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History
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to establishing a procedure for public statement hearings
Summary of provisions
This bill would establish a procedure for utility public statement hearings, provide for notice to consumers of such hearings and require the Public Service Commission to consider evidence 6f economic impact presented at such hearings: 1. Codifies the present PSC requirement of holding Public Statement hearings for each application by a gas corporation, telegraph or telephone corporation for a major change in rates, charges or rentals. 2. Requires the PSC to hold separate day and evening hearings. 3. Requires summary in plain and simple language, of the major issues at public statement hearings. 4. Requires each member of the commission attend at least one public statement hearing in each calendar year. 5. Requires that bill inserts be sent to customers affected by a rate increase request, notifying them of public statement hearings. Inserts would have been sent in regular bills that would reach the customers before the commencement of public statement hearings and require that such inserts state the time and place and date of the hearings, the rate increase request of the utility, the estimated change in the average bill for residential and commercial customers which would result from that rate increase, and a notice that the commission will consider evidence of the customer impact presented at such hearings. 6. Requires the commission to consider customer impact statements presented at public statement hearings.
Justification
The PSC routinely schedules public statement hearings but there is no requirement in statute or regulation for them to do so. These hearings are a valuable opportunity for customers to comment on rate increase proposals and should be required by law. Separate day and evening hearings provide an opportunity for people who work during the day to attend the hearing at night. The requirement for summaries in plain language would give consumers information which would be useful in making public statements. The consumer representative on the Public Service Commission is now the only member who attends public statement hearings. Requiring each member of the commission to attend one public statement hearing would sensitize the commission to the reaction of consumers to rate increase requests. The present PSC regulations require bill inserts to be sent to customers but there is no requirement that these inserts reach the customer before hearings are held. Inserts presently contain notice of hearing but do not give the time, place and date of the hearing or contain the information required by this bill. The improved notice provisions are intended to give consumers adequate notice of hearings and information which will give them an opportunity to make more informed public statements. The spiraling costs of utility services places an increasingly heavy burden on consumers. By requiring the PSC to consider the economic impact of further rate increases, the utility's needs for the requested raise would be weighed against the ability of its customers to obtain affordable service.
Legislative history
03/07/07 REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS 01/09/08 REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.