A bill signed into law on Wednesday is designed to protect New York consumers from surprise price increases to their energy bills.
The bill signed by Governor Kathy Hochul requires energy service companies to obtain the consent of the customer before any material price increases.
The Legislation amends the General Business Law to declare a change in the price or type of price for an energy service to be a “material” change which would require the consent of the customer.
The bill also includes a provision that the energy provider shall disclose information about the current price of services, any proposed price changes, distribution prices, and where the customer may view their past bills if there is to be a material change.
An ESCO is an entity eligible to sell electricity and/or natural gas to customers using the transmission or distribution system of a utility.
Approximately 1.6 million customers, including 900,000 electric and 700,000 gas customers, receive their energy supply from an ESCO, as compared to the more 7.2 million electric customers and approximately 4 million natural gas customers who receive their supply from a traditional utility.
This legislation helps provide additional State Public Service Commission oversight of ESCO supply pricing to protect and educate customers.
There are 154 ESCOs currently operating in New York.
Kind of late for this bill.
It’s nothing more than an election gimmick.
These Democrats are in bed with everyone except the American people