STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2469 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 17, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RA, DURSO, GANDOLFO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to creating the utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the department of public service The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 2 3-d to read as follows: 3 § 3-d. Utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the 4 department of public service. 1. Definitions. When used in this section: 5 (a) "Office" means the Long Island office of the department of public 6 service. 7 (b) "Commission" means the public service commission. 8 (c) "Residential Long Island utility customer" means any resident of 9 Nassau or Suffolk county who is sold or offered for sale residential 10 utility service by a utility company. 11 (d) "Utility company" means any person or entity operating an agency 12 for public service, including, but not limited to, those persons or 13 entities subject to the jurisdiction, supervision and regulations 14 prescribed by or pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. 15 2. Establishment of the utility consumer advocate of the Long Island 16 office of the department of public service. There is established the 17 utility consumer advocate of the Long Island office of the department of 18 public service to advocate and to represent the interests of residential 19 Long Island utility customers. The consumer advocate shall be appointed 20 by the governor to a term of six years, upon the recommendation of the 21 county executives of Nassau and Suffolk counties and upon the advice and 22 consent of the senate. The utility consumer advocate shall possess know- 23 ledge and experience in matters affecting residential Long Island utili- 24 ty customers and shall be responsible for the direction, control and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05719-01-5
A. 2469 2 1 operation of the office of utility consumer advocate for the office, 2 including its hiring of staff and retention of experts for analysis and 3 testimony in proceedings. The utility consumer advocate shall not be 4 removed for cause but may be removed only after notice and opportunity 5 to be heard, and only for permanent disability, malfeasance, a felony or 6 conduct involving moral turpitude. Exercise of independent judgment in 7 advocating positions on behalf of residential Long Island utility 8 customers shall not constitute cause for removal of the utility consumer 9 advocate. 10 3. Powers of the utility consumer advocate for the Long Island office 11 of the department of public service. The utility consumer advocate for 12 the office shall have the power and duty to: 13 (a) initiate, intervene in or participate on behalf of residential 14 Long Island utility customers in any proceedings before the commission, 15 the federal energy regulatory commission, the federal communications 16 commission, federal, state and local administrative and regulatory agen- 17 cies and state and federal courts in any matter or proceeding that may 18 substantially affect the interests of residential Long Island utility 19 customers, including, but not limited to, a proposed change of rates, 20 charges, terms and conditions of service, and the adoption of rules, 21 regulations, guidelines, orders, standards or final policy decisions 22 where the utility consumer advocate deems such initiation, intervention 23 or participation to be necessary or appropriate; 24 (b) represent the interests of residential Long Island utility custom- 25 ers before federal, state and local administrative and regulatory agen- 26 cies engaged in the regulation of energy, telecommunications, water and 27 other utility services, and before state and federal courts in actions 28 and proceedings to review the actions of utilities or orders of utility 29 regulatory agencies. Any action or proceeding brought by the utility 30 consumer advocate before a court or an agency shall be brought in the 31 name of the utility consumer advocate for the office. The utility 32 consumer advocate may join with a residential Long Island utility 33 customer or group of residential Long Island utility customers in bring- 34 ing an action; 35 (i) in addition to any other authority conferred upon the utility 36 consumer advocate, such utility consumer advocate is authorized, and it 37 shall be such utility consumer advocate's duty to represent the inter- 38 ests of residential Long Island utility customers as a party, or other- 39 wise participate for the purpose of representing the interests of such 40 customers before any agencies or courts. Such utility consumer advocate 41 may initiate proceedings if in such utility consumer advocate's judgment 42 doing so may be necessary in connection with any matter involving the 43 actions or regulation of public utility companies whether on appeal or 44 otherwise initiated. The utility consumer advocate may monitor all cases 45 before regulatory agencies in the United States, including the federal 46 communications commission and the federal energy regulatory commission 47 that affect the interests of residential Long Island utility customers 48 and may formally participate in those proceedings which in such utility 49 consumer advocate's judgment warrants such participation. 50 (ii) the utility consumer advocate shall exercise such utility consum- 51 er advocate's independent discretion in determining the interests of 52 residential Long Island utility customers that will be advocated in any 53 proceeding, and determining whether to participate in or initiate any 54 proceeding and, in so determining, shall consider the public interest, 55 the resources available, and the substantiality of the effect of the 56 proceeding on the interest of residential Long Island utility customers;
A. 2469 3 1 (c) request and receive from any state or local authority, agency, 2 department or division of the state or political subdivision such 3 assistance, personnel, information, books, records, other documentation 4 and cooperation necessary to perform such utility consumer advocate's 5 duties; 6 (d) enter into cooperative agreements with other government offices to 7 efficiently carry out such utility consumer advocate's work; 8 (e) review and make recommendations to the office with respect to the 9 rates and charges, including charges related to energy efficiency and 10 renewable energy programs; 11 (f) annually review the emergency response plan of the Long Island 12 power authority and any related service provider and make recommenda- 13 tions to the authority with respect to the performance of the service 14 provider in restoring service or otherwise meeting the requirements of 15 the emergency response plan during an emergency event, defined for 16 purposes of this section as an event where widespread outages have 17 occurred in the authority's service territory due to a storm or other 18 causes beyond the control of the authority and the service provider, 19 including making determinations with respect to whether the service 20 provider is reasonably able to implement the emergency response plan, 21 whether the length of any outages related to such emergency were mate- 22 rially longer than they would otherwise have been because the service 23 provider failed to reasonably implement the emergency response plan, the 24 reasonableness of costs associated with such emergency response, the 25 costs, if any, that were unreasonably and imprudently incurred by the 26 service provider and whether the service provider would be liable for 27 any such costs pursuant to the terms and conditions of the operations 28 services agreement; 29 (g) review the annual capital expenditures proposed by the service 30 provider and recommend such improvement in the manufacture, conveying, 31 transportation, distribution or supply of electricity, or in the methods 32 employed by the service provider as in the utility consumer advocate's 33 judgment allows for safe and adequate service; and 34 (h) the purpose of the utility consumer advocate's oversight is to 35 make recommendations designed to ensure that the Long Island power 36 authority, the office and the service provider provide safe and adequate 37 transmission and distribution service at rates set at the lowest level 38 consistent with sound fiscal operating practices and ensure safe emer- 39 gency response planning. 40 4. Reports. On December first, two thousand twenty-seven and annually 41 thereafter, the utility consumer advocate for the office shall issue a 42 report to the governor and the legislature, and make such report avail- 43 able to the public free of charge on a publicly available website, 44 containing, but not limited to, the following information: 45 (a) all proceedings that the utility consumer advocate for the office 46 participated in and the outcome of such proceedings, to the extent of 47 such outcome and if not confidential; 48 (b) estimated savings to residential utility consumers that resulted 49 from intervention by the utility consumer advocate for the office; and 50 (c) policy recommendations, including emergency response planning, and 51 suggested statutory amendments that the utility consumer advocate for 52 the office deems necessary. 53 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding 54 the date on which it shall have become a law.