BILL NUMBER: S9608
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public service law, in relation to directing utility
corporations to petition the public service commission for approval of
electric grid utilization metrics
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to improve electricity affordability by
leveraging untapped grid capacity through better use of the existing
electric distribution and transmission infrastructure currently used to
deliver power in New York State.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
The bill adds a new section 4-c to the public service law to:
* Require utilities to propose grid utilization metrics by October 15,
2026 through a petitioning process using industry standard metrics;
* Establish Public Service Commission (PSC) review and approval process
and to establish a timeline governing utilities' increased electric grid
utilization in accordance with the metrics;
* Require annual reporting by the PSC to the Legislature on utilities'
performance against grid utilization metrics on an ongoing basis; and
* Direct evaluation of non-wire alternatives, including but not limited
to energy storage resources and other technologies that could relieve
localized constraints, improve utilization of existing infrastructure
and grid performance, and defer or reduce the need for new poles and
wires.
The bill does not mandate specific infrastructure investments or
resource choices. Instead, it establishes a measurement and accountabil-
ity framework that allows the PSC to more rigorously assess whether
existing grid assets are being used efficiently before approving new
capital expenditures, and for how grid utilization should factor into
long-term utility infrastructure planning. By doing so, the bill lays
the groundwork for improved ratepayer affordability, better system plan-
ning, and greater transparency in future regulatory decisions.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
With increasing pressure on the power sector to deliver electricity to
the grid and rising energy costs impacting New York ratepayers, improv-
ing grid utilization monitoring and efficiency offers a way to better
leverage untapped grid capacity to meet power demands and lower the New
York's energy costs. The first step to identifying this potential is to
measure how effectively existing electric distribution and transmission
infrastructure are used to deliver power today. This legislation sets
that foundation by establishing metrics by which New York can measure
and begin to influence the value its ratepayers receive from the grid.
Utility regulation targeted to increase utilization can directly reduce
rates and defer the need for new, capital intensive infrastructure,
thereby lowering long-telin costs and increasing realized value to rate-
payers.
To begin capturing these benefits, this bill establishes consistent,
transparent metrics for measuring grid utilization, and leverages exist-
ing regulatory processes through which the Public Service Commission can
evaluate those metrics and integrate them into future planning, cost-re-
covery, and investment decisions.
At the time of intro, both houses of the Virginia legislature have
received national attention from energy experts for passing a bill simi-
lar to this, establishing a positive way to bring down needed infras-
tructure investment with a modernized approach to boosting grid capacity
with minimal needed dollar investment.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately