N.Y. Public Service Law § 65: Safe and adequate service; just and reasonable charges; unjust discrimination; unreasonable preference; protection of privacy

§ 65. Safe and adequate service; just and reasonable charges; unjust

discrimination; unreasonable preference; protection of privacy. 1. Every

gas corporation, every electric corporation and every municipality shall

furnish and provide such service, instrumentalities and facilities as

shall be safe and adequate and in all respects just and reasonable. All

charges made or demanded by any such gas corporation, electric

corporation or municipality for gas, electricity or any service rendered

or to be rendered, shall be just and reasonable and not more than

allowed by law or by order of the commission. Every unjust or

unreasonable charge made or demanded for gas, electricity or any such

service, or in connection therewith, or in excess of that allowed by law

or by the order of the commission is prohibited.

2. No gas corporation, electric corporation or municipality shall

directly or indirectly, by any special rate, rebate, drawback or other

device or method, charge, demand, collect or receive from any person or

corporation a greater or less compensation for gas or electricity or for

any service rendered or to be rendered or in connection therewith,

except as authorized in this chapter, than it charges, demands, collects

or receives from any other person or corporation for doing a like and

contemporaneous service with respect thereto under the same or

substantially similar circumstances or conditions.

3. No gas corporation, electric corporation or municipality shall make

or grant any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any

person, corporation or locality, or to any particular description of

service in any respect whatsoever, or subject any particular person,

corporation or locality or any particular description of service to any

undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect

whatsoever.

4. Nothing in this chapter shall be taken to prohibit a gas

corporation or electric corporation from establishing a sliding scale

for a fixed period for the automatic adjustment or charges for gas,

electricity or any service rendered or to be rendered and the dividends

to be paid to stockholders of such gas corporation or electric

corporation, provided that the sliding scale shall first have been filed

with and approved by the commission; but nothing in this subdivision

shall operate to prevent the commission after the expiration of such

fixed period from fixing proper, just and reasonable rates and charges

to be made for service as authorized in this article.

5. Nothing in this chapter shall be taken to prohibit a gas

corporation or electrical corporation from establishing classifications

of service based upon the quantity used, the time when used, the purpose

for which used, the duration of use or upon any other reasonable

consideration, and providing schedules of just and reasonable graduated

rates applicable thereto. No such classification, schedule, rate or

charge shall be lawful unless it shall be filed with and approved by the

commission, and every such classification, rate or charge shall be

subject to change, alteration and modification by the commission.

6. Service charges prohibited. Every gas corporation shall charge for

gas supplied a fair and reasonable price. No such corporation shall make

or impose an additional charge or fee for service or for the

installation of apparatus or the use of apparatus installed, except that

a charge may be made:

(a) where entry, inspection or examination as authorized by

subdivision nine of this section is denied;

(b) for reconnecting the service to a person or corporation if the

service to such person or corporation was disconnected, in accordance

with applicable legal requirements, for non-payment of bills for

service;

(b-1) for expenses reasonably incurred as determined by the commission

in cases of meter tampering and theft of service. Such expenses shall

include, but not be limited to, the cost of investigating, repairing and

replacing meters and pipes, and the cost of moving a meter and

installing it in a secure location;

(c) for a remote meter reading device upon the request and consent of

the customer;

(d) for installation of capital improvements and fixtures to promote

energy efficiency upon the request and consent of the customer,

including but not limited to the performance of qualified energy

efficiency services for customers participating in green jobs-green New

York on-bill recovery pursuant to section sixty-six-m of this article;

or

(e) for the provision of thermal energy service.

7. No gas corporation or electric corporation shall sell or offer for

sale any list of names of its customers.

8. Inspection of transmission pipelines conveying natural gas. Every

gas corporation transmitting natural gas under permits or franchises

permitting the laying or maintaining of pipelines conveying natural gas

shall conduct a leak detection inspection using leak detection equipment

or employing a visual inspection of such transmission pipelines annually

or more frequently when ordered by the commission. A written report of

every such inspection shall be made available to the commission.

9. Buildings may be entered for the examination of meters, pipes,

fittings, wires and works. (a) Any officer or agent of any gas

corporation, electric corporation or municipality for that purpose duly

appointed and authorized by the corporation, upon exhibiting a

photo-identification badge and a written authority signed by the

president or vice-president and secretary or assistant secretary of the

corporation, or by the mayor or clerk of a municipal corporation or by

the chairman and secretary of a municipal board in control of a public

utility, may enter, at all reasonable times, any store, building, room

or place supplied with gas, electricity or water by such utility

corporation or municipality for the purpose of inspecting and examining

the meters, pipes, fittings, wires and works for supplying or regulating

the supply of gas or electricity and of ascertaining the quantity of gas

or electricity supplied.

(b) If any person, at any time, directly or indirectly, shall prevent

or hinder any such officer or agent from so entering any such premises,

or from making any such inspection or examination at any reasonable

time, he or she shall forfeit to the corporation or municipality one

hundred dollars for every such offense.

10. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any case where

electric corporations are permitted incremental seasonal differentials

in rates or charges, such differentials shall not be imposed in any

month upon any residential customer for the first two hundred fifty

kilowatt hours used by such customer in such month; provided, however,

that the commission may promulgate rules to permit the imposition of

such seasonal differentials where a customer requests a special rate

that may include a seasonal differential or where service is to be

provided to a residential customer for a temporary period not to exceed

six months.

(b) In any case where an electric corporation is permitted incremental

seasonal differentials in rates or charges, such corporation shall, on

or before such differential rates commence, inform any customer subject

to such differential as to the commencement and termination dates of

such differential rates and permit such customer to read his own meter

on such dates and forward the readings thereon to the corporation.

11. Civil actions. (a) Every gas corporation, electric corporation or

municipality furnishing utility service may initiate a civil action to

collect a civil penalty against a user of non-residential service in

accordance with this subdivision. Upon a showing in such action that a

user of non-residential service has knowingly accepted or received the

use and benefit of gas or electric service which has been prevented from

being properly registered by a meter provided therefor, the utility may

be granted a civil penalty, in addition to the value of the unpaid

service, in an amount which the court in its discretion shall deem to be

just and reasonable, which in no event shall be more than three times

the retail value of the gas or electric service accepted or received. In

any action under this subdivision, proof that a meter has been

intentionally prevented from properly registering gas or electric

service shall be prima facie proof that the user of non-residential

service who accepts or receives the use and benefit of such service has

done so with knowledge of the condition so existing, if the gas

corporation, electric corporation or municipality shall first present

evidence that such person took possession of the benefitted premises and

used the gas or electric service prior to the creation of the condition.

(b) For the purposes of this subdivision, a user of non-residential

service shall be a person benefitting from such service who is in

possession of the premises to which the service is delivered.

(c) Any civil penalty recovered pursuant to this section in excess of

the actual damages sustained by the utility shall be taken into account

by the public service commission in establishing future utility rates.

12. An electric corporation shall send annually to each residence it

serves a form that may be used to notify the corporation that a person

living in the residence uses a life support system. For the purposes of

this subdivision, life support systems shall include, but not be limited

to, hemodialysis equipment, respirators and apnea monitors. An electric

corporation shall maintain a current list of customers who use such life

support systems and include the list in such electric corporation's

system emergency plans.

13. (a) Every gas corporation or electric corporation furnishing

utility services shall provide the following call center customer

assistance receiving inquiries by phone or in writing on: customer

financial responsibility; receiving requests to initiate or terminate

service; receiving requests for emergency services; shared metering;

determining deposit required or billing rate; receiving meter and

service orders and access to meter requests; explaining company rates,

regulations, policies, procedures, and common practices; initiating

trouble order forms and high bill investigations; inbound and/or

outbound handling of payment and other credit arrangements such as

obtaining deposits, financial statements and payment plans; collection

assistance inquiries and referring customers to social service agencies

and other assistance programs. This paragraph shall not apply to

communications between departments to resolve a customer inquiry. For

purposes of this section, "collection assistance inquiries" shall not

include calls or activities related to the collection of debts that are

referred to third-party collection agencies or those involving the

direct pursuit of financial recovery on delinquent accounts.

