N.Y. PBS Law § 2 — New York Code / Act PBS / Article 1 / Section 2
Definitions
Status: in_force

§ 2. Definitions. 1. The term "department" when used in this chapter,\nmeans the department of public service, and the term "commission," means\nthe public service commission.\n  2. The term "commissioner," when used in this chapter, means one of\nthe members of the public service commission.\n  2-a. The term "co-generation facility", when used in this chapter,\nincludes any facility with an electric generating capacity of up to\neighty megawatts, and including any facility with an electric generating\ncapacity of up to one hundred twenty megawatts located at a project site\nwithin an air terminal operated by the port authority of New York and\nNew Jersey and wholly contained within a city having a population of one\nmillion or more, which produces electricity and useful thermal energy\nsolely for sale to the port authority of New York and New Jersey, for\nuse at the airport, for sale to an electric utility, and/or for sale to\nthe power authority of the state of New York, together with any related\nfacilities located at the same project site, which is fueled by coal,\ngas, wood, alcohol, solid waste refuse-derived fuel, water or oil, to\nthe extent any such oil fueled facility was fueled by oil prior to the\neffective date of this subdivision and there is no increase in the\namount of oil used at the facility or to the extent oil is used as a\nbackup fuel for such facility, and which simultaneously or sequentially\nproduces either electricity or shaft horsepower and useful thermal\nenergy which is used solely for industrial and/or commercial purposes.\n  2-b. The term "alternate energy production facility," when used in\nthis chapter, includes any solar, wind turbine, fuel cell, fuel-flexible\nlinear generator electric generating equipment, tidal, wave energy,\nwaste management resource recovery, refuse-derived fuel, wood burning\nfacility, or energy storage device utilizing batteries, flow batteries,\nflywheels or compressed air, together with any related facilities\nlocated at the same project site, with an electric generating capacity\nof up to eighty megawatts, which produces electricity, gas or useful\nthermal energy.\n  2-c. The term "small hydro facility", when used in this chapter,\nincludes any hydroelectric facility, together with any related\nfacilities located at the same project site, with an electric generating\ncapacity of up to eighty megawatts.\n  2-d. The term "related facilities" shall mean any land, work, system,\nbuilding, improvement, instrumentality or thing necessary or convenient\nto the construction, completion or operation of any co-generation,\nalternate energy production or small hydro facility and include also\nsuch transmission or distribution facilities as may be necessary to\nconduct electricity, gas or useful thermal energy to users located at or\nnear a project site.\n  3. The term "corporation," when used in this chapter, includes a\ncorporation, company, association and joint-stock association other than\na corporation, company, association or joint stock association\ngenerating electricity, shaft horsepower, useful thermal energy or gas\nsolely from one or more co-generation, small hydro or alternate energy\nproduction facilities or distributing electricity, shaft horsepower,\nuseful thermal energy or gas solely from one or more of such facilities\nto users located at or near a project site.\n  4. The word "person," when used in this chapter, includes an\nindividual, firm or co-partnership other than an individual, firm or\nco-partnership generating electricity, shaft horsepower, useful thermal\nenergy or gas solely from one or more co-generation, small hydro or\nalternate energy production facilities or distributing electricity,\nshaft horsepower, useful thermal energy or gas solely from one or more\nof such facilities to users located at or near a project site; provided,\nhowever, that an individual, firm or co-partnership generating or\ndistributing electricity or gas solely from one or more co-generation,\nsmall hydro or alternate energy production facilities shall nevertheless\nbe considered a person for purposes of commission jurisdiction under\narticle seven of this chapter.\n  10. The term "gas plant," when used in this chapter, includes all real\nestate, fixtures and personal property operated, owned, used or to be\nused for or in connection with or to facilitate the manufacture,\nconveying, transportation, distribution, sale or furnishing of gas\n(natural or manufactured or mixture of both) for light, heat or power,\nbut does not include property used solely for or in connection with the\nbusiness of selling, distributing or furnishing of gas in enclosed\ncontainers.