2023 New York Laws › PBS - Public Service › Article 1 - The Department of Public Service › 18-A - Costs and Expenses of the Commission and Department and the Assessment of Such Costs and Expenses.

§ 18-a. Costs  and  expenses  of the commission and department and the
assessment of such costs and expenses. 1. All costs and expenses of  the
department and commission shall be paid pursuant to appropriation on the
certification  of  the chairman of the department and upon the audit and
warrant of the comptroller.  The  state  treasury  shall  be  reimbursed
therefore  by  payments  to  be  made  thereto from all moneys collected
pursuant to this chapter. The total of such costs and expenses shall  be
borne  by  the  public  utility companies (including for the purposes of
this section municipalities other  than  municipalities  as  defined  in
section  eighty-nine-l  of  this  chapter),  corporations (including the
power authority of the state of New York), and persons  subject  to  the
commission's  regulation,  to  be  assessed  in  the  manner provided in
subdivisions two, three and four of this section and section two hundred
seventeen of this chapter.
1-a.  All  costs  and  expenses  of  the  department  related  to  the
department's  responsibilities  under  section  three-b  of this chapter
shall be paid pursuant to appropriation  on  the  certification  of  the
chairman  of  the  department  and  upon  the  audit  and warrant of the
comptroller. For the state fiscal year beginning  on  April  first,  two
thousand fourteen and each state fiscal year thereafter, payments are to
be  made  from all moneys collected from the Long Island power authority
pursuant to this section. The total of such costs and expenses shall  be
assessed  on  such authority in the manner provided in subdivisions two,
three and four of this section.
2. (a) The chairman of the department  shall  estimate  prior  to  the
start  of each state fiscal year the total costs and expenses, including
the compensation and expenses of  the  commission  and  the  department,
their  officers,  agents  and  employees,  and  including  the  cost  of
retirement contributions, social security, health and dental  insurance,
survivor's  benefits,  workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and
other fringe benefits required to be paid by the state for the personnel
of the commission and the department, and including all other  items  of
maintenance  and  operation  expenses, and all other direct and indirect
costs. Based on such estimates, the chairman shall determine the  amount
to  be  paid by each assessed public utility company and the Long Island
power authority and a bill shall be rendered to each such public utility
company and authority.
(b) The bill for each public utility company and the Long Island power
authority shall be rendered on or before February first  preceding  each
fiscal  year,  and  shall  be for the amount equal to the product of the
aforesaid estimated costs and expenses of  conducting  the  department's
and  commission's  total  operations  during  the  fiscal year for which
billing is being made multiplied by the proportion which compares:
(1) the gross operating revenues, over and above five hundred thousand
dollars,  for  that  utility  company  or  the  authority  derived  from
intrastate  utility  operations  in the last preceding calendar year, or
other twelve month period as determined by the chairman, to:
(2) the total of the gross operating revenues, derived from intrastate
utility operations for all utility companies and the  authority  in  the
state  which  revenues  are  included  under  subparagraph  one  of this
paragraph.
For the purposes of calculating the commodity cost  component  of  its
gross operating revenue, where the utility delivers to end-use customers
electricity  and/or  natural  gas  commodities  that  are  sold  to such
customers by a third party, such utility shall include in  its  revenues
an  estimate  of  the  sales revenue for the electric and/or natural gas
commodities that it delivers, including all  such  commodities  sold  to
end-use customers by third parties, in such manner as to assure that all

end-use  delivery  customers,  regardless  of the entity from which they
purchase their electric and/or natural gas commodities, bear a fair  and
proportionate  share of the assessment imposed herein, as the commission
may determine.
(c)  The  minimum  assessment  for any utility company, as well as the
Long Island  power  authority,  whose  gross  revenues  from  intrastate
utility operations are in excess of five hundred thousand dollars in the
preceding calendar year shall be two hundred dollars.
(d)  The  amount  of  such bill for fiscal years beginning on or after
April first, nineteen hundred eighty-three so rendered shall be paid  by
such  public  utility company and such authority to the department on or
before April first; provided, however, that any such utility company  or
such  authority  may  elect  to make partial payments for such costs and
expenses on March tenth of the preceding fiscal year  and  on  September
tenth  of  such  fiscal  year.  Each such partial payment shall be a sum
equal to fifty percentum of the estimate of costs  and  expenses  to  be
assessed  against such utility company or authority under the provisions
of this subdivision and shall not be less than two hundred dollars.
