Requires electric companies to provide alternative measures to ensure customers with documented need for essential electricity for medical needs have access to electricity during power outages; requires electric companies to provide generators or lodging for such individuals and transportation for medical devices.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7568
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 22, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- 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 and the public authorities law,
in relation to requiring electric companies to provide alternative
measures to ensure customers are able to maintain their health and
well-being during power outages
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 21 of
2 section 66 of the public service law, as separately amended by chapters
3 395 and 743 of the laws of 2022 and chapter 38 of the laws of 2023, is
4 amended to read as follows:
5 (iii) identification of and outreach plans to customers who had docu-
6 mented their need for essential electricity for medical needs, which
7 shall include but not be limited to, apnea monitors for infants, cuirass
8 respirators, hemodialysis machines, IV feeding machines, IV medical
9 infusion machines, oxygen concentrators, positive pressure respirators,
10 respirator/ventilators, rocking bed respirators, suction machines, and
11 tank type respirators. Such outreach plans shall include provisions
12 regarding how such customers will be provided with alternative measures
13 to ensure their health and well-being if power cannot adequately be
14 provided. Such provisions shall include providing electric generators or
15 lodging for the individual requiring such essential electricity for
16 medical needs and shall also include transportation of medical devices,
17 as needed. Such provisions shall also specify that any cost incurred by
18 an electric company in providing such alternative measures shall not be
19 borne by rate payers;
20 § 2. Paragraph 1 of subdivision (cc) of section 1020-f of the public
21 authorities law, as separately amended by chapter 395 of the laws of
22 2022 and chapter 38 of the laws of 2023, is amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04277-01-5
S. 7568 2
1 1. The service provider shall, in consultation with the authority,
2 prepare and maintain an emergency response plan (i) to assure the
3 reasonably prompt restoration of service in the case of an emergency
4 event, defined for purposes of this subdivision as an event where wide-
5 spread outages have occurred in the authority's service territory due to
6 a storm or other causes beyond the control of the authority and the
7 service provider, (ii) consistent with the requirements of paragraph (a)
8 of subdivision twenty-one of section sixty-six of the public service law
9 and any regulations and orders adopted thereto, and (iii) establishing
10 the separate responsibilities of the authority and service provider.
11 Such emergency response plan shall include plans setting forth how the
12 communication and coordination of efforts between the authority, service
13 provider, authority employees, service provider employees, authority
14 company crews, service provider company crews, mutual aid crews, other
15 utilities, local governments and any service provider or other entity
16 performing services to assist the authority shall occur. Such emergency
17 response plan shall include identification of and outreach plans for
18 customers who have documented their need for essential electricity for
19 medical needs, which shall include but not be limited to, apnea monitors
20 for infants, cuirass respirators, hemodialysis machines, intravenous
21 feeding machines, intravenous medical infusion machines, oxygen concen-
22 trators, positive pressure respirators, respirators/ventilators, rocking
23 bed respirators, suction machines, and tank type respirators. Such
24 outreach plans shall also include provisions regarding how customers
25 will be provided with alternative measures to ensure their health and
26 well-being if power cannot adequately be provided. Such provisions shall
27 include providing electric generators or lodging for any individual
28 requiring essential electricity for medical needs and shall also include
29 transportation of medical devices, as needed.
30 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
