Authorizes an investigation by the public service commission during a declared state of emergency to review the performance of the Long Island power authority and any of its service providers in restoring service or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emergency response plan during an emergency event.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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8922
IN SENATE
August 19, 2020
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Introduced by Sen. GAUGHRAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to authorizing
an investigation by the public service commission during a declared
state of emergency
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 1020-s of the public authorities law, as added by
2 chapter 517 of the laws of 1986, is amended by adding a new subdivision
3 3 to read as follows:
4 3. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, if the governor declares
5 a state declaration of disaster emergency pursuant to section twenty-
6 eight of the executive law where the affected area includes any portion
7 of the service territory, and such area experiences any widespread power
8 outage persisting for a period of seventy-two hours or more, the public
9 service commission may open an investigation to review the performance
10 of the authority and any of its service providers in restoring service
11 or otherwise meeting the requirements of the emergency response plan
12 during an emergency event. If, after evidentiary hearings or other
13 investigatory proceedings, the public service commission finds that the
14 authority or its service providers failed to reasonably implement its
15 emergency response plan or the length of outages were materially longer
16 than they would have been, because of such authority or its service
17 providers failure to reasonably implement its emergency response plan,
18 the public service commission may deny the recovery of any part of the
19 service restoration costs caused by such failure, commensurate with the
20 degree and impact of the service outage.
21 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD17139-02-0