(e) During the course of any  state  fiscal  year,  the  chairman  may
increase  or  decrease the estimate of costs and expenses. In such case,
revised bills shall be sent to each  public  utility  company  and  such
authority,  and  such  increase or decrease shall be equally apportioned
against the remaining payments for such fiscal year.
(f) On or before October  tenth  of  each  year,  the  chairman  shall
compute  the  actual  costs  and  expenses  of  the  department  and the
commission and adjustments  or  other  corrections  as  needed  for  the
preceding  state  fiscal year and, after deducting the amounts recovered
pursuant to subdivisions three and four of this section,  shall,  on  or
before October twentieth, send to each public utility company and/or the
authority  affected thereby a statement setting forth the amount due and
payable by, or the amount standing to the credit of, such public utility
company and/or the authority. Any amount owing  by  any  public  utility
company  and/or  the  authority shall be paid not later than thirty days
following the date such statement is received. Any such amount  standing
to  the  credit  of  any public utility company shall be refunded by the
commission or, at the option of such utility company, shall  be  applied
as a credit against any succeeding payment due.
(g)  The  total  amount  which  may  be  charged to any public utility
company and the Long Island power  authority  under  authority  of  this
subdivision for any state fiscal year shall not exceed one per centum of
such  public  utility  company's or authority's gross operating revenues
derived  from  intrastate  utility  operations  in  the  last  preceding
calendar  year,  or  other  twelve  month  period  as  determined by the
chairman; provided, however, that  no  corporation  or  person  that  is
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  commission only with respect to
safety, or the power authority of  the  state  of  New  York,  shall  be
subject to the general assessment provided for under this subdivision.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section, for
telephone  corporations  as  defined in subdivision seventeen of section
two of this  article,  the  total  amount  which  may  be  charged  such
corporations  for department expenses under the authority of subdivision
one of this section for any state fiscal year shall not exceed one-third
of one percentum of such corporation's gross operating revenue, over and
above five hundred thousand dollars,  derived  from  intrastate  utility
operations  in  the  last preceding calendar year, or other twelve month
period as determined by the chairman.
(h) On-bill recovery charges billed pursuant to section sixty-six-m of
this chapter shall be excluded from any  determination  of  an  entity's

gross  operating revenues derived from intrastate utility operations for
purposes of this section.
3.  In the case of corporations or persons subject to the jurisdiction
of the commission only with respect  to  safety,  the  chairman  of  the
department  shall ascertain from time to time, but not less than once in
each fiscal year, all direct and indirect costs of investigating (a) the
safety of the pipelines conveying gas at  pressures  in  excess  of  one
hundred  twenty-five  pounds  per  square inch gauge or conveying liquid
petroleum products of such corporations or persons and (b) the safety of
any gas plant of corporations manufacturing  pipeline  quality  gas  and
subject  to  the  safety jurisdiction of the commission by virtue of the
proviso to exception (b) of subdivision eleven of section  two  of  this
chapter.  The  chairman  shall  for each investigation assess such costs
against such corporations or persons whose pipelines or plants have been
investigated. Bills for such an investigation may be rendered from  time
to  time  but  not less than once in each fiscal year, and the amount of
such bills shall be paid by the appropriate corporation or person to the
department within thirty days from the  date  of  rendition.  The  total
amount  which  may be charged to any corporation or person for any state
fiscal year as the cost of investigating the safety of  pipelines  shall
not exceed one hundred dollars times the sum of the products obtained by
multiplying  the  mileage  (to the nearest tenth) of each section of any
such pipeline in the state in use at the end of the  preceding  calendar
year  by  its nominal diameter in feet (to the nearest tenth). The total
amount which may be charged to any pipeline  quality  gas  manufacturing
company  for  any  state  fiscal  year as the costs of investigating the
safety of the plant of such company shall not exceed  one-third  of  one
per centum of the estimate of the average annual gross revenues from the
sales  of  manufactured  gas  over  a  three-year period of operation or
anticipated operation, as determined by the chairman, of  such  pipeline
quality gas manufacturing company.
* 4.  In the case of the power authority of the state of New York, the
chairperson of the department shall ascertain from time to time, but not
less than once in each fiscal year, all direct  and  indirect  costs  of
investigating  requests  by the power authority of the state of New York
to establish new,  major  electric  transmission  facilities  and  major
renewable   energy  facilities  or  to  establish  new,  major  electric
generating facilities. The chairperson shall for each such investigation
assess such costs against the power authority of the state of New  York.
Bills  for  such an investigation may be rendered from time to time, but
not less than once in each fiscal year, and the  amount  of  such  bills
shall  be  paid  by  the power authority of the state of New York to the
department within thirty days from the date of rendition.
