Bill Text: NY S07490 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS [S07490 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07490-Introduced.html

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                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.