Bill Text: NY A11037 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates the utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the department of public service to advocate and to represent the interests of residential Long Island utility customers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-10-07 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A11037 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A11037-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 11037 IN ASSEMBLY October 7, 2020 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Ra, M. L. Miller) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to creating the utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the department of public service 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 3-c to read as follows: 3 § 3-c. Utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the 4 department of public service. 1. Definitions. When used in this section: 5 (a) "Office" means the Long Island office of the department of public 6 service. 7 (b) "Commission" means the public service commission. 8 (c) "Residential Long Island utility customer" means any resident of 9 Nassau or Suffolk county who is sold or offered for sale residential 10 utility service by a utility company. 11 (d) "Utility company" means any person or entity operating an agency 12 for public service, including, but not limited to, those persons or 13 entities subject to the jurisdiction, supervision and regulations 14 prescribed by or pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. 15 2. Establishment of the utility consumer advocate of the Long Island 16 office of the department of public service. There is established the 17 utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the department of 18 public service to advocate and to represent the interests of residential 19 Long Island utility customers. The consumer advocate shall be appointed 20 by the governor to a term of six years, upon the recommendation of the 21 county executives of Nassau and Suffolk counties and upon the advice and 22 consent of the senate. The utility consumer advocate shall possess know- 23 ledge and experience in matters affecting residential Long Island utili- 24 ty customers and shall be responsible for the direction, control and 25 operation of the office of utility consumer advocate for the office, 26 including its hiring of staff and retention of experts for analysis and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD17230-01-0A. 11037 2 1 testimony in proceedings. The utility consumer advocate shall not be 2 removed for cause but may be removed only after notice and opportunity 3 to be heard, and only for permanent disability, malfeasance, a felony or 4 conduct involving moral turpitude. Exercise of independent judgment in 5 advocating positions on behalf of residential Long Island utility 6 customers shall not constitute cause for removal of the utility consumer 7 advocate. 8 3. Powers of the utility consumer advocate for the Long Island office 9 of the department of public service. The utility consumer advocate for 10 the office shall have the power and duty to: 11 (a) initiate, intervene in or participate on behalf of residential 12 Long Island utility customers in any proceedings before the commission, 13 the federal energy regulatory commission, the federal communications 14 commission, federal, state and local administrative and regulatory agen- 15 cies and state and federal courts in any matter or proceeding that may 16 substantially affect the interests of residential Long Island utility 17 customers, including, but not limited to, a proposed change of rates, 18 charges, terms and conditions of service, and the adoption of rules, 19 regulations, guidelines, orders, standards or final policy decisions 20 where the utility consumer advocate deems such initiation, intervention 21 or participation to be necessary or appropriate; 22 (b) represent the interests of residential Long Island utility custom- 23 ers before federal, state and local administrative and regulatory agen- 24 cies engaged in the regulation of energy, telecommunications, water and 25 other utility services, and before state and federal courts in actions 26 and proceedings to review the actions of utilities or orders of utility 27 regulatory agencies. Any action or proceeding brought by the utility 28 consumer advocate before a court or an agency shall be brought in the 29 name of the utility consumer advocate for the office. The utility 30 consumer advocate may join with a residential Long Island utility 31 customer or group of residential Long Island utility customers in bring- 32 ing an action; 33 (i) in addition to any other authority conferred upon the utility 34 consumer advocate, he or she is authorized, and it shall be his or her 35 duty to represent the interests of residential Long Island utility 36 customers as a party, or otherwise participate for the purpose of 37 representing the interests of such customers before any agencies or 38 courts. He or she may initiate proceedings if in his or her judgment 39 doing so may be necessary in connection with any matter involving the 40 actions or regulation of public utility companies whether on appeal or 41 otherwise initiated. The utility consumer advocate may monitor all cases 42 before regulatory agencies in the United States, including the federal 43 communications commission and the federal energy regulatory commission 44 that affect the interests of residential Long Island utility customers 45 and may formally participate in those proceedings which in his or her 46 judgment warrants such participation. 47 (ii) the utility consumer advocate shall exercise his or her independ- 48 ent discretion in determining the interests of residential Long Island 49 utility customers that will be advocated in any proceeding, and deter- 50 mining whether to participate in or initiate any proceeding and, in so 51 determining, shall consider the public interest, the resources avail- 52 able, and the substantiality of the effect of the proceeding on the 53 interest of residential Long Island utility customers; 54 (c) request and receive from any state or local authority, agency, 55 department or division of the state or political subdivision suchA. 11037 3 1 assistance, personnel, information, books, records, other documentation 2 and cooperation necessary to perform his or her duties; 3 (d) enter into cooperative agreements with other government offices to 4 efficiently carry out his or her work; 5 (e) review and make recommendations to the office with respect to the 6 rates and charges, including charges related to energy efficiency and 7 renewable energy programs; 8 (f) annually review the emergency response plan of the Long Island 9 power authority and any related service provider and make recommenda- 10 tions to the authority with respect to the performance of the service 11 provider in restoring service or otherwise meeting the requirements of 12 the emergency response plan during an emergency event, defined for 13 purposes of this section as an event where widespread outages have 14 occurred in the authority's service territory due to a storm or other 15 causes beyond the control of the authority and the service provider, 16 including making determinations with respect to whether the service 17 provider is reasonably able to implement the emergency response plan, 18 whether the length of any outages related to such emergency were mate- 19 rially longer than they would otherwise have been because the service 20 provider failed to reasonably implement the emergency response plan, the 21 reasonableness of costs associated with such emergency response, the 22 costs, if any, that were unreasonably and imprudently incurred by the 23 service provider and whether the service provider would be liable for 24 any such costs pursuant to the terms and conditions of the operations 25 services agreement; 26 (g) review the annual capital expenditures proposed by the service 27 provider and recommend such improvement in the manufacture, conveying, 28 transportation, distribution or supply of electricity, or in the methods 29 employed by the service provider as in the utility consumer advocate's 30 judgment allows for safe and adequate service; and 31 (h) the purpose of the utility consumer advocate's oversight is to 32 make recommendations designed to ensure that the Long Island power 33 authority, the office and the service provider provide safe and adequate 34 transmission and distribution service at rates set at the lowest level 35 consistent with sound fiscal operating practices and ensure safe emer- 36 gency response planning. 37 4. Reports. On December first, two thousand twenty-two and annually 38 thereafter, the utility consumer advocate for the office shall issue a 39 report to the governor and the legislature, and make such report avail- 40 able to the public free of charge on a publicly available website, 41 containing, but not limited to, the following information: 42 (a) all proceedings that the utility consumer advocate for the office 43 participated in and the outcome of such proceedings, to the extent of 44 such outcome and if not confidential; 45 (b) estimated savings to residential utility consumers that resulted 46 from intervention by the utility consumer advocate for the office; and 47 (c) policy recommendations, including emergency response planning, and 48 suggested statutory amendments that the utility consumer advocate for 49 the office deems necessary. 50 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding 51 the date on which it shall have become a law.
