S 7567: Provides a reimbursement to small businesses and residential consumers of certain utilities for failure to provide contracted services; requires the Long Island power authority to do the same.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7567 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 22, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommuni- cations AN ACT to amend the public service law and the public authorities law, in relation to providing a reimbursement to small business and resi- dential consumers of certain utilities for failure to provide contracted services 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-e to read as follows: 3 § 119-e. Failure to provide contracted services. 1. A residential 4 consumer or small business who has a contract for service with a gas 5 corporation, electric corporation, gas and electric corporation, water 6 corporation, steam corporation or a municipality rendering equivalent 7 utility services shall be entitled to a discount when the service such 8 residential consumer or small business has contracted for is not 9 provided for by such gas corporation, electric corporation, gas and 10 electric corporation, water corporation, steam corporation or a munici- 11 pality rendering equivalent utility services for a period of at least 12 forty-eight hours after the end of a failure of equipment, weather 13 event, natural disaster or any other disruption in the providing of 14 service. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations, within 15 one hundred eighty days from the effective date of this section, to 16 calculate how a utility shall reimburse a residential consumer or small 17 business pursuant to this section. Such reimbursement shall be applied 18 to the monthly charges assessed by such gas corporation, electric corpo- 19 ration, gas and electric corporation, water corporation, steam corpo- 20 ration or a municipality rendering equivalent utility services. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04270-01-5 
 S. 7567 2 1 2. For purposes of this section, "small business" shall mean a busi- 2 ness which is resident in this state, independently owned and operated, 3 not dominant in its field and employs fifty or less persons. 4 3. No cost created pursuant to this section shall be the responsibil- 5 ity of a ratepayer. 6 § 2. Section 1020-f of the public authorities law, as added by chapter 7 517 of the laws of 1986, is amended by adding a new subdivision (ll) to 8 read as follows: 9 (ll) Failure to provide contracted services. 1. A residential consum- 10 er or small business who has a contract for service with a service 11 provider or the authority shall be entitled to a discount when the 12 service such residential consumer or small business has contracted for 13 is not provided for by such service provider or the authority for a 14 period of at least forty-eight hours after the end of a failure of 15 equipment, weather event, natural disaster or any other disruption in 16 the providing of service. The board shall promulgate rules and regu- 17 lations, within one hundred eighty days from the effective date of this 18 subdivision, to calculate how a service provider or the authority shall 19 reimburse a residential consumer or small business pursuant to this 20 subdivision. Such reimbursement shall be applied to the monthly charges 21 assessed by such service provider or the authority. 22 2. For purposes of this subdivision, "small business" shall mean a 23 business which is resident in this state, independently owned and oper- 24 ated, not dominant in its field and employs fifty or less persons. 25 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.