The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- New York (State legislature; enforced by the Public Service Commission) · New York
- Level
- State
- Authority
- N.Y. Const. art. III; Public Service Law art. 2; enforced by the Department of Public Service under PSL 25-26
- Issued
- 2020-06-17 June 17, 2020
- Effective
- 2020-06-17 (immediately) (read as 2020-06-17)
- End
- PSL 32(6) moratorium: 'for the duration of the state disaster emergency declared pursuant to executive order two hundred two of two thousand twenty' (the emergency ended June 24, 2021); PSL 32(7) protection: 180 days after the emergency, later capped at December 31, 2021 by ch. 106 of 2021 (Ex. 007) (read as 2021-06-24)
- In force
- June 17, 2020 to June 24, 2021
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Other
- Addressees
- every utility corporation and municipality providing gas, electric or steam service (PSL art. 2); parallel amendments for water-works corporations and telephone corporations (ch. 106 recital)
- Functions reached
- OP collections and termination operations of every gas, electric, steam, water and telephone utility in New York (residential terminations prohibited; 48-hour restoration duty)
- CB customer base (deferred payment agreements without down payment, late fees or penalties)
- OF mandatory bill notices and outreach
- SV field termination and restoration work
- Collection
- State utilities, housing and agriculture agencies AGY-ST-UTILITIES-HOUSING-AG
Operative words
6. No utility corporation or municipality shall terminate or disconnect services to any residential customer for the non-payment of an overdue charge for the duration of the state disaster emergency declared pursuant to executive order two hundred two of two thousand twenty (herein after 'the COVID-19 state of emergency'). Utility corporations and municipalities shall have a duty to restore service, to the extent not already required under this chapter, to any residential customer within forty-eight hours if such service has been terminated during the pendency of the COVID-19 state of emergency. 7. For a period of one hundred eighty days after the COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted or expires, no utility corporation or municipality shall terminate or disconnect the service of a residential customer because of defaulted deferred payment agreements or arrears owed to the utility corporation or municipality when such customer has experienced a change in financial circumstances due to the COVID-19 state of emergency, as defined by the department. The utility corporation or municipality shall provide such residential customer with the right to enter into, or restructure, a deferred payment agreement without the requirement of a down payment, late fees, or penalties, as such is provided for in this article. 8. Every utility corporation or municipality shall provide notice to residential customers... and shall further make reasonable efforts to contact customers who have demonstrated a change in financial circumstances...
Enforcement
PSL 25 (civil penalties for violation of the Public Service Law and Commission orders) and PSL 26; the statute preserves utilities' recovery of 'lost or deferred revenues after the lifting or expiration of the COVID-19 state of emergency' (subd. 9)
Notes
New York's utilities had voluntarily suspended shut-offs from about March 13, 2020 (reported in the Kentucky PSC's order of Mar. 16, 2020, n.13); the statute made the moratorium mandatory from June 17, 2020 and extended it 180 days past the emergency. The New York eviction and foreclosure moratoria are NY-083 to NY-087.
Retrieval noteBill text as passed (S.8113-A); chapter number and signing date (ch. 108, June 17, 2020) from the Senate's bill status page, read.