Enacts the "disadvantaged communities commitment act"; requires investor-owned energy utilities to collect and publish data on disadvantaged communities in certain service areas and file such statistics with the public service commission.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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9174
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SHRESTHA -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to requiring inve-
stor-owned energy utilities to collect and publish data on disadvan-
taged communities in certain service areas
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "disadvantaged communities commitment act".
3 § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 28 to
4 read as follows:
5 § 28. Disadvantaged communities. 1. For the purposes of this section:
6 (a) "Investor-owned energy utility" shall mean any gas corporation,
7 electric corporation, or combination gas and electric corporation.
8 (b) "Disadvantaged communities" shall have the same meaning as defined
9 in subdivision five of section 75-0101 of the environmental conservation
10 law.
11 2. The department shall require every investor-owned energy utility
12 publish on its customer facing website, and file with the commission,
13 statistics from the previous year regarding each disadvantaged community
14 by census tract in its service area. Such statistics shall include, but
15 not be limited to, the:
16 (a) number of residential customers who are electric only;
17 (b) number of residential customers who are gas only;
18 (c) number of residential electric and gas customers;
19 (d) number of residential customers enrolled in energy assistance
20 program (EAP);
21 (e) number of residential customers enrolled in home energy assistance
22 program (HEAP);
23 (f) number of residential customers enrolled in budget billing;
24 (g) average amount of arrears amongst residential customers;
25 (h) number of residential customers with active deferred payment
26 agreements; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14401-04-4
A. 9174 2
1 (i) number of residential customers impacted by any other program
2 designed to provide relief or assistance in paying or lowering their
3 bills.
4 3. (a) Such statistics required in subdivision two of this section
5 shall be published with the commission and remain posted on an inve-
6 stor-owned energy utility's customer facing website three years from the
7 date such statistics are published. Further, such statistics shall be
8 downloadable on an investor-owned energy utility's customer facing
9 website in a comma-separated value (csv) format.
10 (b) Such statistics required in subdivision two of this section shall
11 be posted and filed for the prior calendar year upon the date this
12 section takes effect. No later than January thirty-first and annually
13 thereafter, each investor-owned energy utility shall publish and file
14 such statistics in accordance with this section.
15 4. For each month an investor-owned energy utility is found to be in
16 violation of this section, penalties or sanctions shall be assessed
17 pursuant to section twenty-five or twenty-five-a of this article, as
18 applicable.
19 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
20 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
21 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
22 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
23 on or before such date.
