Prohibits public utilities from requiring the posting of deposits or prepayment of charges by residential customers as a condition of providing service; requires the return of all deposits and prepayments by September 1, 2011.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4280
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 2, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. P. RIVERA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to prohibiting the
public utilities from requiring residential service deposits and
prepayment for services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 36 of the public service law, as added by chapter
2 713 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 36. Residential service deposits. [1. On and after January first,
4 nineteen hundred eighty-two, no] No utility corporation or municipality
5 shall require any [new] residential customer[, other than a seasonal or
6 short term customer,] to post a security deposit or prepay any rate or
7 charges for service as a condition of receiving utility service. [In
8 addition, no utility corporation or municipality shall after the first
9 day of September, nineteen hundred eighty-two, or such earlier date as
10 the commission may determine, require a current residential customer to
11 post a security deposit other than such a customer who is delinquent
12 according to standards set by the commission.] Deposits and prepayments
13 held on the first day of September, [nineteen hundred eighty-two] two
14 thousand eleven, or such earlier date as the commission may determine,
15 shall be returned to the customer immediately, but not later than the
16 next bill for service[; provided, however, that this provision shall not
17 apply to deposits of delinquent customers. No utility corporation or
18 municipality shall require any known recipient of public assistance,
19 supplemental security income benefits or additional state payments to
20 post a security deposit as a condition of receiving service.
21 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,
22 the commission, after investigation and hearing, may authorize any util-
23 ity corporation or municipality to require and hold security deposits
24 from residential customers or applicants for service upon a finding that
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01018-01-1
A. 4280 2
1 the collection and maintenance of such deposits is cost effective to the
2 utility as a whole without regard to cash flow and the availability of
3 capital.
4 3. In any case where customer deposits are authorized by this section,
5 a utility corporation or municipality may require a customer or appli-
6 cant for service to deposit a reasonable sum of money according to the
7 estimated quantity of such services necessary to supply the customer or
8 applicant for service for two months, to secure payment for such
9 services actually rendered, or for the rental of fixtures, instruments
10 and facilities actually supplied. Every such utility corporation and
11 municipality shall allow to every such customer or applicant for service
12 interest on the sum deposited at a rate per annum to be prescribed from
13 time to time and at least annually by the commission in light of current
14 economic conditions and current charges paid for moneys borrowed by such
15 utility, taking into account the expenses incurred by such utility in
16 obtaining, handling, returning or crediting the sum deposited. Such
17 interest shall be paid upon the return of the deposit, provided however,
18 that whenever such deposit has been held for a period of one year, the
19 interest shall be credited to the customer or applicant for service on
20 the first billing for utility service rendered after the end of such
21 period. If a customer or applicant for service is not delinquent in the
22 payment of any billing during such one year period, the deposit shall be
23 refunded promptly at the end thereof, without prejudice to the utility's
24 or municipality's right to require a deposit thereafter in the event of
25 a delinquency. All utility corporations and municipalities shall exempt
26 from deposit requirements any customer or applicant for service who is
27 sixty-two years of age or older, unless the customer or applicant for
28 service is a bad credit risk according to standards set by the commis-
29 sion].
30 § 2. Section 92-b of the public service law, as amended by chapter 716
31 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
32 § 92-b. Telephone deposits and payment plans for the elderly. 1. [The
33 commission shall require all telephone corporations to exempt the dwell-
34 ing units of all subscribing individuals who are sixty-two years of age
35 or older from any cash deposit requirement except where the corporation
36 can show that the subscriber is a bad credit risk according to standards
37 set by the commission] No telephone corporation shall require any resi-
38 dential customer to post a security deposit or prepay any rate or charge
39 for telephone service as a condition for receiving such service. Depos-
40 its and prepayments held on the first day of September, two thousand
41 eleven, or such earlier date as the commission may determine, shall be
42 returned to the customer immediately, but not later than the next bill
43 for service.
44 2. The commission shall require all telephone corporations to offer
45 residential customers who are sixty-two years of age or older, as an
46 alternative to monthly billing, a plan for payment on a quarterly basis,
47 of charges for telephone service rendered by such corporations, provided
48 that such customer's average annual billing is not more than one hundred
49 fifty dollars. The commission may establish such terms and conditions
50 for plans required under this section as it deems necessary or proper.
51 § 3. Section 117 of the public service law, as amended by chapter 713
52 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
53 § 117. Consumer deposits. [Except as the right to require deposits is
54 further limited by section thirty-six of this chapter, a] No gas corpo-
55 ration, [an] electric corporation, [a] gas and electric corporation, [a]
56 water corporation, [a] steam corporation, [a] telegraph corporation, [a]
A. 4280 3
1 telephone corporation or [a] municipality rendering equivalent utility
2 services may[, unless prohibited by the commission,] require any person
3 to whom such corporation or municipality shall supply gas, electric,
4 water, steam, telegraph or telephone services to post a deposit [a
5 reasonable sum of money according to the estimated quantity of such
6 services necessary to supply the same for two calendar months,] or
7 prepay any rate or charge for service to secure payment for such
8 services actually rendered, or for the rental of fixtures, instruments
9 and facilities actually supplied[, but every such corporation and muni-
10 cipality shall allow to every such depositor interest at a rate per
11 annum to be prescribed from time to time, at least annually, by the
12 commission in the light of current economic conditions and current
13 charges paid for other moneys borrowed by such corporation or munici-
14 pality, and the expenses incurred by such corporation or municipality in
15 obtaining, handling and returning or crediting the sum deposited, on the
16 sum or sums so deposited, payable upon the return of the deposit or at
17 earlier intervals as hereinafter prescribed. Whenever such deposit has
18 been held for a period of one year, the interest accrued on such deposit
19 shall be credited to the depositor on the first billing for utility
20 service rendered after the next succeeding first day of October. If the
21 depositor was not delinquent in the payment of any bill in such one year
22 period, the deposit shall be refunded promptly at the end thereof, but
23 without prejudice to the right to require a deposit thereafter in the
24 event of a delinquency or where it can be shown that the financial
25 condition of a business customer is such that it is likely that the
26 customer may default in the future, and to retain such deposit for a
27 prudent period; except that subject to such regulations as the commis-
28 sion may establish, if the deposit is for utility service rendered to a
29 business, the deposit may be retained for a prudent period beyond such a
30 one year period. No provider of utility services shall require of its
31 customer within its service area a new security deposit where such
32 customer was not required to post a security deposit or had a security
33 deposit returned pursuant to this section and such customer establishes
34 a new residence and continues service with the same provider of utility
35 services]. Deposits and prepayments held on the first day of September,
36 two thousand eleven, or such earlier date as the commission may deter-
37 mine, shall be returned to the customer immediately, but not later than
38 the next bill for service.
39 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
40 have become a law.
