New York Senate Bill S10316

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

Caption

Requires the results of any outage management system stress test conducted in the state by a utility company to be posted online and such results to be sent to the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and the chairs of the senate and assembly standing committees on energy.

Summary

This bill requires public posting of the results of outage management system stress tests conducted by utilities in New York. It defines those stress tests as tests used to assess a utility’s ability to respond to large-scale weather events or natural disasters that could cause service outages. The bill applies to gas, electric, combination gas-and-electric, and water utilities, as well as the New York Power Authority and its service providers. Under the bill, the Department of Public Service must post the results of covered stress tests on its website as soon as they are available. The Public Service Commission or the relevant authority must also provide an annual report of those results to the Governor, legislative leaders, and the chairs of the Senate and Assembly energy committees. The bill takes effect immediately.

Impact

The bill would amend the Public Service Law and the Public Authorities Law by adding new sections requiring disclosure of utility outage management stress test results. It creates a new transparency and reporting obligation for regulated utilities, municipal utilities, waterworks corporations, and the New York Power Authority, but does not itself change utility operating standards or impose new testing requirements. Its main legal effect is to make existing or future stress-test results publicly accessible and formally reported to state officials.

Sentiment

The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the materials provided. Based on the bill’s structure, it appears to be framed as a transparency and preparedness measure, likely intended to improve public oversight of utility resilience and emergency response planning. The absence of recorded controversy suggests the measure may have been noncontroversial or simply not yet advanced far enough to generate a documented floor debate.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of concern, if raised, could include whether publishing stress-test results might reveal sensitive infrastructure information, the administrative burden on utilities and the Department of Public Service, or whether the reporting requirements are sufficient to improve resilience. However, none of these concerns are attributed to any person or group in the available record.