Assembly Bill A11138

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   11138
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 24, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Energy
 
 AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring  utili-
   ties  to  provide certain information about smart meters to customers;
   and authorizing and directing the public service commission to conduct
   a study on smart meter implementation in New York state

   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 "smart meter transparency and consumer protection act".
   § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 67-b to
 read as follows:
   § 67-B. SMART METER TRANSPARENCY AND  CONSUMER  PROTECTION.  UTILITIES
 SHALL  PROVIDE CUSTOMERS WITH CLEAR, STANDARDIZED INFORMATION RELATED TO
 SMART METERS WHICH SHALL INCLUDE:
   1. SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISONS OF PRE-SMART METER  BILLS  AND  POST-SMART
 METER BILLS; AND
   2. PLAIN LANGUAGE EXPLANATIONS OF ANY BILLING CHANGES, INCLUDING TIME-
 OF-USE PRICING AND RATE STRUCTURE ADJUSTMENTS.
   §  3.  1.  The public service commission is authorized and directed to
 conduct a study, in coordination with an  independent  third  party,  on
 smart meter implementation in New York state.
   2. The scope of such study shall include a comprehensive review of:
   (a) the impact of smart meters on residential utility bills;
   (b)  differences  in  billing  before  and after installation of smart
 meters;
   (c) the role of time-of-use pricing and billing structure changes;
   (d) complaint trends from customers;
   (e) opt-out fees, including:
   (i) a full accounting of opt-out fees charged to customers;
   (ii) a comparison of the actual cost  to  utilities  of  accommodating
 opt-out customers, including but not limited to installation and mainte-
 nance of smart meters, and the total revenue collected by utilities from
 opt-out fees; and

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

                                                            LBD15614-01-6
 A. 11138                            2
 
   (iii) whether such opt-out fees are reasonable or excessive; and
   (f) the effects of smart meters on:
   (i) seniors;
   (ii) low- and moderate-income households; and
   (iii) customers without access to digital tools.
   3. Utilities shall provide the following to the public service commis-
 sion for oversight and inclusion in such study:
   (a)  side-by-side  comparisons of pre-smart meter bills and post-smart
 meter bills; and
   (b) plain language explanations  of  any  billing  changes,  including
 time-of-use pricing and rate structure adjustments.
   4.  No  later  than one year after the effective date of this act, the
 public service commission shall submit to the legislature  a  report  on
 the  study  conducted  pursuant  to  this act and shall make such report
 publicly available. Such report shall include:
   (a) policy recommendations; and
   (b) a determination of whether  additional  consumer  protections  are
 needed.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.