Senator Ryan and New York Senate Majority Advance Legislation to Ensure Fair Rates and Deliver Relief to Ratepayers
April 15, 2026
State Senator Christopher J. Ryan (NY-50) and the Senate Democratic Majority today advanced legislation to protect ratepayer access to utilities, ensuring such services are provided in a manner that is equitable, affordable, and imposes no undue financial burden. Today’s package builds on the Senate Majority’s commitment to deliver vital affordability and relief to New Yorkers, whose utility bills are among the highest in the nation. The Senate Majority’s work on affordability will continue in tandem with budget negotiations.
This package includes Senator Ryan’s bill, S.1966, which would automatically re-enroll individuals and households who continue to meet the eligibility requirements for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP); and, would establish protections for customers related to service termination and overdue payment, prohibit utilities from terminating services during extreme weather events, provide direct and timely financial relief to ratepayers affected by utility misconduct, and restrict retroactive service charge increases for small non-residential customers.
Senator Ryan said, “Too many families are forced to jump through hoops just to keep the heat on and the lights running. My legislation will make it easier for eligible New Yorkers to stay enrolled in HEAP, cutting unnecessary red tape and ensuring people get the help they need without interruption. As part of this broader package, we’re putting ratepayers first — because no one should have to choose between paying their utility bill and putting food on the table.”
Chair of the Energy and Telecommunications Committee, Senator Kevin Parker said, “By including these measures in a comprehensive ratepayer package, we are taking meaningful steps to protect New Yorkers from unfair utility practices and ensure that the benefits of the energy system are more equitably shared across all communities. As Chair of the Energy & Telecommunications Committee, it was especially important to me, working alongside this strong Majority Conference, to advance both immediate and long-term legislation that protects working families from rising utility costs and the unpredictability driven in part by shifting federal policies since 2016 & now again in the stress vacuum reestablished at the start of 2025 federal administration, only makes this more important as we look at the current state of our country due to untethered federal policy. This moment makes it more critical than ever to deliver a ratepayer package that provides stability, fairness, and real relief for New Yorkers.”
The legislation being passed by the Senate Democratic Majority includes:
- Establishes Automatic Reenrollment for HEAP Recipients: This bill, S.1966, sponsored by Senator Ryan, would require social service districts to automatically re-enroll individuals or households currently receiving assistance through the low-income Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) as long as they continue to meet federal and state eligibility requirements.
- Extends Rollover Credit Period for Customer-Generated Electricity: This bill, S.1553, sponsored by Senator Parker, would extend the time during which they can receive net metering credits for energy generated by their wind or solar in excess of what they use from one year to an indefinite period, and would entitle ratepayers indefinitely accumulating such credits to be reimbursed the avoided cost of those credits every five years.
- Consumer Credit Reporting by Utilities Study: This bill, S.2011, sponsored by Senator Parker, directs the Department of State and the Public Service Commission to study and report upon the prevalence of the disclosure by public utilities, cable television companies, and cellular telephone service providers to credit reporting agencies of late payments and defaults in payment of fees and charges by consumers.
- Prohibits Utility Disconnection During Extreme Weather Events: This bill, S.120A, sponsored by Senator Cleare, would prohibit utilities and municipalities from terminating electricity or gas service for ratepayers during extreme weather forecast periods. Those extreme weather forecast periods would include any day that is forecasted to be 32 degrees or colder, and days that are forecasted to be 90 degrees or higher.
- NYSERDA Legislative Transparency Act: This bill, S.8019, sponsored by Senator Comrie, would call for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to also submit a semi-annual report on the systems benefit charge to the chair of the Assembly Energy Committee and of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, and would require this report to include a summary on how Systems Benefit Charge funds are used.
- Penalty Ratepayer Recovery Act: This bill, S.8908, sponsored by Senator Comrie, would require civil penalties and forfeitures recovered from public utilities for violations of the Public Service Law or Public Service Commission orders to be returned directly to affected ratepayers in the form of bill credits as soon as practicable and no later than 90 days.
- Consumer Utility Protections During Investigations (CUPDI) Act: This bill, S.904B, sponsored by Senator Gonzalez, would establish protections for customers related to service termination and overdue charges to be in force while a utility is under investigation by the Public Service Commission.
- Limits Utilities’ Use of Retroactive Billing for Small Businesses: This bill, S.8710, sponsored by Senator Hinchey, would prohibit utilities and municipalities from increasing a bill previously rendered to a small non-residential customer after twelve months from the time the service was provided. This would be extending a protection that residential customers currently receive to small non-residential customers.
- Expands Utility Penalty Provisions: This bill, S.1701, sponsored by Senator Mayer, would increase flexibility of regulatory standards and discretionary power for the Public Service Commission to assess penalties on utilities by removing statutory caps on penalties for Public Service Law violations and implement stricter violation standards, as well as adding an emergency response plan filing requirement for cable and telephone companies.
- Limits Utility Legal Fee Recovery from Ratepayers: This bill, S.3734B, sponsored by Senator Mayer, would authorize and direct the Public Service Commission to establish rules to limit a utility's ability to recover certain legal expenses such as its direct or indirect costs associated with its attendance in, participation in, preparation for, or appeal of any rate proceeding conducted before the commission, as well as employee compensation.
- Establishes an Energy Usage Monitor Program for Metered Billing: This bill, S.8062A, sponsored by Senator Webb, would require utility companies to offer residential customers who use smart meters the ability to receive notices throughout the month related to their energy usage. The customer under this program will set their own pre-determined usage threshold or spending limit during a given billing period.