* NB Effective until December 31, 2040
* 4. In the case of the power authority of the state of New York,  the
chairman  of  the  department shall ascertain from time to time, but not
less than once in each fiscal year, all direct  and  indirect  costs  of
investigating  requests  by the power authority of the state of New York
to establish new, major utility transmission facilities  as  defined  in
article  seven of this chapter or to establish new, major steam electric
generating facilities as defined in article eight of this  chapter.  The
chairman shall for each such investigation assess such costs against the
power   authority   of  the  state  of  New  York.  Bills  for  such  an
investigation may be rendered from time to time, but not less than  once
in  each  fiscal year, and the amount of such bills shall be paid by the
power authority of the state of New York to the department within thirty
days from the date of rendition.
* NB Effective December 31, 2040
4-a. In the case of research, development  and  demonstration  of  new
energy   technologies,  the  director  of  the  budget  may  enter  into
contracts, subject to the availability of appropriations, with  the  New
York  state  energy  research and development authority for the costs of
such  research, development and demonstration beyond such amounts as may
be available to the New  York  state  energy  research  and  development
authority  for  such purposes from bonds, grants or other sources. On or
before February first preceding each fiscal year, the  chairman  of  the
authority  shall estimate and transmit to the chairman of the department
of public service the total costs of authority research, development and
demonstration projected to be authorized by contracts with the  director
of the budget for such fiscal year. The chairman of the department shall
apportion  the  costs of such research, development and demonstration in
accordance with  the  billing  procedures  of  this  section  among  gas
corporations and electric corporations as defined in section two of this
chapter.   Such   apportionment  shall  be  excluded  from  the  general
assessment provided for under subdivision two of this section. The total
amount which  may  be  charged  to  any  gas  corporation  and  electric
corporation for any state fiscal year shall be .6 cents per one thousand
cubic  feet for gas sold and .006 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity
sold by such corporations in their  intrastate  utility  operations  the
last preceding calendar year.
4-b.  In  the  case  of research, development and demonstration of new
energy  technologies,  the  director  of  the  budget  may  enter   into
contracts,  subject  to the availability of appropriations, with the New
York state energy research and development authority for  the  costs  of
such  research, development and demonstration beyond such amounts as may
be available to the New  York  state  energy  research  and  development
authority  for  such  purposes  from  bonds,  grants  or  other sources,
including the power authority of the state of New York. Not  later  than
November  first  preceding  each  fiscal  year,  the energy research and
development authority and the power authority of the state of  New  York
shall  agree  as to a specific level of financial support to be provided
by the power authority of the state of New York for the energy  research
and    development   authority's   energy   research   development   and
demonstration activities for such fiscal year. Such level  of  financial
support  shall be incorporated in the annual budget request submitted by
the energy research and development authority and shall be reflected  as
an  offset  to  recommended appropriations for research, development and
demonstration of new energy technologies; provided,  however,  that  the
sum  of such recommended appropriations and such offset shall not exceed
twelve million dollars. One hundred per centum  of  the  costs  of  such
research,  development  and  demonstration  not  supplemented  by bonds,
grants or other sources, not to exceed nine million six hundred thousand
dollars, shall be apportioned in accordance with the billing  procedures
of  this  section,  provided, that such costs shall be apportioned among
gas corporations and electric corporations as defined in section two  of
this  chapter and shall be excluded from the general assessment provided
for under subdivision two of this section. The total amount which may be
charged to any gas corporation and electric corporation  for  any  state
fiscal  year  shall be .6 cents per one thousand cubic feet for gas sold
and  .006  cents  per  kilowatt  hour  of  electricity  sold   by   such
corporations  in  their intrastate utility operations the last preceding
calendar year.
5. On demand made within thirty days of  the  rendition  of  any  bill
pursuant to subdivision two, three or four of this section, the party so
charged  shall  be  afforded an opportunity to be heard as to the amount
thereof. Any amounts of such bills not paid within thirty days from  the

date of determination upon such hearings, or, if none shall be demanded,
on  the  date  upon  which such payment is due, shall bear interest at a
rate to be prescribed by regulation of the commission. Such  rate  shall
be  not  less  than  six  percentum  per annum nor more than the rate of
interest prescribed by the superintendent of financial services pursuant
to the provisions of section fourteen-a of the banking law in effect  on
the  day immediately preceeding the date on which the provisions of this
subdivision as amended become effective, but if the commission  has  not
set  such  rate,  interest  at  six percentum per annum shall apply. Any
interest rate set by the commission shall become effective not less than
sixty days after such rate is promulgated.