NY State Senate Bill 2023-S8693

Senate Bill S8693

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Requires investor-owned energy utilities to collect and publish data on disadvantaged communities in certain service areas

download bill text pdf

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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 01, 2024	referred to energy and telecommunications

2023-S8693 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9174
Current Committee:: Senate Energy And Telecommunications
Law Section:: Public Service Law
Laws Affected:: Add §28, Pub Serv L
Versions Introduced in 2025-2026 Legislative Session:: S7556, A3083

2023-S8693 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "disadvantaged communities commitment act"; requires investor-owned energy utilities to collect and publish data on disadvantaged communities in certain service areas and file such statistics with the public service commission.

2023-S8693 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8693

SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring inve-
stor-owned energy utilities to collect and publish data on disadvantaged
communities in certain service areas

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill requires investor-owned energy utilities to publish statistics
about customers in disadvantaged communities on their website on an
annual basis and file them with the commission.  Violations will be
penalized.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Short title: This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"Disadvantaged Communities Commitment Act."

Section 2: Adds § 28 to the public service law, which first defines

disadvantaged communities and investor-owned energy utilities. It then
requires investor-owned energy utilities to publish on their customer-
facing websites, and file with the commission, statistics about disad-
vantaged communities on an annual basis, such as the:

number of residential customers who are electric only;

number of residential customers who are gas only;

number of residential electric and gas customers;

number of residential customers enrolled in energy assistance program
(EAP);

number of residential customers enrolled in home energy assistance
program (HEAP);

number of residential customers enrolled in budget billing;

average amount of arrears amongst residential customers;

number of residential customers with active deferred payment agreements

number of residential customers impacted by any other program designed
to provide relief or assistance in paying or lowering their bills

Violations will be assessed pursuant to section twenty-five and twenty-
five-a of the public service law.

Section 3: Sets the effective date and provides instructions on imple-
mentation.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Section 7(3) of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act
(CLCPA) requires that at least thirty-five percent of the overall bene-

fits of spending on clean energy and energy efficiency programs go to
disadvantaged communities (DACs).

While New York State has put considerable effort into defining and
designating DACs so as to meet the equity goal of the CLCPA, utilities
have not yet identified and collected data on such communities in their
service area, let alone considered how their plans might be affecting
them, especially as it relates to affordability, community benefits, and
clean energy investments.

This bill requires energy utilities to collect and publish information
about the DACs in their service areas, so that stakeholders across the
state can continually assess how these communities are impacted by our
policy decisions.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2023-S8693 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8693
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 1, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- 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 service law, in relation to requiring inve-
   stor-owned energy utilities to collect and publish data  on  disadvan-
   taged communities in certain service areas

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "disadvantaged communities commitment act".
   §  2.  The public service law is amended by adding a new section 28 to
 read as follows:
   § 28. DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES. 1. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   (A) "INVESTOR-OWNED ENERGY UTILITY" SHALL MEAN  ANY  GAS  CORPORATION,
 ELECTRIC CORPORATION, OR COMBINATION GAS AND ELECTRIC CORPORATION.
   (B) "DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS DEFINED
 IN SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION 75-0101 OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
 LAW.
   2.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL REQUIRE EVERY INVESTOR-OWNED ENERGY UTILITY
 PUBLISH ON ITS CUSTOMER FACING WEBSITE, AND FILE  WITH  THE  COMMISSION,
 STATISTICS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR REGARDING EACH DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY
 BY  CENSUS TRACT IN ITS SERVICE AREA. SUCH STATISTICS SHALL INCLUDE, BUT
 NOT BE LIMITED TO, THE:
   (A) NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO ARE ELECTRIC ONLY;
   (B) NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS WHO ARE GAS ONLY;
   (C) NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL ELECTRIC AND GAS CUSTOMERS;
   (D) NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL  CUSTOMERS  ENROLLED  IN  ENERGY  ASSISTANCE
 PROGRAM (EAP);
   (E) NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS ENROLLED IN HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE
 PROGRAM (HEAP);
   (F) NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS ENROLLED IN BUDGET BILLING;
   (G) AVERAGE AMOUNT OF ARREARS AMONGST RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS;
   (H)  NUMBER  OF  RESIDENTIAL  CUSTOMERS  WITH  ACTIVE DEFERRED PAYMENT
 AGREEMENTS; AND
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14401-04-4
 S. 8693                             2
 
   (I) NUMBER OF RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS  IMPACTED  BY  ANY  OTHER  PROGRAM
 DESIGNED  TO  PROVIDE  RELIEF  OR ASSISTANCE IN PAYING OR LOWERING THEIR
 BILLS.
   3.  (A)  SUCH  STATISTICS  REQUIRED IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION
 SHALL BE PUBLISHED WITH THE COMMISSION AND REMAIN  POSTED  ON  AN  INVE-
 STOR-OWNED ENERGY UTILITY'S CUSTOMER FACING WEBSITE THREE YEARS FROM THE
 DATE  SUCH  STATISTICS  ARE PUBLISHED. FURTHER, SUCH STATISTICS SHALL BE
 DOWNLOADABLE ON  AN  INVESTOR-OWNED  ENERGY  UTILITY'S  CUSTOMER  FACING
 WEBSITE IN A COMMA-SEPARATED VALUE (CSV) FORMAT.
   (B)  SUCH STATISTICS REQUIRED IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION SHALL
 BE POSTED AND FILED FOR THE PRIOR  CALENDAR  YEAR  UPON  THE  DATE  THIS
 SECTION  TAKES  EFFECT.  NO LATER THAN JANUARY THIRTY-FIRST AND ANNUALLY
 THEREAFTER, EACH INVESTOR-OWNED ENERGY UTILITY SHALL  PUBLISH  AND  FILE
 SUCH STATISTICS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS SECTION.
   4.  FOR  EACH MONTH AN INVESTOR-OWNED ENERGY UTILITY IS FOUND TO BE IN
 VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION, PENALTIES  OR  SANCTIONS  SHALL  BE  ASSESSED
 PURSUANT  TO  SECTION  TWENTY-FIVE  OR TWENTY-FIVE-A OF THIS ARTICLE, AS
 APPLICABLE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
 on or before such date.

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