N.Y. Public Service Law § 67-b: Excelsior power program

§ 67-b. Excelsior power program. 1. As used in this section, the

following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Customer" means a residential recipient of retail electric or gas

service from an electric corporation, gas corporation, or combination

gas and electric corporation.

(b) "Smart thermostat" means an electronic device that has the

capability to be accessed and controlled remotely and also directly

regulates heating and/or cooling appliances located within a dwelling to

maintain a thermostatic range.

(c) "Utility" means an electric corporation, a gas corporation, or

combination electric and gas corporation as such terms are defined in

section two of this chapter and shall not include municipalities.

(d) "Program" means the Excelsior power program designed to reduce

peak energy demand established by this section.

(e) "Customer information" means the personal information and data of

customers.

2. (a) The commission shall establish a program, developed and

administered by the department, to reduce peak energy demand through the

remote operation of voluntarily customer enrolled smart thermostats or

other smart devices that reduce peak energy demand.

(b) Following the establishment of the program, the department shall,

subject to appropriation, disburse available funds to utilities

participating in the program for the purpose of providing bill credits

to customers that have enrolled in the program.

(c) One year after the establishment of the program and annually

thereafter, for as long as the program remains active, the department

shall prepare a public report on the functioning, efficiency and

usefulness of the program in reducing peak energy demand, which shall

include enrollment information, information on curtailment events, and

potential recommendations to improve the program.

(d) The department shall require that the program include:

(i) a mechanism for customers to override the smart thermostat during

extreme heat or cold events. No assessment of a fee, charge, or penalty

to a customer or their account may be levied for overriding the smart

thermostat during these or other demand response events, except that,

any bill credits that are associated with a customer's involvement in

the program, may be discounted in a manner to be determined by the

commission that reflects the customer's limited involvement in the

program; and

(ii) criteria pertaining to the length of temperature adjustments,

including taking account of the limited nature of demand response

events.

(e) The utility or the commission may authorize a review, analysis, or

audit of a utility's implementation of the program.

3. (a) Customer participation in the program shall be voluntary.

Customer enrollment in the program shall occur through the utility from

which the customer receives service.

(b) No utility shall enroll a customer in the program without the

customer's affirmative consent, which shall be confirmed via written

consent that shall be maintained by the utility for seven years

following the customer's disenrollment in the program. Customer

enrollment shall occur only via an opt-in process, and the utility shall

inform customers of their rights and protections under the program.

(c) A customer may disenroll from the program in a manner prescribed

by the commission, provided that customers shall be offered a method of

disenrollment no less convenient than the method of enrollment. No

assessment of a fee, charge, or penalty to the customer or their account

may be levied for disenrollment, except that, upon such disenrollment,

any potential bill credits that may have been associated with a

customer's enrollment in the program, shall cease, provided that any

credits earned but not yet applied to the customer's bill as of the date

of disenrollment shall be applied to the customer's next bill.

4. (a) Customer information related to the program shall be treated as

confidential information.

(b) Utilities shall only collect customer information to the extent

necessary to effectively administer the program. Utilities shall take

all reasonable steps to maintain the confidentiality of customer

information related to the program. Utilities shall not sell, lend,

lease, share, exchange or provide such customer information to third

parties, except pursuant to a lawful subpoena or warrant or as otherwise

required by law. Utilities shall safely store and safely encrypt

customer information related to the program to protect against

unauthorized use or access. Utilities shall also dispose of, destroy, or

delete customer information at the end of the provision of services and

upon disenrollment, except as necessary to comply with this section, any

applicable New York state or federal law or rule or regulation.

(c) Utilities shall take all reasonable steps to protect against

unauthorized use or access of customers' smart thermostats or other

malicious acts by third parties.

(d) The department shall consider additional cybersecurity

protections, and shall establish such protections if the department

deems them necessary or appropriate to safeguard customer information

and customer smart thermostats.

(e) Utilities shall make available customer information to the

department upon request, provided such customer information continues to

be treated as confidential information in a manner no less protective

than as required by this subdivision, and such customer information is

only requested and used for purposes of implementing and enforcing the

program.

5. In the development of the program, the commission shall require

inclusion of:

(a) customer education requirements, such as examples of when a

utility may modify the settings of an enrolled smart thermostat, the

minimum and maximum range of temperature adjustments, and the

availability of other energy efficiency and affordability programs; and

(b) residential customer outreach efforts, methods to provide advance

notice to enrolled customers of potential curtailment events such as

forecasted high energy demand events or extreme weather events,

identification of smart thermostats eligible to participate in the

program, and actions to engage non-residential, commercial, or

industrial customers in energy demand reduction efforts before adjusting

participating residential customers' energy load.