Add 119-d, Pub Serv L; add 1020-mm, Pub Auth L; add 399-yyyy, Gen Bus L
Requires utility companies maintain a toll free number for consumers to call to report service outages which shall be made available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7490
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 31, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Tele-
communications
AN ACT to amend the public service law, the public authorities law and
the general business law, in relation to requiring utility companies
maintain a toll free number for reporting service outages
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
2 119-d to read as follows:
3 § 119-d. Toll free number for service outages. 1. Any gas corpo-
4 ration, electric corporation, gas and electric corporation, water corpo-
5 ration, steam corporation or a municipality rendering equivalent utility
6 services is required to establish, provide and maintain a toll free
7 phone number for consumers of such utility to call for reporting service
8 outages. Such toll free number shall:
9 a. be attended twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week;
10 b. have the capacity to adequately address a surge in phone call
11 volume during an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions;
12 c. be posted clearly and conspicuously on the homepage of the utility
13 company's website; and
14 d. be posted clearly and conspicuously on the first page of each
15 consumer's billing statement.
16 2. The failure to comply with the provisions in this section shall
17 subject any gas corporation, electric corporation, gas and electric
18 corporation, water corporation, steam corporation or a municipality
19 rendering equivalent utility services to the penalties authorized in
20 section twenty-five of this chapter.
21 3. Any municipality shall have the opportunity to petition the commis-
22 sion for an exemption from the requirements of this section if such
23 municipality can show that such requirements are unduly burdensome.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01694-01-3
S. 7490 2
1 § 2. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section
2 1020-mm to read as follows:
3 § 1020-mm. Toll free number for service outages. 1. The service
4 provider shall be required to establish, provide and maintain a toll
5 free phone number for consumers of service provided by the service
6 provider to call for reporting service outages. Such toll free number
7 shall:
8 (a) be attended twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week;
9 (b) have the capacity to adequately address a surge in phone call
10 volume during an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions;
11 (c) be posted clearly and conspicuously on the homepage of the author-
12 ity's website; and
13 (d) be posted clearly and conspicuously on the first page of each
14 consumer's billing statement.
15 2. The failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall
16 subject the service provider to the penalties authorized in section
17 twenty-five of the public service law.
18 § 3. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
19 399-yyyy to read as follows:
20 § 399-yyyy. Toll free number for cable television and internet service
21 outages. 1. Any cable television or internet service provider rendering
22 equivalent utility services is required to establish, provide and main-
23 tain a toll free phone number for consumers of such utility to call for
24 reporting service outages. Such toll free number shall:
25 (a) be attended twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week;
26 (b) have the capacity to adequately address a surge in phone call
27 volume during an emergency situation or extreme weather conditions;
28 (c) be posted clearly and conspicuously on the homepage of the cable
29 television or internet service provider's website; and
30 (d) be posted clearly and conspicuously on the first page of each
31 consumer's billing statement.
32 2. The failure to comply with the provisions in this section shall
33 subject any cable television or internet service provider rendering
34 equivalent utility services to the penalties authorized in section twen-
35 ty-five of the public service law.
36 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
37 have become a law.
