Permits the rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or municipality under certain circumstances; directs the public service commission to create a model procedure for the calculation of estimated bills which shall be used by municipalities and utility corporations.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8806A REVISED 03/21/2022
SPONSOR: Jacobson TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to permitting the
rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or munici-
pality under certain circumstances
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To protect ratepayers by mitigating excessive fluctuations in utility
bills by requiring utility bills to reflect actual month-to-month meter
readings and requiring the Public Service Commission (PSC) to review
current formulas and issue an order by November 1, 2022 creating a new
model procedure for the calculation of estimated bills.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 1 of section 39 of the Public Service Law
by requiring that the approved estimation procedure for utility bills is
limited to the criteria listed under subdivision 1 of section 39 of the
Public Service Law. All other bills shall use actual meter readings
however such readings may be obtained.
Amends section 39 of the Public Service Law by adding a new subdivision
1-a which requires the Public Service Commission to review all esti-
mation formulas currently adopted by the regulated utilities in the
state and issue and an order by November 1, 2022 creating a new model
procedure for the calculation of estimated bills.
Section 2 sets forth the effective date which is immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
The only thing worse than receiving your utility bill is receiving a an
unexpected bill which is extremely high because it is an estimated bill
or because the previous estimated bills were too low so when the meter
is finally read, the bill is very high to make up for the low estimates
in the past.
There are widespread reports that utility companies are relying heavily
on estimated billing practices causing excessively high swings in bills
month to month, often to the difference of hundreds of dollars in addi-
tional unforeseen, and regularly inaccurate, costs. The fact is, many
ratepayers can't afford such high estimations, especially when they're
not based on previous usage data and when utility prices are already
rising. This make budgeting nearly impossible for consumers.
The growing availability of the remote reading of meters should also cut
down the need for estimated bills. Utility companies should make the
remote reading of meters universal.
This bill will limit estimated billing to only specific criteria listed
under section 39 of the Public Service Law. All other utility bills
shall use actual meter readings however such readings may be obtained.
It will also require the Public Service Commission to review current
practices and come up with a new standard, a model procedure, for esti-
mated billing.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None. New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately. 2
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8806--A
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to permitting the
rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or munici-
pality under certain circumstances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 39 of the public service law, as
2 amended by chapter 686 of the laws of 2002, is amended and a new subdi-
3 vision 1-a is added to read as follows:
4 1. A utility corporation or municipality may, in accordance with such
5 requirements as the commission may impose by regulation, render an esti-
6 mated bill for any billing period if: (a) the procedure used by such
7 utility or municipality for calculating estimated bills has been
8 approved by the commission, and the bill clearly indicates that it is
9 based on an estimated reading and (b) the utility owning the meter and
10 providing the meter reading data on which the estimated bill will be
11 based or the municipality has made reasonable effort to obtain an actual
12 meter reading or (c) circumstances beyond the control of the utility or
13 municipality made an actual reading of the meter extremely difficult or
14 (d) circumstances indicate a reported reading is likely to be erroneous,
15 or (e) an estimated reading is prescribed or authorized by the commis-
16 sion for a billing period between periods when actual meter readings are
17 scheduled or for seasonal or short term customers. Outside of the
18 aforementioned criteria for estimated billing pursuant to this section,
19 all other bills shall use actual meter readings, however such readings
20 may be obtained.
21 1-a. The commission shall review all procedures used by utility corpo-
22 rations and municipalities in this state to calculate estimated bills,
23 and shall create and distribute to such utility corporations and munici-
24 palities a model procedure for the calculation of such estimated bills.
25 Upon receipt of such model procedure for the calculation of estimated
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13530-06-2
A. 8806--A 2
1 bills, a utility corporation or municipality shall use such model proce-
2 dure for the calculation of all estimated bills estimated on and after
3 such receipt. On or before November first, two thousand twenty-three,
4 the public service commission shall issue an order creating a new proce-
5 dure for the calculation of such estimated bills and a utility corpo-
6 ration or municipality shall adopt such procedure immediately.
7 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
