Relates to providing a program to extend natural gas delivery to unserved or underserved areas; establishes petition, program and commission requirements.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6024--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
August 3, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules -- recommitted to
the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications in accordance with
Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to providing a
program to extend natural gas delivery to unserved or underserved
areas
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section
2 65-c to read as follows:
3 § 65-c. Extending natural gas deliveries to unserved and underserved
4 areas. 1. Petition. No later than January first, two thousand seventeen,
5 or sixty days after the effective date of this section, whichever is
6 later, each natural gas distribution company shall file a petition with
7 the commissioner proposing a pilot or permanent program, including any
8 necessary tariffs, to extend natural gas distribution service for end-
9 users to unserved or underserved areas within its certificated service
10 territory.
11 2. Program requirements. A proposed program shall include:
12 (a) a process for managing and prioritizing customer requests from
13 end-users for extensions of the natural gas distribution system;
14 (b) a cost-benefit analysis to determine if a customer contribution is
15 required;
16 (c) a method for determining the amount of a required customer
17 contribution in aid of construction;
18 (d) a program to enhance the affordability of required contributions
19 in aid of construction to customers, including the following provisions:
20 (i) the program shall provide for on-bill financing for a term of no
21 less than five years;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11599-03-6
S. 6024--A 2
1 (ii) a customer shall be able to pay a required customer contribution
2 in full at any time, without incurring penalties or fees; and
3 (iii) the form of financing may include a surcharge, third-party
4 financing or any other method of recovery approved by the commission;
5 (e) a provision outlining whether and how refunds or credits will be
6 provided to customers as other customers receive service from a
7 completed distribution system extension project;
8 (f) a provision addressing the treatment and eligibility of customers
9 participating in a customer assistance program who request and receive
10 service from a distribution system extension project;
11 (g) a provision addressing situations where a customer fails to pay a
12 required surcharge or other on-bill financing mechanism;
13 (h) a customer's natural gas distribution service shall not be termi-
14 nated solely for nonpayment of a surcharge or other on-bill financing
15 mechanism; and
16 (i) any other provisions that will promote economic distribution
17 system extension to end-users in unserved and underserved areas in a
18 manner that is affordable to customers.
19 3. Commission review. The commission:
20 (a) shall review a petition filed pursuant to subdivision one of this
21 section, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard and may
22 approve, disapprove or modify the filing pursuant to its procedural
23 rules;
24 (b) may establish periodic reporting requirements to review the
25 performance and effectiveness of a program; and
26 (c) shall not require a natural gas distribution company to extend its
27 distribution system to any area or customer that does not provide the
28 opportunity to earn a reasonable return on investment.
29 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
30 have become a law.
