Protects residential customers from utility service shutoffs due to non-payment during summer and winter periods of extreme heat or cold; allows such utility services to be discontinued for non-payment outside such periods; requires an annual report to be submitted to the governor and legislature and posted publicly online.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6542
SPONSOR: Mamdani TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to enacting the
"utility shutoff protection act"
PURPOSE:
To establish a universal ban on utility disconnections during the summer
and winter seasons.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 lists the title of the bill as the "Utility Shutoff Protection
Act."
Section 2 outlines the legislative findings.
Section 3 amends section 2 of the public service law by adding key defi-
nitions, including identifying the scope of the summer protection season
(May 1- August 31) and the winter protection season (December 1 - Febru-
ary 28).
Section 4 amends section 32 of the public service law by adding a new
subdivision 7 to:
*Prohibit utilities and municipalities from terminating service to any
residential customer for nonpayment of bills from May 1 through August
31.
*Prohibit utilities and municipalities from terminating service to any
residential customer for nonpayment of bills from December 1 through
February 28 of the following calendar year.
*By the first day of each summer and winter protection season, require
utilities and municipalities to restore service to any residence that
remains disconnected for nonpayment.
*Prohibits utility corporations and municipalities from assessing penal-
ties or late fees that would accrue as result of a customer failing to
make a timely payment during summer and winter protection seasons.
*Direct the Public Service Commission to establish regulations that (i)
ensure that residents are firmly protected from any utility rate
increases that a utility may propose as a result of these protection
seasons, and (ii) provide special procedures for disconnecting customers
at the end of the protection seasons.
*Requires a report to be made available to the legislature and the
public.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York's utility shutoff moratorium during the COVID-19 pandemic
provided crucial relief for millions of households, enabling zero utili-
ty shutoffs in 2021. But the expiration of this moratorium-absent any
accompanying legislation to curb utility companies' record high gas and
electricity rates-has left New York residents extremely vulnerable to
having their power cut off for nonpayment. According to-NY Department of
Public Service (DPS) data, more than 180,000 New York households experi-
enced gas or electricity shutoffs for nonpayment in 2023.
This legislation would establish a universal ban on gas and electricity
shutoffs during parts of the summer (May 1 - August 31) and the winter
(December 1 - February 28). Based on DPS data, these protection seasons
would provide temporary relief for more than 130,000 households every
year.
This act serves as an expansion of existing residential utility
protections in New York State. Currently, residential service cannot be
terminated for nonpayment Friday through Sunday, on public holidays, the
day before a holiday, or on a day before the utility business is closed.
New York also bans utility shutoffs during the two-week period that
includes Christmas and New Year's Day. Altogether, State law protects
residents from utility shutoffs between 170 and 180 calendar days, or
about 50 percent of the year.
Additionally, every utility regulated by the Public Service Commission
(PSC) already follows certain seasonal and temperature-based
restrictions on disconnecting residents. During the statutory "cold
weather period" (November 1 - April 15), four major Hudson, Orange &
Rockland, NYSEG, and RG&E-will not disconnect residents when the local
high temperature is forecasted at 32 F or lower, while Con Edison
observes the same protection all year round. All utilities suspend resi-
dential disconnections when the local heat index is forecasted to reach
a certain threshold: NYSEG and RG&E at 85 F, Con Edison at Central
Hudson at 93 F, and National Grid and Orange & Rockland at 95 F. Con
Edison also residential disconnections one day before and the next two
days after the heat index reaches 90 F.
This legislation provides much-needed coherence and predictability to
the presently scattered landscape of private residential shutoff poli-
cies. Con Edison, which serves most of New York City and Westchester
County, already suspends residential shutoffs on 204 calendar days per
year, on average, based on National Weather Service data. Notably, this
includes 64 percent of the proposed summer protection season and 58
percent of the proposed winter moratoria. But National Grid-the primary
utility provider in Upstate New York that serves 2.2 million customers
in Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, and most of the Mohawk Valley and the
North Country---lacks any shutoff protection during colder weather. New
York residents' safety during the hottest and coldest months of the year
should never depend on where they live or who their energy provider is.
Finally, this act aligns with the surge in utility shutoff moratoria
nationwide, as the climate crisis continues to accelerate the frequency
and severity of extreme weather. According to a 2023 Congressional
Research Service report, 32 U.S. states have already enacted some level
of seasonal utility shutoff protections. Wisconsin's "annual winter
moratorium" bans residential gas or electric utility disconnections from
November 1 to April 15, while Illinois similarly prohibits shutting off
residential power or heat from December 1 to March 31.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: A10171/No same as
2025:
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The act shall take effect ninety days after it becomes a law.
