S 8515: Enacts the "consumer utility meter choice protection act"; allows customers to decline the installation of smart meters without being liable for fees.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8515 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE September 26, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. C. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to advanced metering infrastructure The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "consumer utility meter choice protection act". 3 § 2. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 67-b to 4 read as follows: 5 § 67-b. Advanced metering infrastructure devices for electric and gas 6 services. 1. For purposes of this section advanced metering infrastruc- 7 ture shall include: 8 (a) a one-way smart meter, which shall mean a device designed to 9 utilize one-way communications systems, including but not limited to: 10 (i) power line carrier; (ii) radio frequency; (iii) wireless fidelity 11 network; (iv) telephony; and (v) the internet to transmit customer usage 12 data to a utility for the purposes of billing; and be designed to be 13 capable of measuring and storing customer electric and/or gas usage 14 data, including time of use in real time; or 15 (b) a two-way smart meter, which shall mean a device that is designed 16 to utilize two-way communications systems, including but not limited to: 17 (i) radio frequency; (ii) wireless fidelity network; or (iii) the inter- 18 net to transmit electric usage and pricing data between an electric 19 and/or gas corporation and its customers, where such device is capable 20 of (A) measuring usage data and transmitting such data in intervals of 21 at least once per day; (B) receiving in real-time, per-kilowatt hour 22 (kWh) and/or per (therm) gas and electric supply and delivery rates; (C) 23 detecting customer service disruptions and transmitting such information 24 to an electric and/or gas corporation; and (D) storing customer usage 25 data. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07588-01-5 
 S. 8515 2 1 2. It shall be the right of every customer of an electric and/or gas 2 corporation, at no penalty, fee or service charge to decline the permis- 3 sion of such customer's electric and/or gas corporation (a) to replace 4 an existing meter at such customer's premises that is assigned to such 5 customer's account with a two-way smart meter, or (b) to install any 6 two-way smart meter device at such customer's property without such 7 customer's consent. 8 3. An electric and/or gas corporation may not install a two-way smart 9 meter on a customer's premises that is assigned to such customer's 10 account unless it shall provide written notice to the customer no less 11 than ninety days prior to the scheduled installation of such meter. Such 12 notice shall provide that: 13 (a) the customer shall have the right to decline such customer's elec- 14 tric and/or gas corporation from installing a two-way smart meter with 15 no fee, penalty or service charge; 16 (b) the customer may, at any point during a period of three hundred 17 sixty-five days following the installation of a two-way smart meter, 18 require the removal of such device with no fee, penalty or service 19 charge; 20 (c) the customer may be liable for a fee to be determined by the 21 commission for the removal of a two-way smart meter device if the 22 customer requests the removal more than three hundred sixty-five days 23 following the installation of such meter at such customer's premises. 24 § 3. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 89-q to 25 read as follows: 26 § 89-q. Advanced metering infrastructure devices for water-works 27 services. 1. For purposes of this section advanced metering infrastruc- 28 ture shall include: 29 (a) a one-way smart meter, which shall mean a device designed to 30 utilize one-way communications systems, including but not limited to: 31 (i) power line carrier; (ii) radio frequency; (iii) wireless fidelity 32 network; (iv) telephony; and (v) the internet to transmit customer usage 33 data to a water-works for the purposes of billing; and be designed to be 34 capable of measuring and storing customer water usage data, including 35 time of use in real time; or 36 (b) a two-way smart meter, which shall mean a device that is designed 37 to utilize two-way communications systems, including but not limited to: 38 (i) radio frequency; (ii) wireless fidelity network; or (iii) the inter- 39 net to transmit electric usage and pricing data between a water-works 40 corporation and its customers, where such device is capable of (A) meas- 41 uring usage data and transmitting such data in intervals of at least 42 once per day; (B) receiving in real-time, water supply and delivery 43 rates; (C) detecting customer service disruptions and transmitting such 44 information to a water-works corporation; and (D) storing customer usage 45 data. 46 2. It shall be the right of every customer of a water-works corpo- 47 ration, at no penalty, fee or service charge (a) to decline the permis- 48 sion of such customer's water-works corporation to replace an existing 49 meter at such customer's premises that is assigned to such customer's 50 account with a two-way smart meter, or (b) to install any two-way smart 51 meter device at such customer's property without such customer's 52 consent. 53 3. A water-works corporation may not install a two-way smart meter on 54 a customer's premises that is assigned to such customer's account unless 55 it shall provide written notice to the customer no less than ninety days 
 S. 8515 3 1 prior to the scheduled installation of such meter. Such notice shall 2 provide that: 3 (a) the customer shall have the right to decline such customer's 4 water-works corporation from installing a two-way smart meter with no 5 fee, penalty or service charge; 6 (b) the customer may, at any point during a period of three hundred 7 sixty-five days following the installation of a two-way smart meter, 8 require the removal of such device with no fee, penalty or service 9 charge; 10 (c) the customer may be liable for a fee to be determined by the 11 commission for the removal of a two-way smart meter device if the 12 customer requests the removal more than three hundred sixty-five days 13 following the installation of such meter at such customer's premises. 14 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.