\n  11. The term "gas corporation," when used in this chapter, includes\nevery corporation, company, association, joint-stock association,\npartnership and person, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed\nby any court whatsoever, owning, operating or managing any gas plant or\nthermal energy network (a) except where gas is made or produced and\ndistributed by the maker on or through private property solely for its\nown use or the use of its tenants and not for sale to others, (b) except\nwhere compressed natural gas is sold, distributed or furnished solely as\na fuel for use in motor vehicles, (c) except where manufactured gas is\nsold by the producer only for use or resale by a gas corporation and\nsuch gas of the producer and any affiliated producers does not exceed in\nany one year thirty per cent of the total gas sold by any purchaser\nthereof in the area in which such manufactured gas is resold either as\nmanufactured gas or as a component of mixed gas, and (d) except where\ngas is made or produced solely from one or more alternate energy\nproduction facilities or distributed solely from one or more of such\nfacilities to users located at or near a project site; provided,\nhowever, that any producer not included within the meaning of "gas\ncorporation" by reason of exception (c) or (d) shall nevertheless be\nconsidered a gas corporation for the purposes of commission jurisdiction\nrelating to the safety of the construction, operation, or maintenance of\nplants manufacturing pipeline quality gas.\n  12. The term "electric plant," when used in this chapter, includes all\nreal estate, fixtures and personal property operated, owned, used or to\nbe used for or in connection with or to facilitate the generation,\ntransmission, distribution, sale or furnishing of electricity for light,\nheat or power; and any conduits, ducts or other devices, materials,\napparatus or property for containing, holding or carrying conductors\nused or to be used for the transmission of electricity for light, heat\nor power, and also includes retired nuclear power reactors and their\nassociated systems, structures, fuel and waste storage facilities, real\nestate, fixtures and personal property.\n  13. The term "electric corporation," when used in this chapter,\nincludes every corporation, company, association, joint-stock\nassociation, partnership and person, their lessees, trustees or\nreceivers appointed by any court whatsoever (other than a railroad or\nstreet railroad corporation generating electricity solely for railroad\nor street railroad purposes or for the use of its tenants and not for\nsale to others) owning, operating or managing any electric plant or\nthermal energy network except where electricity or thermal energy is\ngenerated or distributed by the producer solely on or through private\nproperty for railroad or street railroad purposes or for its own use or\nthe use of its tenants and not for sale to others; or except where\nelectricity is generated by the producer solely from one or more\nco-generation, small hydro or alternate energy production facilities or\ndistributed solely from one or more of such facilities to users located\nat or near a project site.\n  14. The term "combination gas and electric corporation," when used in\nsections twenty-five-a, sixty-five and sixty-six of this chapter,\nincludes any gas corporation operating in New York under common\nownership with an electric corporation operating in New York or any\nelectric corporation operating in New York under common ownership with a\ngas corporation operating in New York, or any successor of either such\ncorporation; provided, however, that such term shall not include\nmunicipally-owned utilities, and shall not include any generating\nfacilities owned or operated by either such corporation or any common\nowner thereof, or any subsidiary of such common owner.\n  16. The term "municipality", when used in this chapter, includes a\ncity, village, town or lighting district, organized as provided by a\ngeneral or special act, provided, however, that the counties of Nassau,\nRockland, Suffolk and Westchester shall each be deemed a "municipality"\nand consents issued by each such county pursuant to the transportation\ncorporations law and the county government law of Nassau county, local\nlaw adopted by the county legislature of Rockland county, the Suffolk\ncounty charter and the Westchester county charter respectively shall be\ndeemed "consents of local authorities" for the purpose of applying every\nprovision of this chapter applicable to consents of local authorities;\nand provided further that no county, city, village, town or lighting\ndistrict shall be deemed a municipality with respect to any\nco-generation, small hydro or alternate energy production facility owned\nby one of the above from which electricity, useful thermal energy or gas\nis generated or produced or distributed from one or more of such\nfacilities to users located at or near a project site.\n  17. The term "telephone corporation," when used in this chapter,\nincludes every corporation, company, association, joint-stock\nassociation, partnership and person, their lessees, trustees or\nreceivers appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating or\nmanaging any telephone line or part of telephone line used in the\nconduct of the business of affording telephonic communication for hire;\nexcepting, however, any corporation, company, association, joint-stock\nassociation, partnership or person, their lessees, trustees or\nreceivers, who or which do not operate the business of affording\ntelephonic communication for profit.