Permits the rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or municipality under certain circumstances; requires each utility corporation and municipality within six months to submit to the commission a model the calculation of and procedures for estimated bills that incorporates best practices and technology and accounts for any barriers to the use of actual meter readings.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5969
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 25, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON, EACHUS, SANTABARBARA, SHIMSKY, SHRESTHA
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authori-
ties and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to permitting the
rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or munici-
pality under certain circumstances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 39 of the public service
2 law, as amended by chapter 686 of the laws of 2002, are amended and a
3 new subdivision 1-a is added to read as follows:
4 1. (a) A utility corporation or municipality may, in accordance with
5 such requirements as the commission may impose by regulation, only
6 render an estimated bill for [any] a billing period if[: (a)] the proce-
7 dure used by such utility or municipality for calculating estimated
8 bills has been approved by the commission, [and] the bill clearly indi-
9 cates that it is based on an estimated reading, and [(b)] at least one
10 of the following conditions is met:
11 (i) the utility owning the meter and providing the meter reading data
12 on which the estimated bill will be based or the municipality has made
13 reasonable effort to obtain an actual meter reading and is unable to
14 obtain one or [(c)]
15 (ii) circumstances beyond the control of the utility or municipality
16 made an actual reading of the meter extremely difficult or [(d)]
17 (iii) circumstances indicate a reported reading is likely to be erro-
18 neous, or [(e)]
19 (iv) an estimated reading is prescribed or authorized by the commis-
20 sion for a billing period between periods when actual meter readings are
21 scheduled or for seasonal or short term customers.
22 (b) In addition to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivi-
23 sion, a utility corporation or municipality shall not issue an estimated
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06267-01-5
A. 5969 2
1 bill to a customer for any consecutive billing period under any circum-
2 stances, unless the utility is unable to obtain an actual meter reading
3 due to (i) the customer's failure to provide reasonable access to the
4 meter for an actual reading, or (ii) a declaration of a state of emer-
5 gency which prevents the ability to obtain an actual meter reading.
6 (c) Outside of the criteria for rendering estimated billing pursuant
7 to this section, all other bills shall use actual meter readings.
8 (d) A utility corporation or municipality shall not charge a customer
9 for any supply or delivery costs associated with an estimated bill that
10 does not comply with this section nor be able to recover from any of its
11 customers any revenue that the utility is precluded from collecting from
12 an individual customer by this section. Nothing in this subdivision
13 shall be interpreted or otherwise construed as preempting settlements
14 with the commission or department that are more strict than those
15 contained in this subdivision.
16 1-a. The commission shall require each utility corporation and munici-
17 pality within six months after the effective date of this subdivision to
18 submit to the commission a revised model for the calculation of and
19 procedures for estimated billing that complies with this article, incor-
20 porates best practices and technology, and accounts for any barriers to
21 the use of actual meter readings. No later than November first, two
22 thousand twenty-six, the commission shall promulgate rules and regu-
23 lations to incorporate and adopt such model procedures for utility
24 corporations and municipalities.
25 2. Where a utility corporation owning the meter and supplying meter
26 reading data for a bill or a municipality fails to gain access to a
27 meter [for a period of four months or two billing periods, whichever is
28 greater], the corporation or municipality shall take reasonable actions
29 to obtain an actual meter reading for the subsequent billing period.
30 Such additional actions may include, but not be limited to: making an
31 appointment with the customer or such other person who controls access
32 to the meter for a reading at a time other than within normal business
33 hours, offering the customer the opportunity to [phone in a] submit an
34 actual meter reading by telephone or electronic transmission, which may
35 include submission of a photograph of such meter reading, or providing a
36 card to the customer on which [he or she] such customer may record the
37 reading and mail it to the utility or municipality.
38 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
39 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
40 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
41 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
42 completed on or before such effective date.
