011	referred to energy and telecommunications

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5862
Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Public Authorities Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1014, Pub Auth L; amd §364, Gen Muni L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S7890, A11166
2013-2014: A6251

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that the New York power authority shall have jurisdiction over any municipal corporation that owns and operates an electric distribution system and distributes any power from the authority.

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S2397

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public authorities law and the general municipal law,
in relation to clarifying the
regulatory authority of the New York power authority

PURPOSE:
This act would clarify that the New York Power Authority retains
regulatory jurisdiction over all municipal electric utilities with
certain exceptions.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 1014 of the public authorities law to clarify
that municipal electric utilities who purchase and distribute power
from the New York Power Authority shall be regulated by the Authority
and not by the Public Service Commission.

Section 2 amends section 364 of the general municipal law to exempt
from regulation by the Public Service commission those
municipalities who distribute power from the New York Power
Authority but do not generate power for distribution.

Section 3 sets forth the effective date of this Act.

EXISTING LAW:
Currently, Public Authorities Law section 1014 states that entities
whose power is generated exclusively by the New York Power Authority
shall be regulated by the Authority and not the Public Service
Commission. General Municipal Law section 364 provides that municipal
electric utilities shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Public
Service Commission.

JUSTIFICATION:
Small municipalities across the state provide electric service to
their residents through electric distribution systems run by the
municipalities themselves. Pursuant to state and federal law, these
municipalities receive an allocation of low-cost hydropower from the
Niagara Power Project and through the New York Power Authority.
Before the deregulation of the power industry, these municipalities
purchased all of their power through the power Authority. After
deregulation, most municipalities now purchase a percentage of their
power on the open market.

As the law is written, this brings them under the regulatory
jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission. Accordingly, whenever
a municipality needs to change its rates, it must: expend hundreds of
thousands of dollars to hire experts and participate in a relatively
adversarial race-making process before the PSC. The PSC was created
to regulate the behavior of large, investor owned, for-profit utility

companies, and to hold them accountable to the public. Small
municipal utilities are already directly accountable to the public
through local elections. It is for this reason that similarly
situated utilities, such as rural cooperative electric utilities and
municipal water utilities, are not subjected to the PSC's regulatory
authority in this manner.

This legislation would restore the former state of affairs, where NYPA
regulated all the municipal electric utilities. NYPA already works
extensively with the municipal utilities because the vast majority of
their power comes from NYPA. Moreover, NYPA already regulates several
of the municipalities who still receive all of their power from NYPA.
However, this would have no effect on the Public Service Commission's
approval authority in regards to municipal utilities seeking to
exercise franchise rights to serve areas outside of their corporate
boundaries pursuant to section 68 of the Public Service law.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S7890-B of 2010 -Rules Committee

EFFECTIVE DATE:
January 1, 2012.

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2397

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 19, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. MAZIARZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on  Energy  and  Telecommuni-
  cations

AN  ACT  to  amend  the public authorities law and the general municipal
  law, in relation to clarifying the regulatory  authority  of  the  New
  York power authority

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 1014 of the public authorities law, as  amended  by
chapter 446 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
  S  1014.  Public service law not applicable to authority; inconsistent
provisions in other acts superseded. The rates, services  and  practices
relating to the generation, transmission, distribution and sale OF POWER
by the authority[, of power to be generated from the projects authorized
by  this  title]  shall  not  be subject to the provisions of the public
service law nor to regulation by, nor the jurisdiction of the department
of public service.  IN PARTICULAR, THE AUTHORITY, AND NOT THE DEPARTMENT
OF PUBLIC SERVICE, WILL HAVE REGULATORY AUTHORITY AND JURISDICTION  OVER
ANY  MUNICIPAL  CORPORATION AS DEFINED IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED SIXTY OF
THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW THAT OWNS AND OPERATES  AN  ELECTRIC  DISTRIB-
UTION  SYSTEM  AND  DISTRIBUTES  ANY POWER FROM THE AUTHORITY, PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, THAT SUCH MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS SHALL REMAIN  SUBJECT  TO  THE
REQUIREMENTS  OF  SECTION  SIXTY-EIGHT  OF  THE  PUBLIC SERVICE LAW; AND
PROVIDED, FURTHER, THAT THIS EXEMPTION FROM  PUBLIC  SERVICE  COMMISSION
JURISDICTION  SHALL  NOT  APPLY TO: (1) MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS THAT SELF
GENERATE POWER FOR DISTRIBUTION PURPOSES; (2) POWER AUTHORITIES THAT ARE
ESTABLISHED BY THE LEGISLATURE AFTER MAY TWENTIETH,  TWO  THOUSAND  TEN;
AND  (3) MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS THAT ARE ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION
THREE HUNDRED SIXTY OF THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW  AFTER  MAY  TWENTIETH,
TWO  THOUSAND  TEN.  Except  to  the  extent article seven of the public
service law applies to the siting and operation of a major utility tran-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07031-01-1

S. 2397                             2

smission facility as defined therein, and except to the  extent  section
eighteen-a  of  such  law  provides  for assessment of the authority for
certain costs relating thereto, the provisions of the public service law
and  of  the ENVIRONMENTAL conservation law and every other law relating
to the department of public service or the public service commission  or
to  the  conservation  department  or to the functions, powers or duties
assigned to the division of water  power  and  control  by  chapter  six
hundred  nineteen,  of the laws of nineteen hundred twenty-six, shall so
far as is necessary to make this title effective in accordance with  its
terms  and  purposes  be  deemed  to  be  superseded,  and  wherever any
provision of law shall be found in conflict with the provisions of  this
title  or  inconsistent with the purposes thereof, it shall be deemed to
be superseded, modified or repealed as the case may require.
  S 2. Subdivision 2 of section 364 of  the  general  municipal  law  is
amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
  (C)  A  MUNICIPAL  CORPORATION  THAT  OWNS  AND  OPERATES  AN ELECTRIC
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND DISTRIBUTES ANY POWER FROM THE  NEW  YORK  POWER
AUTHORITY  SHALL  BE  REGULATED BY THE NEW YORK POWER AUTHORITY, AND NOT
SUBJECT TO ARTICLE FOUR OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE  LAW,  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,
THAT  SUCH  MUNICIPAL  CORPORATIONS SHALL REMAIN SUBJECT TO THE REQUIRE-
MENTS OF SECTION SIXTY-EIGHT OF THE PUBLIC  SERVICE  LAW;  AND  PROVIDED
FURTHER  THAT THIS EXEMPTION FROM PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION JURISDICTION
SHALL NOT APPLY TO: (1) THOSE MUNICIPALITIES THAT  SELF  GENERATE  POWER
FOR DISTRIBUTION PURPOSES; (2) POWER AUTHORITIES THAT ARE ESTABLISHED BY
THE LEGISLATURE AFTER MAY TWENTIETH, TWO THOUSAND TEN; AND (3) MUNICIPAL
CORPORATIONS  THAT  ARE  ESTABLISHED  PURSUANT  TO SECTION THREE HUNDRED
SIXTY OF THIS ARTICLE AFTER MAY TWENTIETH, TWO THOUSAND TEN.
  S 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2012.

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Senate Bill S2397

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

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2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Details

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

George D. Maziarz

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Energy And Telecommunications Committee

Actions

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Details

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2011-S2397 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments