Enacts the "New York microgrids act" to establish the microgrids of New York grants program within the New York state energy research and development authority; such program shall award monies to certain areas of the state for the purposes of reducing utility rates, reducing utility demand and encouraging use of renewable energy resources.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4490--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 16, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. HAMILTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
and Commissions -- reported favorably from said committee and commit-
ted to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to enacting the
"New York microgrids act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 8 of the public authorities law is amended by
2 adding a new title 9-B to read as follows:
3 TITLE 9-B
4 NEW YORK MICROGRIDS ACT
5 Section 1900. Short title.
6 1901. Definitions.
7 1902. Purposes.
8 1903. Microgrids of New York grant program.
9 § 1900. Short title. This title shall be known and may be cited as the
10 "New York microgrids act".
11 § 1901. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms
12 shall have the following meanings:
13 1. "Authority" means the New York state energy research and develop-
14 ment authority continued pursuant to section eighteen hundred fifty-two
15 of this article.
16 2. "Energy insecure regions" means areas of the state that have expe-
17 rienced increased electricity outages due to grid instability, capacity
18 constraints, distribution and transmission line issues.
19 3. "Program" means the microgrids of New York grant program estab-
20 lished pursuant to section nineteen hundred three of this title.
21 4. "Rural areas" shall have the same meaning as is ascribed to such
22 term pursuant to subdivision seven of section four hundred eighty-one of
23 the executive law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09837-02-7
S. 4490--A 2
1 5. "Low-income community" means a census block group, or contiguous
2 area with multiple census block groups, having a low-income population
3 equal to or greater than 23.59 percent of the total population of such
4 block group or groups, or such other percentage as may be determined by
5 the New York state department of environmental conservation.
6 § 1902. Purposes. The purposes of this title are to:
7 1. promote long term reduction of energy costs;
8 2. reduce the capacity demand for the market by drawing less energy
9 from the original grid;
10 3. stabilize energy costs;
11 4. enhance the reliability of energy sources;
12 5. increase energy independence throughout the state; and
13 6. promote reliance on renewable energy sources to help mitigate
14 climate change and achieve the state's energy use reduction goals.
15 § 1903. Microgrids of New York grant program. 1. The authority shall
16 establish and operate the microgrids of New York grant program. Such
17 program shall be implemented by the authority, in consultation with the
18 department of public service, the power authority of the state of New
19 York, the Long Island power authority and the department of environ-
20 mental conservation. In furtherance thereof, the authority shall:
21 (a) use monies made available for the purposes of this title and the
22 program;
23 (b) enter into contracts with constituency based organizations and
24 other entities through the competitive grant process established pursu-
25 ant to subdivision two of this section;
26 (c) enter into contracts with one or more program implementers to
27 perform such functions as the authority deems appropriate; and
28 (d) exercise such other powers as are necessary for the proper imple-
29 mentation of this title.
30 2. The authority shall:
31 (a) issue one or more program opportunity notices or requests for
32 proposals to solicit applications from partnerships comprised of consti-
33 tuency based organizations, which can connect community members to the
34 program, including facilitating awareness of the program and enrollment
35 therein;
36 (b) award grants of not more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars
37 to each approved applicant;
38 (c) with regard to awarding such grants, give preference to:
39 (i) communities in areas of the state where energy costs are a partic-
40 ularly high percentage of a community's median household income as
41 determined by the authority;
42 (ii) communities that would benefit from energy resiliency provided by
43 a microgrid, as demonstrated by prior outage history due to weather or
44 other causes;
45 (iii) low income communities;
46 (iv) energy insecure regions; and
47 (v) rural areas.
48 3. The authority is authorized in consultation with the department of
49 public service, the power authority of the state of New York, the Long
50 Island power authority and the department of environmental conservation,
51 to promulgate such rules and regulations as shall be necessary to imple-
52 ment the provisions of this section.
53 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
54 it shall have become a law.
