Provides that each electric corporation shall establish a unique priority phone number that shall remain in operation every day of the year for customers who have documented their need for essential electricity for medical needs; makes related provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5181
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 19, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni-
cations
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to customers with
documented need for essential electricity for medical needs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 21 of section 66 of the
2 public service law is relettered paragraph (i) and two new paragraphs
3 (g) and (h) are added to read as follows:
4 (g) Each electric corporation shall establish a unique priority phone
5 number that shall remain in operation every day of the year for custom-
6 ers who have documented their need for essential electricity for medical
7 needs. Such electric corporation shall provide notice and identifica-
8 tion of such phone number through bill inserts, via e-mail, and on such
9 electric corporation's website. Such notice and identification shall
10 include information relating to how existing customers can ensure they
11 are still registered with the electric corporation as a customer who has
12 documented their need for essential electricity for medical needs for
13 the purposes of this section.
14 (h) Customers who have documented their need for essential electricity
15 for medical needs shall be able to call such number established by para-
16 graph (g) of this subdivision at any time, including a time preceding or
17 during an electric service disruption to:
18 i. register with an electric corporation as a customer needing essen-
19 tial electricity for medical needs;
20 ii. receive information or projections regarding the severity of a
21 storm, storm-like electric emergency or system emergency, if applicable;
22 iii. report an outage or receive instructions on how to report an
23 outage;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05140-01-5
S. 5181 2
1 iv. receive updated information regarding the estimated time of resto-
2 ration, including website links to outage maps updated every thirty
3 minutes, if applicable;
4 v. receive outage safety precautions, including but not limited to:
5 storm survival without electric power, safety precautions regarding
6 electrical hazards such as downed wires and the use of portable genera-
7 tors;
8 vi. receive information regarding dry ice distribution, if applicable;
9 vii. receive information regarding power charging locations, if appli-
10 cable;
11 viii. receive information regarding cooling locations, if applicable;
12 ix. receive information regarding the claims process for spoiled food
13 and medication, if applicable;
14 x. receive potential information adopted pursuant to a rulemaking
15 proceeding commenced by the commission regarding restoration prioritiza-
16 tion, backup generators, or compensation for lodging in the event of an
17 electric service disruption for customers with life-saving equipment, if
18 applicable; and
19 xi. receive information regarding the facilitation of transportation
20 to the nearest hospital or facility that is capable of powering life-
21 saving equipment, if applicable.
22 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
