Relates to the department of public service; limits increases in the amount of surcharges; establishes a one year moratorium on the collection of energy surcharges; establishes a moratorium on new surcharge assessments, taxes or fees.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4335
SPONSOR: Miller TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to limiting
increases in the amount of surcharges established by the public service
commission, imposing a one year moratorium on the collection of certain
surcharges, and prohibiting new energy taxes and fees; and to repeal
certain provisions of such law relating thereto
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: :
To lower the electric bills by placing a moratorium on utility fees and
limits on future increases of current fees or creation of new ones
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1-short title Section 2 Places an immediate moratorium on the
collection of certain energy surcharges and fees for one year Section
3-Limits the power of the PSC to increase existing energy surcharges
Section 4- Prohibits the PSC from imposing any new energy assessment of
fee. Section 5- of the bill is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Historically, utility costs in New York have been higher than in most
other states. These costs are have a significant effect on New York
consumers especially our seniors. The New York State Department of
Public Service reported that more than 1.1 million residential electric
and gas customers were more than 60 days past due on utility bills in
March, with arrears totaling $1.28 billion. That's an 82 percent
increase compared with February 2020. Older adults, many of whom live on
fixed incomes, are particularly vulnerable. Nearly 1.3 million New York
households were more than $1.7 billion in arrears on energy bills in
December 2021 according to New York State Public Service Commission
("PSC") data analyzed by PULP. An untold number of New Yorkers are
behind on water, phone and internet bills-figures not tracked by the
PSC. More recently gigantic spikes in gas prices have made an already
pernicious problem much worse. An AARP survey of New Yorkers from
several years ago shows that for those over age 50, 41 percent, of those
surveyed had difficulty paying their monthly electric bill. This figure
was even higher among minority populations with 48 percent of African
Americans and 56 percent of Hispanics age 50+ in New York indicating
that they experienced difficulty paying their electric bills, According
to the same AARP survey in 2010, there were 321,995 residential custom-
ers who had their utility service shut off for non-payment of bills. The
high utility costs in New York are driven in part by a series of taxes,
fees and surcharges such as the renewable portfolio standard (RPS), the
system benefit charge (SBC), and the energy efficienc y port- folio
standard (EEPS). These types of on-bill assessments cost ratepayers
almost $600 million last year according to NYSERDA's annual report. As
of December 2021, more than 1 million New Yorkers risked having their
power turned off because their payments were in arrears. As we come out
of the pandemic and rules aimed at preventing shut offs expire and the
winter ends, loss of utility service will become a clear and present
danger for thousands. Although the surcharges referenced above may serve
a worthy purpose, the increasing costs of the surcharges are a substan-
tial burden to seniors - especially those on fixed or limited incomes.
As AARP revealed, some relief on electric bills may be appropriate for
our seniors in order to ensure that they can maintain adequate utility
service. To that end, this legislation provides much needed relief by
eliminating these surcharges on the utility bills of seniors that need
assistance the most. In order to effectively help seniors with reducing
the burden of high Utility bills, direct and tangible benefits must be
provided. Other proposed solutions for seniors merely create new (but
duplicative) government bureaucracies that raise the cost of government
and do not deliver a direct reduc tion in a senior's monthly electric
bill. A one year moratorium on collection of these fees along with
substantial limits on any future increases will provide a much needed to
benefit to those in need who are struggling to keep their lights and
heat on.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022 - A9521 - referred to energy
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided that section three of
this act shall take effect one year after such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4335
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Energy
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to limiting
increases in the amount of surcharges established by the public
service commission, imposing a one year moratorium on the collection
of certain surcharges, and prohibiting new energy taxes and fees; and
to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Energy
2 assessment cap and consumer cost relief act of 2023".
3 § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 18 to
4 read as follows:
5 § 18. Moratorium on surcharges. The commission shall not impose or
6 collect any surcharges associated with the system benefit charge, or the
7 renewable portfolio standard, or the energy efficiency portfolio stand-
8 ard, or any similar fund that may be created by order of the commission
9 before the effective date of this section, whether such fund is new or
10 is a result of combining all or some of the surcharges referenced here-
11 in.
12 § 3. Section 18 of the public service law is REPEALED and a new
13 section 18 is added to read as follows:
14 § 18. Limit on surcharge increases. Notwithstanding any law, rule,
15 regulation or order to the contrary, the commission shall not increase
16 the amount of the surcharge of the system benefit charge or the
17 surcharge for the renewable portfolio standard or the surcharge for the
18 energy efficiency portfolio standard or any similar fund that may be
19 created by order of the commission before the effective date of this
20 section, whether such fund is new or is a result of combining all or
21 some of the surcharges referenced herein. Nothing in this section shall
22 be construed as to prevent the commission from lowering the amount of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07351-01-3
A. 4335 2
1 any surcharge either individually or collectively from the amount
2 collected in two thousand twenty-two, except that under no circumstances
3 shall the total cost of those charges exceed the total aggregate amounts
4 in two thousand twenty.
5 § 4. Moratorium on new energy taxes and fees. Notwithstanding any law,
6 rule, regulation or order to the contrary, the public service commission
7 shall not establish any new surcharge assessment, tax or fee on energy
8 consumers, excepting those fees which may arise from an electric gener-
9 ating facility that provides notice of closure to such commission and
10 where a reliability need is identified by the bulk system operator.
11 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that section
12 three of this act shall take effect one year after such effective date.
