New York Senate Bill S02477

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

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

Caption

Relates to utility intervenor reimbursement to a participant for its reasonable costs of participation in any proceeding before the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Summary

This bill creates a utility intervenor reimbursement program for certain participants in proceedings before the Public Service Commission. It authorizes compensation for reasonable attorneys’ fees, expert witness fees, and other participation costs for groups or nonprofit organizations that represent residential or small business utility customers and that make a substantial contribution to a covered proceeding. The bill also allows participants facing significant financial hardship to seek payment in advance, subject to department review and potential repayment if participation ends without approval. The measure applies to specified PSC proceedings involving gas and electric rates, steam rates, submetering, remetering, resale of electricity to residential premises, and any other proceeding where the commission finds reimbursement is in the public interest. It defines key terms such as participant, small business, significant financial hardship, and substantial contribution, and requires itemized expense records, notice to other parties, and department approval of awards. It also establishes a new utility intervenor account in the state finance law to receive reimbursement monies paid by utilities and then disbursed to approved participants.

Impact

The bill would amend the Public Service Law to add a new section governing utility intervenor reimbursement and amend the State Finance Law to create the utility intervenor account. In practice, it would shift some of the cost of public-interest participation in PSC proceedings from consumer advocates and nonprofit groups to the utilities involved in those proceedings, with payments routed through the state. It would also give the Department authority to determine eligibility, set compensation amounts, require joint applications for similar interests, and deny awards for delay or obstruction.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the overall sentiment appears supportive of expanding access for consumer and small-business advocates in utility proceedings. The bill is framed as a mechanism to help under-resourced participants meaningfully engage in complex regulatory cases, especially where expert analysis is needed. No contrary positions are documented in the provided materials, but the structure of the bill suggests an effort to balance that access with administrative controls and limits on compensation.

Contention

The main points of potential contention are who should pay for intervenor participation, which parties qualify for reimbursement, and how broad the program should be. Utilities may object to being required to fund advocates opposing them, while consumer advocates are likely to support the measure as a way to level the playing field in PSC cases. There may also be debate over the Department’s discretion to determine “substantial contribution,” the cap tied to market rates, the hardship-based advance payment provision, and the requirement that similarly situated participants apply jointly.