New York Assembly Bill A02604

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/21/25
• Refer: 1/21/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Provides a reimbursement to small businesses and residential consumers of certain utilities for failure to provide contracted services; requires the Long Island power authority to do the same.

Summary

This bill would require certain utilities and utility-related public authorities in New York to provide a bill discount or reimbursement to residential customers and qualifying small businesses when contracted service is not restored for at least 48 hours after an outage caused by equipment failure, weather, a natural disaster, or another disruption. The covered entities include gas, electric, gas-and-electric, water, and steam corporations, as well as municipalities providing equivalent utility services. The same requirement would also apply to the Long Island Power Authority and similar service providers under the Public Authorities Law. The Department of Public Service and the relevant authority board would be required to adopt rules within 180 days to determine how reimbursements are calculated and applied. The reimbursement would be credited against monthly charges rather than paid out separately. The bill defines a small business as a New York-based, independently owned and operated business that is not dominant in its field and employs 50 or fewer people. It also states that any costs created by the measure may not be passed on to ratepayers.

Impact

The bill would add new consumer-protection provisions to the Public Service Law and the Public Authorities Law, creating a statutory right to reimbursement for prolonged utility service interruptions. It would affect utility companies, municipal utilities, and public authorities by imposing a mandatory discount obligation and requiring regulatory implementation rules. Residential customers and small businesses would gain a clearer remedy for extended outages, while utilities would face new compliance and billing requirements.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the limited context provided, the measure appears consumer- and small-business-oriented, with an emphasis on fairness during prolonged outages. The sponsorship pattern suggests some bipartisan interest, since the bill was introduced by members from different political affiliations. No committee debate or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented opposition or support beyond the bill’s stated purpose.

Contention

The main policy issue is who should bear the cost of the reimbursement. The bill expressly says the cost cannot be passed on to ratepayers, which suggests concern about protecting customers from indirect rate increases, but it also raises questions about whether utilities, authorities, or other funding sources would absorb the expense. Another potential point of contention is the 48-hour threshold and whether it is an appropriate trigger for compensation after outages caused by storms or other emergencies. Utilities may also object to the administrative burden of calculating and applying credits across different service types and providers.