2019 New York Laws
PBS - Public Service
Article 2 - Residential Gas, Electric and Steam Utility Service
42 - Other Charges.

§ 42. Other  charges.  1.  A  utility  corporation or municipality may
impose late payment charges not in excess of one  and  one-half  percent
per  month  on  the  unpaid  balance  of any bill including any interest
thereon. Any such late payment charge, however, may not  be  imposed  if
the  bill  is  the  subject  of  a pending complaint with the utility or
municipality  provided,  however,  that  such  charge  may  be   imposed
retroactively  if  the  complaint  is  finally  resolved in favor of the
utility or municipality.
  2. Except as provided in subdivision one of this section,  no  utility
corporation  or  municipality may charge any residential customer a late
payment charge, penalty, fee, interest, or other charge of any kind  for
any  late  payment, collection effort, service disconnection or deferred
payment agreement occasioned by the customer's failure to pay timely for
gas or electric service.
  3.  The  rights  and   responsibilities   of   residential   customers
participating  in green jobs-green New York on-bill recovery pursuant to
section sixty-six-m of this chapter shall be substantially comparable to
those of  electric  and  gas  customers  not  participating  in  on-bill
recovery,  and  charges for on-bill recovery shall be treated as charges
for utility service for the purpose of this article, provided that:
  (a) all determinations and safeguards related to the  termination  and
reconnection  of  service shall apply to on-bill recovery charges billed
by a utility pursuant to such section;
  (b) in the event that the responsibility for making  utility  payments
has been assumed by occupants of a multiple dwelling pursuant to section
thirty-three  of  this  article or by occupants of a two-family dwelling
pursuant to section thirty-four of this article,  such  occupants  shall
not  be  billed  for  any  arrears  of  on-bill  recovery charges or any
prospective  on-bill  recovery   charges,   which   shall   remain   the
responsibility of the incurring customer;
  (c)  deferred  payment  agreements pursuant to section thirty-seven of
this article shall be available to customers  participating  in  on-bill
recovery  on  the  same  terms as other customers, and the utility shall
retain the same discretion to defer termination of service  as  for  any
other delinquent customer;
  (d)  where  a  customer has a budget billing plan or levelized payment
plan pursuant to section thirty-eight of this article, the utility shall
recalculate the payments  under  such  plan  to  reflect  the  projected
effects  of installing energy efficiency measures as soon as practicable
after receipt of information on the energy audit  and  qualified  energy
efficiency services selected;
  (e) on-bill recovery charges shall not be subject to the provisions of
section forty-one of this article;
  (f)  late  payment charges on unpaid on-bill recovery charges shall be
determined as provided in this section, or as otherwise consented to  by
the  customer  in  the  agreement  for green jobs-green New York on-bill
recovery and any such charges shall be remitted to the  New  York  state
energy research and development authority;
  (g)  notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  section forty-three of this
article, when a complaint is related solely to work performed under  the
green  jobs-green  New  York  program  or  to  the appropriate amount of
on-bill recovery charges, the utility shall only be required  to  inform
the  customer of the complaint handling procedures of the New York state
energy  research  and  development   authority,   which   shall   retain
responsibility  for  handling such complaints, and such complaints shall
not be deemed to be  complaints  about  utility  service  in  any  other
commission action or proceeding; and
  (h)  billing  information  provided  pursuant to section forty-four of
this article shall include information  on  green  jobs-green  New  York
on-bill  recovery charges, including the basis for such charges, and any
information or inserts provided by the New York  state  energy  research
and  development  authority  related  thereto.  In  addition,  at  least
annually the authority shall provide the utility  with  information  for
inclusion or insertion in the customer's bill that sets forth the amount
and  duration  of remaining on-bill recovery charges and the authority's
contact information and procedures  for  resolving  customer  complaints
with such charges.