§ 6-102 — State energy planning board

§ 6-102. State energy planning board. 1. There shall be established a\nstate energy planning board, hereinafter referred to as the "board",\nwhich shall consist of the chair of the public service commission, the\ncommissioner of environmental conservation, the chief executive officer\nof the New York power authority, the commissioner of economic\ndevelopment, the commissioner of transportation, the commissioner of\nlabor, the commissioner of the division of homeland security and\nemergency services, the commissioner of agriculture and markets, the\ncommissioner of health, the secretary of state and the president of the\nNew York state energy research and development authority. The governor,\nthe speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the senate\nshall each appoint one additional representative to serve on the board;\nin addition, the secretary of state shall appoint, from the utility\nintervention unit with the consumer protection division established in\nsection ninety-four-a of the executive law, an additional person to\nserve on the board. The presiding officer of the federally designated\nelectric bulk system operator (BSO) shall serve as a non-voting member\nof the board. Any decision or action by the board shall be by majority\nvote. The president of the New York state energy research and\ndevelopment authority shall serve as chair of the board. Members of the\nboard may designate an executive staff representative to participate on\nthe board on their behalf.\n 2. Regional planning councils shall be established. Two regions shall\nbe established as follows:\n (a) Downstate region - New York City and Dutchess, Nassau, Orange,\nPutnam, Rockland, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester counties;\n (b) Upstate region - Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga,\nChautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware,\nErie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer,\nJefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara,\nOneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Rensselaer,\nSaratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence,\nSteuben, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming\nand Yates counties.\n The governor, temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the\nassembly shall each appoint three regional planning council members per\nregion. Regional planning council members shall serve without\ncompensation, and shall have their principal residence within the region\nfor which they are appointed. Such regional council members may solicit\ninput from stakeholder interests within their region, including but not\nlimited to local governments, municipal utilities, rural electric\ncooperatives, utilities, labor unions, ratepayers, businesses, trade\nassociations, generators, and community organizations. Each regional\nplanning council shall transmit to the board a report containing any\nrecommendations specific to its region on a schedule determined by the\nboard to be appropriate for consideration of such report in the\ndevelopment of the draft energy plan.\n 3. Staff services shall be performed by personnel of the department of\npublic service, the department of environmental conservation, the New\nYork power authority, the department of transportation, the department\nof economic development, the division of homeland security and emergency\nservices and the New York state energy research and development\nauthority, as directed by the board. Assistance shall also be made\navailable, as requested by the board, from other agencies, departments\nand public authorities of the state. The board may provide for its own\nrepresentation in all actions or proceedings in which it is a party.\n 4. The board shall have the powers: (a) to adopt a state energy plan\nin accordance with the provisions of this article;\n (b) to adopt rules and regulations as necessary or appropriate to\nimplement this article;\n (c) to issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum; and\n (d) to authorize any person to conduct hearings which the board is\nauthorized to conduct, to take testimony with respect to the subject or\nmatter under investigation, and to report the testimony to the board. In\nthe conduct of such hearings, any person so authorized by the board\nshall have all the powers of the board.\n 5. The board shall in the consideration and development of policies,\nprograms, and other actions, be guided by the goals of: improving the\nreliability of the state's energy systems; insulating consumers from\nvolatility in market prices; reducing the overall cost of energy in the\nstate; and minimizing public health and environmental impacts, in\nparticular, environmental impacts related to climate change. Each energy\nplan shall also identify policies and programs designed to maximize\ncost-effective energy efficiency and conservation activities to meet\nprojected demand growth.\n (a) The board shall identify the most appropriate state agency or\nauthority with the responsibility for implementing or overseeing such\nprioritized policies and programs.\n (b) Each agency or authority charged with implementing a specific\npolicy or program in the energy plan shall report to the board annually\nregarding the original goal of such policy or program, steps that have\nbeen taken to implement such policy or program, progress in attaining\ngoals, adjustments to the program or goals and reasons why adjustments\nare needed, and anticipated date of completion.\n (c) The board shall use such progress reports in the completion of\neach subsequent energy plan and in each of the required biennial reports\nas stated in section 6-106 of this article.\n 6. The board shall require any contractor or subcontractor awarded a\ncontract pursuant to the provisions of this article to comply, and\notherwise exercise all of its responsibilities and conduct all of its\nactivities consistent with the provisions of article fifteen-A of the\nexecutive law with regards to the utilization and participation of\ncertified minority and women-owned business enterprises.\n