Prohibits the public service commission authority to order collection of charges from ratepayers for greenhouse gas reduction unrelated to the electric grid.
Requires the public service commission to post a written summary of the actions taken by the commission or department upon approval of a major change in rates to promote ratepayer affordability and minimizing residential energy burden.
Enacts the "NYS ratepayer protection nuclear moratorium act" under which certain state funds and subsidies are prohibited from being expended for new, reopened or rebuilt closed nuclear power facilities and related entities; creates a nuclear assessment task force.
Enacts the citizens utility board act; establishes the citizens utility board to represent and protect the interests of the residential utility consumers of this state.
This bill requires large data centers to help local households reduce their electricity costs by funding specific energy upgrades. Facilities with a power demand of twenty megawatts or more must either provide bill credits to residents in their local area or install technologies like heat pumps and solar panels. The Public Service Commission will create a program to manage these contributions, ensuring that low- and moderate-income families are prioritized for benefits. The rules for this program will take effect immediately, while the main funding requirements will begin after a ninety-day waiting period.
Enacts the "utility fair acquisition act", providing that in any acquisition by a municipal corporation or a public benefit corporation created pursuant to article 5 of the public authorities law of infrastructure operated by a public utility company or private energy provider, the appraised value shall be reduced by the value of infrastructure that was financed through customer user fees, ratepayer surcharges, or other non-investor-funded mechanisms as determined by the public service commission.
Requires battery energy storage system owners and operators to demonstrate compliance with workforce reliability standards as a condition of state financial assistance; extends prevailing wage requirements and whistleblower protections to operations and maintenance employees at covered battery energy storage systems; directs the public service commission to promulgate implementing regulations; and requires a periodic review of implementation.
Prohibits public utilities from passing along the cost of site investigation and remediation efforts on to rate payers; requires each public utility with more than seventy-five thousand customers to submit to the public service commission an annual report containing a description of any expenses that may not be included or incorporated in the public utility's operating expenses.
Enacts the "renewable natural gas standard act"; requires the public service commission to establish a program to require that gas corporations procure renewable natural gas from third-parties, including affiliates of the gas corporation, for distribution to natural gas customers.
Enacts the "smart meter transparency and consumer protection act" in relation to requiring utilities to provide certain information about smart meters to customers; authorizes and directs the public service commission, in coordination with an independent third party, to conduct a study on smart meter implementation in New York state.
