What's happening
This bill requires public hearings and reports after major power outages, to gather feedback and recommend policy changes for affected areas.
Why it matters
Creates formal channels for local governments to request hearings. The bill allows affected counties or cities to formally request public statement hearings after a major outage, ensuring that local voices and specific needs can prompt official review and response.
Defines “major power outage” for accountability. By specifying that any event leaving at least 5% of utility customers without power for 72+ hours qualifies as a major outage, the bill sets clear criteria that trigger oversight, making it harder for utilities to downplay significant disruptions.
Mandates broad public notice and participation. The legislation requires extensive notification—including local governments, legislative leaders, and the public through newspapers and online—helping to ensure that impacted residents are aware of, and able to participate in, the feedback process.
Requires timely official response and transparency. The bill obligates the Public Service Commission to both present outage data and gather public input at hearings, then publish a summary report with policy recommendations within 120 days, increasing transparency and potentially speeding reforms that address systemic weaknesses in grid reliability or emergency response.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Hearings After Blackouts
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8584
IN SENATE
May 10, 2018
Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications
AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to hearings following major power outages
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 66-p to read as follows:
§ 66-p. Hearings. 1. Following any major power outage, the commission shall, within ninety days, schedule at least one public statement hearing in each affected county or in each affected city with a population of one hundred fifty thousand or more or in each affected borough in the city of New York, provided that such hearing has been requested via a formal resolution adopted by the county legislature or board of supervisors in such affected county or by the city council in such affected cities with a population of one hundred fifty thousand or more and that such resolution has been transmitted to the chairperson of the public service commission by electronic or written communication. The affected counties may agree amongst themselves to fewer public statement hearings provided that the location or locations of such hearing or hearings are conveniently located within the geographic area affected by the major power outage and easily accessible for customers. Such an agreement among the affected counties must be transmitted to the chairperson of the commission.
2. "Major power outage" shall be defined as any outage within a utility service territory that leaves five percent or more of customers without power for at least seventy-two consecutive hours following the event that caused the outage.
3. For the purposes of providing notice and soliciting public comments, at least thirty days prior to the public statement hearing or hearings required in subdivision one of this section, the commission shall provide notice or electronic notice: (a) to each county and municipality served by said electric corporation located in the area
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02683-02-8
S. 8584 2
affected by the major power outage; (b) to the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, the chairperson of the senate energy and telecommunications committee, the chairperson of the assembly energy committee, and each member of the state legislature that represents an area where service was affected by the major power outage; (c) by publication once in each week for four successive weeks in a newspaper and on the web site of a newspaper that has general circulation in the geographic area affected by the major power outage located within the service territory of said electric corporation; and (d) by publication on the commission's website.
4. A member or members of the commission or department of public service senior staff, designated by the chairperson of the commission, shall be present in person at the public statement hearings required by subdivision one of this section and shall begin with a presentation on data collected during the recent outage, including information on restoration times in the affected county or city, customer complaints and other data which the commission or its designee may deem appropriate. The commission members or their designees shall then solicit public comment from residential and commercial customers from the affected county or city with a population of one hundred fifty thousand or more or borough in the city of New York. Such testimony shall be limited to:
(a) Customer feedback on their experience during the recent outage, including issues related to power restoration, restoration times and service quality;
(b) Suggestions for changes in commission policy in the affected service territory which, in the customer's view would lead to better service quality;
(c) Communication protocols between a company and customers during an outage and how such protocols may be improved; and
(d) Any additional topics of information that the commission may determine are necessary and appropriate.
5. Within one hundred twenty days of the conclusion of such public statement hearing, the commission shall publish on its website a report summarizing the events of the public statement hearing and any recommended policy changes that it may have initiated. Such report shall also be transmitted to the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chairperson of the senate energy and telecommunications committee, the chairperson of the assembly energy committee, each member of the legislature whose district lies in whole or in part in the affected county, the county executive or administrator and the chairperson of the county legislature or board of supervisors and the mayor of any city with a population of one hundred fifty thousand or more that was the subject of such hearing.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to hearings following major power outages
Purpose
To ensure that customers who have experienced a major power outage have an opportunity to provide direct input to the Public Service Commission and/or their senior staff about their experience via a public statement hearing in the affected area.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends the public service law to require that the commission or its senior staff convene public statement hearings in areas affected by major power outages pursuant to a resolution requesting such hearing by specific local governing bodies, defines a "major power outage", sets forth criteria for advertisement of the hearing, limitations on the nature of the testimony to be provided and provides for reporting requirements.
Section 2: Establishes the effective date
Justification
Natural disasters, severe weather and other circumstances can lead to extended power outages that negatively impact customers. When such outages occur it is important for the Public Service Commission to hear from customers in the affected area directly about their experience during the outage and to assess whether this feedback may warrant chang- es in regulatory policy moving forward. Currently, the Commission provides avenues for public communication in writing and through its various proceedings; however, such opportunities are not well known by the public and also may not be the best avenue to gather public input from residents still recovering from the impacts of a major power outage. This bill sets forth reasonable criteria that the Commission must abide by in order to gamer and consider public input via public statement hearings in affected areas. The information that such hearings may provide will be helpful in informing the state's decisions makers and ensuring that resident's experience and views are taken into consid- eration.
Legislative history
2017: A2173 (Mayer) referred to corporations, authorities and commis- sions 2016: A1868A (Mayer) referred to corporations, authorities and commis- sions 2015: A1868 (Mayer) referred to corporations, authorities and commis- sions 2014: A8583 (Mayer) vetoed
Fiscal implications
Minimal, Commissioners and/or staff may incur de minimis travel expenses and staff time will be required to produce the required reports
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.