(b) No gas or electric corporation shall close a call center or other

facility providing the customer assistance set forth in paragraph (a) of

this subdivision or send such customer assistance outside such gas or

electric corporation's New York state service territory or outside of

New York state without notice, a hearing and approval before the

commission. Upon receipt of the notice required pursuant to this

paragraph, the commission shall provide notice of the proceeding to

interested parties and the public; and shall promptly fix a date for the

commencement of a public hearing thereon not less than sixty days after

such receipt. The testimony presented at such hearing may be presented

in writing or orally, provided that the commission may make rules

designed to exclude repetitive, redundant or irrelevant testimony while

giving all interested parties the opportunity to present their

documentary and/or testimonial evidence. The commission shall make a

record of all testimony in all contested hearings. For purposes of this

section "public hearing" means a public forum at a physical location,

attended by commission members or their designees, where oral testimony

is accepted and written testimony may be submitted for inclusion in the

record. Such forum shall be open to parties to the proceeding and the

general public for the presentation of comments that shall be limited to

relevant facts directly related to the proceeding in question. Such

hearing shall be commenced upon proper notice to the parties to the

proceeding and the public at least thirty days prior to the scheduled

date. It shall be permissible for a gas or electric corporation to send

customer assistance requests outside of such corporation's New York

state service territory or outside of New York state in the following

circumstances: (i) when a call center or customer assistance facility is

unable to adequately respond to customer assistance requests due to

natural disaster, cyber attack, temporary loss of internet or phone

connection or power, a state or local declared emergency that impacts

the ability of a call center to manage customer assistance requests, or

customer call volume that exceeds the capacity of the call center given

normal staffing levels; (ii) for the purpose of workforce training; or

(iii) to initiate work flexibility policies that allow call center

employees to work from an approved alternative worksite other than a

call center location provided, however, before a gas or electric

corporation can establish policies for any call center employees that

are represented by a bona fide labor organization through a collective

bargaining agreement, such policies must have been mutually agreed to by

the corporation and the labor organization. Such work flexibility

policies shall not be considered a violation of this section. Any

transfer of customer assistance requests outside of New York state or

outside of the corporation's New York state service territory pursuant

to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be temporary and only for

the duration of the emergency situation. A corporation must notify the

commission of any transfers within ten business days following an

exemption claimed pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph. For

the purposes of this paragraph, "New York state service territory" shall

be understood to refer to the designated geographic area served by the

gas or electric corporation in accordance with its legal service

obligations. The relocation of customer assistance calls to any of the

corporation's call centers within New York state in existence prior to

the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand

twenty-five that amended this paragraph, regardless of the specific

service territory, shall not be considered a violation of this

paragraph.

(c) This subdivision shall not apply to the collection of debt where

by utility company policy such debt is directed to a collection agency

or similar service companies.

(d) Every public utility under this subdivision shall provide the

commission an affidavit, annually, that no call centers or other

facilities providing customer assistance set forth in paragraph (a) of

this subdivision have been closed without notice and hearing before the

commission and that the utility has not relocated such customer

assistance to another area of New York state or outside of New York

state without notice and hearing before the commission. The affidavit

shall be submitted in such form and at such times and shall contain

information as the commission, by rule or regulation, may prescribe.

14. In conjunction with a management and operations audit undertaken

pursuant to subdivision nineteen of section sixty-six of this article or

upon its own motion, the commission shall review the capability,

including but not limited to, the capability to implement emergency

response plans and restoration, of each electric corporation to provide

safe, adequate, and reliable service. Upon good cause shown, and after a

hearing in accordance with the commission's rules and regulations, the

commission may direct such corporation to comply with additional and

more stringent terms and conditions of service than existed prior to the

commencement of the management and operations audit, and may, in

addition, assess the continued operation of such corporation as the

provider of electric service in its service territory and propose, and

act upon, such measures as are necessary to ensure safe and adequate

service; provided, however, that nothing in this subdivision limits the

commission's authority to undertake the actions set forth pursuant to

section twenty-four, twenty-five or twenty-five-a of this chapter.

15. The chief executive officer of each combination gas and electric

corporation shall certify to the commission on or before March fifteenth

of each year that such corporation has internal controls, policies and

procedures designed to ensure compliance with the requirements of this

chapter and any rules, regulations, orders and procedures adopted

thereto, including the obligation that such corporation provide safe and

adequate service.

16. Unauthorized changes in natural gas or electric service

prohibited. (a) No supplier of gas or electric service or any person,

firm or corporation acting as such supplier's agent or representative

shall on behalf of a customer make or direct any change in a supplier of

gas or electric service unless such supplier, agent or representative

complies with requirements to authorize and verify the change. The

commission shall have the authority to establish requirements for

obtaining the authorization of a customer to effect a change in the

customer's supplier of gas or electric service and for the verification

of such change. In construing and enforcing the provisions of this

subdivision, the act of any person, firm or corporation acting as an

agent or representative of a supplier of gas or electric service shall

be deemed to be the act of such supplier of gas or electric service. For

the purposes of this subdivision, "supplier of gas or electric service"

shall include any person, firm or corporation that offers, sells or

delivers all or part of natural gas or electric service, including, but

not limited to, a gas or electric distribution company, a gas or

electric corporation, a gas or electricity provider, marketer,

aggregator or broker.

(b) The failure to comply with the provisions in this subdivision

shall subject a supplier of gas or electric service to either the

judicial penalty authorized in section twenty-five of this chapter for

the failure or neglect to obey or comply with a provision of this

chapter or the administrative penalty established in this subdivision.

In seeking such judicial penalty or assessing such administrative

penalty, the commission shall take into account the nature,

circumstances, extent, gravity and number of the violations, and with

respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior

offenses and repeated violations, and such other matters as may be

appropriate and relevant. The remedies provided by this subdivision

shall be in addition to any other remedies provided by law.

(c) The commission, after opportunity for a hearing, shall have the

authority to assess directly an administrative penalty against any

supplier of gas or electric service for each violation of this

subdivision or order of the commission implementing or enforcing the

provisions of this subdivision. Such penalty shall not exceed one

thousand dollars for each violation associated with each meter service

point. All moneys recovered from any administrative penalty shall be

paid into the state treasury to the credit of the general fund.

(d) Whenever the commission determines that any supplier of gas or

electric service is violating or about to violate any provision of this

subdivision or any regulation or order of the commission implementing or

enforcing the provisions of this subdivision, or has failed to pay any

penalty assessed pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision, the

commissioner shall have power to bring an action or enforcement

proceeding as provided by section twenty-six of this chapter.