NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A491A
SPONSOR: Woerner TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to building make-
ready electrical infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles
for public serving fleet vehicles
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation amends the Public Service Law to direct electric utili-
ties to construct or otherwise bear costs of certain infrastructure
needed to serve electric vehicle charging systems.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Adds Section 66-x to the Public Service Law to: Establish
legislative intent and set forth definitions of included terms. Require
electric corporations to establish revised tariffs to provide for more
uniform deployment of equipment ("make-ready infrastructure") needed to
connect electric vehicle charging stations to the electric grid. The
tariffs shall authorize the electric corporations to cover 100% of
prudent utility-side make-ready costs, and between 50% to 100% of
prudent customer-side make-ready costs, based on whether the customer is
located in a disadvantaged community zone or operates a public-serving
fleet; and to recover such costs through surcharge or base rates instead
of directly from the customer served. Electric corporations shall take
reasonable efforts to ensure that any infrastructure built pursuant to
this section is efficiently sized and operated, such as by considering
customers' reasonably-foreseeable load management activities or distrib-
uted energy resource deployments. Establish a public notice and comment
period for the proposed tariffs.
Section 2 is the effective date, which is immediate.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION:
The revisions would narrow the scope of the bill to provide make-ready
support for public-serving fleets only (i.e., school buses, public tran-
sit, and government-owned or -contracted vehicles). Many such entities
are subject to binding decarbonization/electrification requirements.
Absent make-ready support through a utility program, the costs of make-
ready for these entities would ultimately be passed through to the
public through taxes, fares, etc. The revisions also include utility
customer protections, minor corrections, and clarifications.
By excluding non-public-serving fleets from guaranteed make-ready
support, the revisions would lower the short-term costs attributable to
the bill.
Utility make-ready support for electrifying fleets ultimately puts down-
ward pressure on rates, to the benefit of all utility customers; howev-
er, such rate effects can take time to materialize, and the changes are
sensitive to immediate-term affordability concerns.
The revisions would not prohibit the PSC from separately authorizing
make-ready support for non-public-serving fleets, including programs
that are currently underway.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York has set rigorous goals - such as the Climate Leadership and
Community Protection Act of 2019 (CLCPA), Advanced Clean Trucks and
Advanced Clean Cars II rules, and the Zero Emissions Vehicles sales
targets - to predominantly electrify its transportation sector by 2050,
with significant target deadlines rapidly approaching. Significant
expansions of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including both
utility-side grid facilities and customer-side charging equipment, will
be required to meet these targets.
Burdensome utility make-ready policies impede this infrastructure
deployment. "Make-ready" refers to (i) utility-side equipment that
connects the customer to the grid, and (ii) customer-side equipment that
connects the utility meter to the charging stations themselves. Make-
ready can comprise 30% or more of a fleet's upfront charging costs. This
poses a significant financial hurdle, particularly for public-serving
fleets (such as transit agencies) and fleets serving disadvantaged
communities. Moreover, New York's electric utilities each have different
tariff rules and policies governing the allocation of make-ready costs,
which adds complexity for fleets operating in multiple utility service
territories.
This legislation addresses this obstacle by establishing a uniform cost
allocation for make-ready infrastructure. It requires electric utilities
to cover 100% of prudent utility-side make-ready costs, as well as a
portion of prudent customer-side make-ready costs. Utilities would
recover these costs through rates instead of directly from the charging
customer.
In addition to supporting charging customers and New York's electrifica-
tion goals, this policy is also projected to benefit utility ratepayers
by helping new electric loads come online more quickly, which expedites
corresponding ratemaking benefits. A recent study examining two New York
utilities showed that the increase in utility revenue from serving new
EVs will tend to exceed costs of make-ready infrastructure, which puts
downward pressure on utility rates for customers.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S9114 Comrie/ A10383 Woerner
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined, but the initial costs of the program will be borne by
the electric utilities, with some costs in some instances to the custom-
er side capped at 50 percent; but increased revenue from charging is
expected to sufficiently cover those upfront utility costs.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
491--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, GRIFFIN -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Energy -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to building make-
ready electrical infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles
for public serving fleet vehicles
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section
2 66-x to read as follows:
3 § 66-x. Make-ready electrical infrastructure. 1. Legislative intent
4 and purpose. It is the intent and purpose of this section to implement
5 cost effective and unified treatment by electric corporations of elec-
6 trical distribution infrastructure, and certain customer-owned make-
7 ready infrastructure, needed to charge electric public serving fleet
8 vehicles; and provide for certain costs of such infrastructure to be
9 included in electric corporations' rate bases and generally recovered
10 through rates or surcharges, instead of directly from the public serving
11 fleet customers served by such infrastructure. Nothing in this section
12 shall modify any obligation of an electric corporation to provide a full
13 and accurate accounting of costs related to electrical distribution
14 infrastructure needed to charge electric vehicles.
