NY State Senate Bill 2021-S4188

Senate Bill S4188

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Provides a one hundred dollar per day credit to customers of electric and gas corporations for power outages of twenty-four hours or more

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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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to energy and telecommunications
Feb 02, 2021	referred to energy and telecommunications

co-Sponsors

2021-S4188 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Public Service Law
Laws Affected:: Add §73, Pub Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S8908
2023-2024: S5565

2021-S4188 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides a one hundred dollar per day credit to customers of electric and gas corporations for power outages of twenty-four hours or more.

2021-S4188 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4188

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public service law, in relation to providing a one
hundred dollar per day credit to customers of electric and gas corpo-
rations for power outages of twenty-four hours or more

 
PURPOSE:

Requires electric and gas corporations to provide direct credits of $100
per day for power outages that last twenty four hours or more.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Adds a new section 73 to the Public Service Law which requires electric
and gas corporations to provide direct credits of $100 per day for power
outages that last twenty four hours or more.

JUSTIFICATION:

On August 4th, Tropical Storm Isaias hit New York with heavy rain,
tornadoes, and winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour. The storm left
hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers without power across New York City,
Long Island, Westchester and the Hudson Valley, including over 420,000
customers in the PSEG-LI service territory, 260,000 customers in the Con
Edison service territory, and 90,000 customers in the NYSEG service
territory. The storm also disrupted the regions' telephone, cable, and
internet services; services that are particularly essential for New
Yorker's during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The outages and service
disruptions lasted for multiple days, and in some areas of the State
many homes and businesses are still waiting to be reconnected.

While electric and gas corporations have internal policies that can
cover spoilage of food and medication up to a point, such policies rely
upon the noblesse oblige of the utility and can be denied, reduced,
rejected or capped. An affirmative credit, in statute, set at a reason-
able $100 per day should provide sufficient incentive for utilities to
get power restored in 24 hours, or give customers a direct benefit for
the hardship.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S4188 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4188
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 2, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. COMRIE, MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and
   when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommu-
   nications
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the public service law, in relation to providing a one
   hundred dollar per day credit to customers of electric and gas  corpo-
   rations for power outages of twenty-four hours or more
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a  new  section
 73 to read as follows:
   §  73.  POWER OUTAGE CREDIT. EVERY ELECTRIC CORPORATION AND GAS CORPO-
 RATION IN THIS STATE SHALL PROVIDE ITS CUSTOMERS WITH A CREDIT  TO  SUCH
 CUSTOMERS' ACCOUNTS AT ANY TIME A CUSTOMER IS WITHOUT POWER FOR A PERIOD
 OF  TIME  IN  EXCESS  OF  TWENTY-FOUR HOURS. SUCH CREDIT SHALL BE IN THE
 AMOUNT OF ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR EACH TWENTY-FOUR HOUR  PERIOD  THAT  A
 CUSTOMER  IS  WITHOUT POWER AND SHALL ONLY BE CREDITED TO THE ACCOUNT OF
 EACH CUSTOMER OF SUCH CORPORATION WHO HAS BEEN WITHOUT  POWER  FOR  SUCH
 PERIOD  OF  TIME.  CREDIT  TO A CUSTOMER'S ACCOUNT MADE PURSUANT TO THIS
 SECTION SHALL BE USED TO PAY CHARGES AGAINST SUCH  ACCOUNT  ASSESSED  BY
 THE  ELECTRIC CORPORATION OR GAS CORPORATION AND SUCH CUSTOMER SHALL NOT
 BE REQUIRED TO PAY ON SUCH ACCOUNT UNTIL SUCH CREDIT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY
 EXHAUSTED.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03492-01-1

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Senate Bill S4188

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Sponsored By

Leroy Comrie