BILL NUMBER: S98A Revised 05/28/25
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to building make-
ready electrical infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles
for public serving fleet vehicles
 
PURPOSE:
This legislation amends the Public Service Law to direct electric utili-
ties to construct or otherwise bear costs of certain infrastructure
needed to serve electric vehicle charging systems.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Adds Section 66-x to the Public Service Law to: Establish
legislative, intent and set forth definitions of included terms.
Require electric corporations to establish revised tariffs to provide
for more uniform deployment of equipment ("make-ready infrastructure")
needed to connect electric vehicle charging stations to the electric
grid. The tariffs shall authorize the electric corporations to cover
1000 of prudent utility-side make-ready costs, and between 50% to 100%,
of prudent customer-side make-ready costs, based on whether the customer
is located in a disadvantaged community zone or operates a public-serv-
ing fleet; and to recover such costs through surcharge or base rates
instead of directly from the customer served. Electric corporations
shall take reasonable efforts to ensure that any infrastructure built
pursuant to this section is efficiently sized and operated, such as by
considering customers' reasonably-foreseeable load management activities
or distributed energy resource deployments.
Establish a public notice and comment period for the proposed tariffs.
Section 2 is the effective date, which is immediate.
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION:
The revisions would narrow the scope of S.98 to provide make-ready
support only for public-serving fleets (i.e., school buses, public tran-
sit, and government-owned or -contracted vehicles). Many such entities
are subject to binding decarbonization/electrification requirements.
Absent make-ready support through a utility program, the costs of make-
ready for these entities would ultimately be passed through to the
public through taxes, fares, etc. The revisions also include utility
customer protections, minor corrections, and clarifications.
By excluding non-public-serving fleets from guaranteed make-ready
support, the revisions would lower the short-term costs attributable to
the bill.
Utility make-ready support for electrifying fleets ultimately puts down-
ward pressure on rates, to the benefit of all utility customers; howev-
er, such rate effects can take time to materialize, and the changes are
sensitive to immediate-term affordability concerns.
The revisions would not prohibit the PSC from separately authorizing
make-ready support for non-public-serving fleets, including programs
that are currently underway.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York has set rigorous goals - such as the Climate Leadership and
Community Protection Act of 2019 (CLCPA), Advanced Clean Trucks and
Advanced Clean Cars II rules, and the Zero Emissions Vehicles sales
targets - to predominantly electrify its transportation sector by 2050,
with significant target deadlines rapidly approaching. Significant
expansions of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including both
utility-side grid facilities and customer-side charging equipment, will
be required to meet these targets.
Burdensome utility make-ready policies impede this infrastructure
deployment. "Make-ready" refers to (i) utility-side equipment that
connects the customer to the grid, and (ii) customer-side equipment that
connects the utility meter to the charging stations themselves. Make-
ready can comprise 30% or more of a fleet's upfront charging costs. This
poses a significant financial hurdle, particularly for public-serving
fleets (such as transit agencies) and fleets serving disadvantaged
communities. Moreover, New York's electric utilities each have different
tariff rules and policies governing the allocation of make-ready costs,
which adds complexity for fleets operating in multiple utility service
territories.
This legislation addresses this obstacle by establishing a uniform cost
allocation for make-ready infrastructure. It requires electric utilities
to cover 100% of prudent utility-side make-ready costs, as well as a
portion of prudent customer-side make-ready costs, and at least 50% for
other single- or multi-family, and fleet locations. Utilities would
recover these costs through rates instead of directly from the charging
customer.
In addition to supporting charging customers and New York's electrifica-
tion goals, this policy is also projected to benefit utility ratepayers
by helping new electric loads come online more quickly, which expedites
corresponding ratemaking benefits. A recent study examining two New York
utilities showed that the increase in utility revenue from serving new
EVs will tend to exceed costs of make-ready infrastructure, which puts
downward pressure on utility rates for customers.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S9114 Comrie/ A10383 Woerner
 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined, but the initial costs of the program will be borne by
the electric utilities, with some costs in some instances to the custom-
er side capped at 50 percent; but increased revenue from charging is
expected to sufficiently cover those upfront utility costs.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.