15 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section the following terms
16 shall have the following meanings:
17 (a) "Electrical distribution infrastructure" means any utility facili-
18 ties used to distribute electric service to customers, and includes
19 poles, vaults, service drops, transformers, mounting pads, trenching,
20 conduit, wire, cable, meters, other equipment as necessary, and associ-
21 ated engineering and civil construction work.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00265-03-5
A. 491--A 2
1 (b) "Utility-owned make-ready costs" means any capital investment in
2 electrical distribution infrastructure needed to connect and serve a new
3 electric vehicle charger, including step down transformers, overhead
4 service lines, and utility meters.
5 (c) "Customer-owned make-ready costs" means any capital investment in
6 equipment or infrastructure beyond the utility service point necessary
7 to make a site ready to accept an electric vehicle charger, including
8 conductors, trenching, and panels.
9 (d) "Disadvantaged community" means a community defined as a disadvan-
10 taged community under article seventy-five of the environmental conser-
11 vation law.
12 (e) "Public serving fleet" means a fleet of vehicles owned, leased, or
13 contracted by the state, any municipality, public authority or school
14 district.
15 3. Reasonable efforts required. Electric corporations shall make
16 reasonable efforts to ensure that any infrastructure built pursuant to
17 this section is efficiently sized and operated. Such efforts may
18 include, but not be limited to, considering customers' reasonably fore-
19 seeable load management activities and deployments of distributed energy
20 resources.
21 4. Application. No later than sixty days after the effective date of
22 this section, all electric corporations shall file an application with
23 the commission to establish a tariff that shall replace the line exten-
24 sion rules currently used by such electric corporations. Such tariff, at
25 a minimum, shall:
26 (a) provide for such electric corporation to deploy or reimburse the
27 customer's reasonable costs, subject to reasonable conditions, of
28 customer-side make-ready infrastructure for public serving fleets;
29 (b) authorize such electric corporation to include in its rate base
30 one hundred percent of all reasonable and prudent utility-owned make-
31 ready costs incurred to serve electric vehicle charging loads of public
32 serving fleets;
33 (c) authorize such electronic corporation to include in its base rate
34 of reasonable and prudent customer-side make-ready costs needed to
35 prepare a public serving fleet's site for electric vehicle charging in
36 the following manner:
37 (i) a minimum fifty percent or higher where authorized by the commis-
38 sion, of reasonable customer-owned make-ready costs in locations that
39 are not within a disadvantaged community or a disadvantaged community
40 zone;
41 (ii) a minimum ninety percent, or higher where authorized by the
42 commission, of reasonable customer-owned make-ready costs located within
43 a disadvantaged community or disadvantaged community zone; and
44 (d) provide that the portion of customer-owned make-ready costs
45 included in the electric corporation's rate base shall not be charged
46 directly or solely to the customer served by such make-ready infrastruc-
47 ture; except where the customer is not a public entity, and within ten
48 years of receiving a customer-side make-ready incentive at a location
49 pursuant to this section, reduces the number of electric public serving
50 fleet vehicles operating at such location. The tariff shall provide for
51 the electric corporation to recover a prorated portion of the customer-
52 side make-ready incentive directly from the customer in such instance.
53 5. Disadvantaged community zone. For the purposes of this section the
54 commission shall define the term "disadvantaged community zone".
55 6. Cost treatment and recovery for utility-owned make-ready costs. All
56 electric corporations shall maintain budgets for its costs incurred
A. 491--A 3
1 under this section. The portion of customer-owned make-ready costs
2 incurred by an electric corporation pursuant to subdivision four of this
3 section shall be treated in accordance with a depreciation or amorti-
4 zation schedule as authorized by the commission. Any electric corpo-
5 ration may recover the incremental revenue requirement associated with
6 such costs through a surcharge mechanism until its base rates are reset.
7 Any electric corporation seeking to recover such costs through a
8 surcharge mechanism shall include such proposal as part of its applica-
9 tion filed pursuant to subdivision four of this section.
10 7. Approval of tariffs. The commission shall, after notice and oppor-
11 tunity for public comment and within ninety days of the filing of the
12 tariff, approve, or modify and approve, such tariff.
13 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