\n  18. The term "telephone line," when used in this chapter, includes\nconduits, ducts, poles, wires, cables, cross-arms, receivers,\ntransmitters, instruments, machines, appliances and all devices, real\nestate, easements, apparatus, property and routes used, operated or\nowned by any telephone corporation to facilitate the business of\naffording telephonic communication up to and including the demarcation\npoint located on a subscriber's premises.\n  19. The term "telegraph corporation," when used in this chapter,\nincludes every corporation, company, association, joint-stock\nassociation, partnership and person, their lessees, trustees or\nreceivers, appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating or\nmanaging any telegraph line or part of telegraph line used in the\nconduct of the business of affording for hire communication by\ntelegraph.\n  20. The term "telegraph line," when used in this chapter, includes\nconduits, ducts, poles, wires, cables, cross-arms, instruments,\nmachines, appliances and all devices, real estate, easements, apparatus,\nproperty and routes used, operated or owned by any telegraph corporation\nto facilitate the business of affording communication by telegraph.\n  21. The term "steam plant," when used in this chapter, includes all\nreal estate, fixtures and personal property operated, owned, used or to\nbe used for or in connection with or to facilitate the generation,\ntransmission, distribution, sale or furnishing of steam for heat or\npower.\n  22. The term "steam corporation," when used in this chapter, includes\nevery corporation, company, association, joint stock association,\npartnership and person, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed\nby any court whatsoever owning, operating or managing any steam plant,\n(a) except where steam is made or produced and distributed by the maker,\non or through private property solely for the maker's own use or the use\nof the maker's tenant and not for sale to others, (b) except where steam\nis made or produced by the maker solely from one or more co-generation\nor alternate energy production facilities or distributed soley from one\nor more of such facilities to users located at or near a project site or\n(c) except where steam is made or produced and distributed solely for\nthe use of its members by a non-profit cooperative corporation organized\nunder the cooperative corporations law.\n  22-a. The term "telecommuting", when used in this chapter, shall mean\nthe conservation of energy through the reduction of travel by employees\nof the department to and from their designated workplace through the use\nof telecommunication and computer technology in tasks including, but not\nlimited to, information transfer and processing.\n  23. The term "utility company" or "public utility company" is used to\navoid repetitions in a provision applying to one or more persons or\ncorporations operating an agency or agencies for public service, and who\nor which is or are subject to the jurisdiction, supervision and\nregulations prescribed by or pursuant to provisions of this chapter\nother than article 11; such term being so used only as a general term\ndescriptive of such a person or corporation.\n  24. The term "utility corporation" or "public utility corporation" is\nan incorporated utility company.\n  25. The term "stock yard," when used in this chapter, includes all\nreal estate, fixtures and personal property owned, used or to be used in\nconnection with the business of affording facilities for the shipment of\nlive stock and for the care thereof for such purpose prior to the time\nthat transportation begins; and the term "stock yard company" includes\nevery corporation, association, joint stock association, partnership and\nperson, their lessees, trustees or receivers appointed by any court\nwhatsoever, operating or managing a stock yard.\n  26. The term "water system" when used in this chapter includes all\nreal estate, attachments, fixtures, impounded water, water-works, water\nplant, water rights and personal property, and all property either real,\npersonal or mixed, owned, operated, used or to be used for or in\nconnection with or to facilitate the distribution, sale or furnishing of\nwater for domestic, commercial or public uses, but does not include\nproperty used solely for or in connection with the business of bottling\nor selling, distributing or furnishing bottled water.\n  27. The term "water-works corporation", when used in this chapter\nincludes every corporation, company, association, joint stock\nassociation, partnership and person, their lessees, trustees or\nreceivers, appointed by any court whatsoever, owning, operating or\nmanaging any water plant or water-works, except where water is\ndistributed solely on or through private property solely for the use of\nthe distributor or its tenants and not for sale to others.\n  28. "Thermal energy," when used in this chapter, shall mean piped\nnon-combustible fluids used for transferring heat into and out of\nbuildings for the purpose of eliminating any resultant on-site\ngreenhouse gas emissions of all types of heating and cooling processes,\nincluding, but not limited to, comfort heating and cooling, domestic hot\nwater, and refrigeration.\n  29. "Thermal energy network," when used in this chapter, shall mean\nall real estate, fixtures and personal property operated, owned, used or\nto be used for or in connection with or to facilitate a utility-scale\ndistribution infrastructure project that supplies thermal energy.\n