New York Senate Bill S02301

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/16/25
• Refer: 1/16/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Increases civil penalties on certain combination gas and electric corporations that fail to comply with the public service law.

Summary

This bill amends the Public Service Law to substantially increase civil penalties for public utility companies, corporations, and related officers, agents, and employees that knowingly fail to comply with the law or with orders issued under the law. For general violations under section 25, the maximum penalty would rise from $100,000 to $2 million. For certain specified violations, the bill raises penalty caps from $250,000 to $5 million and from $500,000 to $10 million, while preserving the rule that continuing violations can be treated as separate offenses in some cases. The bill also amends section 25-a, which applies to combination gas and electric corporations found by the Public Service Commission to have failed to reasonably comply with the Public Service Law, regulations, or commission orders. Under that section, the maximum penalty would increase from $100,000 or a small percentage of annual intrastate gross operating revenue to $2 million or a higher percentage-based amount, and related offense-specific penalties would rise to $5 million and $10 million, depending on the violation category. The measure takes effect immediately and is aimed at strengthening enforcement against utility noncompliance.

Impact

The bill would directly amend sections 25 and 25-a of the Public Service Law, increasing the financial exposure of regulated utilities and associated individuals for violations of statutory or regulatory obligations and commission orders. It would give the state and the Public Service Commission much larger civil penalty tools, especially for combination gas and electric corporations, and would likely affect enforcement negotiations, compliance incentives, and utility risk management across the state.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee discussion or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to be framed as a strong enforcement measure with a punitive/compliance-focused purpose. The sponsor’s approach suggests concern that existing penalties are too low to deter utility misconduct, and the overall tone of the proposal is assertive rather than incremental. No contrary sentiment is documented in the supplied record.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the magnitude of the penalty increases and whether they are proportionate to the violations at issue. Utilities and industry stakeholders would likely argue that the proposed caps are excessively high and could create uncertainty or over-penalize technical or isolated noncompliance, while supporters would likely contend that larger penalties are necessary to ensure compliance and protect consumers. The bill also preserves different treatment for continuing violations in some provisions but not others, which could raise questions about consistency in enforcement.