BILL NUMBER: S6862

SPONSOR: JACOBS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring utility
companies to include explanations for each item charged on a consumer's
bill

 
PURPOSE:

An act to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring utility
companies to include explanations for each item charged on a consumer's
bill.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of this bill, amends subdivision 12-a, of section 66 of the
Public Service Law to provide the PSC with the responsibility to require
that every gas and electric corporation and LIPA provide lines in every
monthly costumer utility bill, that will be used to disclose each
              

specific expense included in the total cost of every customer's bill.
Such specific expenses to be included in every utility bill are property
taxes, franchise and income taxes and all fees, charges and costs
imposed by the PSC including subsidies for nuclear power facilities and
any hydroelectric, solar or wind energy project within the Clean Energy
Standard (CES).

Section two of this bill sets forth the effective date; the one-hundred
and eightieth day after it 1 shall become law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The ratepayers of New York State have seen substantial increases in
their monthly utility bills in recent years, typically with little or no
explanation. As most New Yorkers are provided with few or no choices for
their gas and electric needs, the PSC must do everything in its power to
ensure that customers do not pay more than is necessary for energy. It
is imperative that all customers see a thorough description of each
expense that contributes to the total cost of their monthly utility
bills. Without disclosure of each specific expense, ratepayers will be
left to question the reason(s) for their expensive bills. Many consumers
may conclude that much of their monthly energy bill is unnecessary. It
is critically important for the government to be as transparent as
possible, so that the citizens it governs are able to participate in the
democratic process; similarly we must do all that we can to improve
transparency for utility corporations and LIPA, which are regulated by
the PSC.

In February 2017, the PSC denied an opportunity to improve transparency
for millions of New York ratepayers when it ordered that the costs asso-
ciated with implementation of the State's Clean Energy Standard (CES) be
recovered "through existing supply mechanisms and bill lines." The PSC
claimed that they wanted to "limit customer confusion resulting from the
addition of new lines on customers' bills" (PSC Case 15-E-0302).The PSC
has a legitimate interest in ensuring that New York's ratepayers are not
confused with overly complicated and excessively long utility bills.
However, utility customers in New York already receive bills that are
somewhat complicated each month; yet these bills do not fully disclose
every expense that contributes to the total cost of that monthly bill.
New York's ratepayers are capable of reading a detailed bill that
includes all specific expenses without being overwhelmed or confused.
The PSC should require that all utility corporations and the LIPA
provide their customers with monthly bill statements that list each
specific expense within that bill.

This bill would direct the Public Service Commission (PSC) to require
that every public and private gas and electric corporation and the Long
Island Power Authority (LIPA) disclose each specific expense that
contributes to the total cost of each customer's utility bill, in every
monthly utility that is provided to a utility customer.  Because much of
a customer's utility costs are not dependent upon their own energy
usage, it is only fair that customers be allowed to see every component
in their monthly bills that they are responsible to pay for.  A customer
may have no choice, other than to pay to subsidize nuclear power facili-
ties, but he or she should be provided with the exact amount within his
or her bill that is used for that purpose. Likewise, customers must be
made aware of the precise amount that he or she is responsible to pay
because of his or her own monthly energy usage.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred and eightieth day after it
shall become law.