Permits the rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or municipality under certain circumstances; directs the public service commission to create a model procedure for the calculation of estimated bills which shall be used by municipalities and utility corporations.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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7579--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
December 8, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. HINCHEY -- 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 permitting the
rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or munici-
pality under certain circumstances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 39 of the public service law, as
2 amended by chapter 686 of the laws of 2002, is amended and a new subdi-
3 vision 1-a is added to read as follows:
4 1. A utility corporation or municipality may, in accordance with such
5 requirements as the commission may impose by regulation, render an esti-
6 mated bill for any billing period if: (a) the procedure used by such
7 utility or municipality for calculating estimated bills has been
8 approved by the commission, and the bill clearly indicates that it is
9 based on an estimated reading and (b) the utility owning the meter and
10 providing the meter reading data on which the estimated bill will be
11 based or the municipality has made reasonable effort to obtain an actual
12 meter reading or (c) circumstances beyond the control of the utility or
13 municipality made an actual reading of the meter extremely difficult or
14 (d) circumstances indicate a reported reading is likely to be erroneous,
15 or (e) an estimated reading is prescribed or authorized by the commis-
16 sion for a billing period between periods when actual meter readings are
17 scheduled or for seasonal or short term customers. Outside of the
18 aforementioned criteria for estimated billing pursuant to this section,
19 all other bills shall use actual meter readings, however such readings
20 may be obtained.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13530-05-2
S. 7579--A 2
1 1-a. The commission shall review all procedures used by utility corpo-
2 rations and municipalities in this state to calculate estimated bills,
3 and shall create and distribute to such utility corporations and munici-
4 palities a model procedure for the calculation of such estimated bills.
5 Upon receipt of such model procedure for the calculation of estimated
6 bills, a utility corporation or municipality shall use such model proce-
7 dure for the calculation of all estimated bills estimated on and after
8 such receipt. On or before November first, two thousand twenty-three,
9 the public service commission shall issue an order creating a new proce-
10 dure for the calculation of such estimated bills and a utility corpo-
11 ration or municipality shall adopt such procedure immediately.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
