NY Pub Serv L § 79 (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBS - Public Service Article 4-A - Provisions Relating to Steam Corporations; Regulating Price of Steam. 79 - Adequate Service; Just and Reasonable Charges; Unjust Discrimination and Unreasonable Preference.

§ 79. Adequate   service;   just   and   reasonable   charges;  unjust discrimination and unreasonable preference. 1. Every  steam  corporation shall furnish and provide such service, instrumentalities and facilities as  shall  be safe and adequate and in all respects just and reasonable. All charges made or demanded by any such corporation  for  such  service rendered  or  to  be  rendered shall be just and reasonable and not more than allowed by order of the commission.  Every unjust  or  unreasonable charge  made or demanded for such service, or in connection therewith or in excess of that allowed by law or by the commission is prohibited.   2. No such corporation shall directly or  indirectly  by  any  special rate,  rebate,  drawback  or  other  device  or  method, charge, demand, collect or receive from any person or  corporation  a  greater  or  less compensation  for  such  service  rendered  or  to  be  rendered  or  in connection therewith, except as authorized  in  this  chapter,  than  it charges,  demands,  collects  or  receives  from  any  other  person  or corporation for doing a like and contemporaneous  service  with  respect thereto  under  the  same  or  substantially  similar  circumstances  or conditions.   3. No such corporation shall make or grant any undue  or  unreasonable preference  or  advantage  to any person, corporation or locality, or to any particular description of service  in  any  respect  whatsoever,  or subject any particular person, corporation or locality or any particular description  of  service  to  any  undue  or  unreasonable  prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever.   4. Nothing in this  chapter  shall  be  taken  to  prohibit  any  such corporation from establishing a sliding scale for a fixed period for the automatic adjustment of charges for such service or any service rendered or  to  be rendered and the dividends to be paid to stockholders of such corporation, provided that the sliding scale shall first have been filed with and approved by the commission; but  nothing  in  this  subdivision shall  operate  to  prevent  the commission after the expiration of such fixed period from fixing proper, just and reasonable rates  and  charges to be made for services as authorized in this article.   5. (a) Every steam corporation furnishing service may initiate a civil action  to  collect  a  civil  penalty against a user of non-residential service in accordance with this subdivision.  Upon  a  showing  in  such action  that a user of non-residential service has knowingly accepted or received the use and benefit of such service which  has  been  prevented from  being  properly  registered  by  a  meter  provided  therefor, the corporation may be granted a civil penalty, in addition to the value  of the unpaid service, in an amount which the court in its discretion shall deem  to  be  just  and reasonable, which in no event shall be more than three times the retail value of the steam service accepted or  received. In  any  action  under  this  subdivision,  proof  that a meter has been intentionally prevented from properly registering steam service shall be prima facie proof that the user of non-residential service  who  accepts or  receives  the  use  and  benefit  of  such  service has done so with knowledge of the condition so existing, if the steam  corporation  shall first   present  evidence  that  such  person  took  possession  of  the benefitted premises and used the service prior to the  creation  of  the condition.  (b)  For  the  purposes of this subdivision, a user of non-residential service shall be a person  benefitting  from  such  service  who  is  in possession of the premises to which the service is delivered.  (c)  Any civil penalty recovered pursuant to this section in excess of the actual damages sustained by the  corporation  shall  be  taken  into account  by  the  public service commission in establishing future steam rates.