N.Y. Public Service Law § 66-f: Purchase and procurement of natural gas at lowest available price

§ 66-f. Purchase and procurement of natural gas at lowest available

price. 1. The commission shall have the authority to direct any gas

corporation subject to the jurisdiction of the commission to purchase or

procure natural gas at the lowest available price as determined by the

commission.

2. A gas corporation shall be required to purchase supplies of natural

gas whenever a natural gas producer provides the gas corporation with at

least six months prior notice of the availability of such gas, and the

delivered cost of such gas is equal to or less than the highest

delivered cost of natural gas produced outside the state which the gas

corporation would otherwise purchase or acquire, adjusted to reflect

substantive differences, if any, in the terms and conditions applicable

to the sale of such gas over the period of availability of the natural

gas; provided, however, that no gas corporation shall be required to

purchase natural gas where it can demonstrate such purchase would have

an adverse impact upon its ratepayers, which cannot be reasonably

mitigated.

3. A gas corporation shall respond to a notice of availability of

supplies of natural gas at a specified delivered cost provided by a

producer of such gas within one month of the receipt of such notice,

and, if it indicates its intent not to purchase such supplies, shall

provide in detail its reasons therefor. A natural gas producer may

petition the public service commission, within fifteen days of the

receipt of a gas corporation's response, to order such gas corporation

to comply with subdivision one of this section. Such petition shall

contain sufficient information to demonstrate the petitioner's ability

to provide the supplies of natural gas offered for sale to the gas

corporation. A copy of such petition shall also be served upon such gas

corporation. Within twenty-one days of the receipt of such a petition, a

gas corporation shall file such information as is necessary to

demonstrate that the purchase of natural gas during the period of

availability at the specified delivered cost of such gas would have an

adverse impact upon its ratepayers. The petitioner and others shall have

the opportunity to comment upon the filing by the gas corporation within

twenty-one days of such filing. The commission shall take final action

on any such petition within forty days after the date upon which the

petitioner's comments are due. The commission may require a gas

corporation to purchase all or a portion of the supplies of natural gas

offered by the petitioner during the period of availability at the

specified delivered cost, or at such other cost as will not result in an

adverse impact upon such gas corporation's ratepayers. Nothing in this

section shall require a producer of natural gas to sell such gas to a

gas corporation at a cost other than that specified in its notice of

availability.