N.Y. PBS Law § 5 — New York Code / Act PBS / Article 1 / Section 5
Jurisdiction, powers and duties of public service commission
Status: in_force

§ 5. Jurisdiction, powers and duties of public service commission. 1.\nThe jurisdiction, supervision, powers and duties of the public service\ncommission shall extend under this chapter:\n  b. To the manufacture, conveying, transportation, sale or distribution\nof gas (natural or manufactured or mixture of both) and electricity for\nlight, heat or power, to gas plants and to electric plants and to the\npersons or corporations owning, leasing or operating the same.\n  c. To the manufacture, holding, distribution, transmission, sale or\nfurnishing of steam for heat or power, to steam plants and to the\npersons or corporations owning, leasing or operating the same.\n  d. To every telephone line which lies wholly within the state and that\npart within the state of New York of every telephone line which lies\npartly within and partly without the state and to the persons or\ncorporations owning, leasing or operating any such telephone line.\n  e. To every telegraph line which lies wholly within the state and that\npart within the state of New York of every telegraph line which lies\npartly within and partly without the state and to the persons or\ncorporations owning, leasing or operating any such telegraph line.\n  f. To the furnishing or distribution of water for domestic, commercial\nor public uses and to water systems and to the persons or corporations\nowning, leasing or operating the same.\n  g. To every stock yard within the state and to the stock yard company\nowning, leasing or operating the same, to the same extent and in respect\nto the same objects and purposes as such jurisdiction extends, under\nthis chapter, to depots, freight houses and shipping stations of a\ncommon carrier, including the duty of such stock yard company to submit\nreports and be subjected to investigation as if it were a common\ncarrier, and the powers and duties of such commission to fix charges and\nmake and enforce orders relating to adequate service by such company.\n  h. A corporation or person owning or holding a majority of the stock\nof a common carrier, gas corporation or electrical corporation subject\nto the jurisdiction of the public service commission shall be subject to\nthe supervision of the public service commission in respect of the\nrelations between such common carrier, gas corporation or electrical\ncorporation and such owners or holders of a majority of the stock\nthereof in so far as such relations arise from or by reason of such\nownership or holding of stock thereof or the receipt or holding of any\nmoney or property thereof or from or by reason of any contract between\nthem; and in respect of such relations shall in like manner and to the\nsame extent as such common carrier, gas corporation or electrical\ncorporation be subject to examination of accounts, records and\nmemoranda, and shall furnish such reports and information as the public\nservice commission shall from time to time direct and require, and shall\nbe subject to like penalties for default therein.\n  i. To thermal energy provided by gas corporations, electric\ncorporations, or combination gas and electric corporations.\n  2. The commission shall encourage all persons and corporations subject\nto its jurisdiction to formulate and carry out long-range programs,\nindividually or cooperatively, for the performance of their public\nservice responsibilities with economy, efficiency, and care for the\npublic safety, the preservation of environmental values and the\nconservation of natural resources.\n  3. Application of the provisions of this chapter to one-way paging or\ntwo-way mobile radio telephone service with the exception of such\nservices provided by means of cellular radio communication is suspended\nunless the commission, no sooner than one year after the effective date\nof this subdivision, makes a determination, after notice and hearing,\nthat regulation of such services should be reinstituted to the extent\nfound necessary to protect the public interest because of a lack of\neffective competition.\n  4. Upon finding that it is in the public interest to do so, the\ncommission may exempt from any or all of the provisions of this chapter,\nfor such period of time as it deems appropriate, an association of\nhomeowners owning and operating any water plant or water-works and\ndistributing water only to customers having an interest and voice in its\noperation.\n  5. The commission shall develop a plan to maximize the use of\ntelecommuting to conserve energy otherwise used by the personnel of the\ndepartment in commuting to their assigned workplace. Within one year of\nthe effective date of this subdivision, the commission shall submit a\nreport to the governor and the legislature on the impact of such plan to\ninclude, but not be limited to, energy conservation, air quality,\nworkforce acceptance, office costs and potential cost savings.\n  6. a. Application of the provisions of this chapter to cellular\ntelephone services is suspended unless the commission, no sooner than\none year after the effective date of this subdivision, makes a\ndetermination, after notice and hearing, that suspension of the\napplication of the provisions of this chapter shall cease to the extent\nfound necessary to protect the public interest.\n  b. For the purpose of determining whether a cellular provider is\nsubject to taxation under section one hundred eighty-six-a of the tax\nlaw on a gross income or gross operating income basis, during a period\nof suspension prescribed pursuant to this section, the tax status of\nsuch provider shall be determined on the day previous to the day such\nsuspension commenced and such status shall continue during the period of\nsuch suspension.\n  c. Notwithstanding paragraph a of this subdivision, the commission may\ndesignate any commercial mobile radio or cellular telephone service\nproviders as an eligible telecommunications carrier for purposes of\nproviding lifeline service, in addition to any commercial mobile radio\nor cellular telephone service providers designated as such pursuant to\n47 U.S.C. § 214(e) and 47 U.S.C. § 214(e)(2), without requiring any such\nprovider to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity\npursuant to section ninety-nine of this chapter. The commission is\nauthorized and directed to promulgate all rules and regulations\nnecessary to implement the provisions of this paragraph, and to\nestablish standards and safeguards for approval as an eligible\ntelecommunications carrier for purposes of providing lifeline service.\nSuch standards and safeguards shall include, but not be limited to, the\nprovider's managerial, financial and technical capability and expertise,\nincluding whether the provider has forfeited eligible telecommunications\ncarrier designation in another state or been subject to the imposition\nof substantial monetary penalties by the federal communications\ncommission or another state. Upon adoption by the commission, such\nstandards and safeguards shall apply to new applicants, and shall not\napply to previously approved providers or affiliated entities of such\nproviders with common financial, managerial and technical capability and\nexpertise.\n