§ 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\nassessment of such costs and expenses. 1. All costs and expenses of the\ndepartment and commission shall be paid pursuant to appropriation on the\ncertification of the chairman of the department and upon the audit and\nwarrant of the comptroller. The state treasury shall be reimbursed\ntherefore by payments to be made thereto from all moneys collected\npursuant to this chapter. The total of such costs and expenses shall be\nborne by the public utility companies (including for the purposes of\nthis section municipalities other than municipalities as defined in\nsection eighty-nine-l of this chapter), corporations (including the\npower authority of the state of New York), and persons subject to the\ncommission's regulation, to be assessed in the manner provided in\nsubdivisions two, three and four of this section and section two hundred\nseventeen of this chapter.\n 1-a. All costs and expenses of the department related to the\ndepartment's responsibilities under section three-b of this chapter\nshall be paid pursuant to appropriation on the certification of the\nchairman of the department and upon the audit and warrant of the\ncomptroller. For the state fiscal year beginning on April first, two\nthousand fourteen and each state fiscal year thereafter, payments are to\nbe made from all moneys collected from the Long Island power authority\npursuant to this section. The total of such costs and expenses shall be\nassessed on such authority in the manner provided in subdivisions two,\nthree and four of this section.\n 2. (a) The chairman of the department shall estimate prior to the\nstart of each state fiscal year the total costs and expenses, including\nthe compensation and expenses of the commission and the department,\ntheir officers, agents and employees, and including the cost of\nretirement contributions, social security, health and dental insurance,\nsurvivor's benefits, workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and\nother fringe benefits required to be paid by the state for the personnel\nof the commission and the department, and including all other items of\nmaintenance and operation expenses, and all other direct and indirect\ncosts. Based on such estimates, the chairman shall determine the amount\nto be paid by each assessed public utility company and the Long Island\npower authority and a bill shall be rendered to each such public utility\ncompany and authority.\n (b) The bill for each public utility company and the Long Island power\nauthority shall be rendered on or before February first preceding each\nfiscal year, and shall be for the amount equal to the product of the\naforesaid estimated costs and expenses of conducting the department's\nand commission's total operations during the fiscal year for which\nbilling is being made multiplied by the proportion which compares:\n (1) the gross operating revenues, over and above five hundred thousand\ndollars, for that utility company or the authority derived from\nintrastate utility operations in the last preceding calendar year, or\nother twelve month period as determined by the chairman, to:\n (2) the total of the gross operating revenues, derived from intrastate\nutility operations for all utility companies and the authority in the\nstate which revenues are included under subparagraph one of this\nparagraph.\n For the purposes of calculating the commodity cost component of its\ngross operating revenue, where the utility delivers to end-use customers\nelectricity and/or natural gas commodities that are sold to such\ncustomers by a third party, such utility shall include in its revenues\nan estimate of the sales revenue for the electric and/or natural gas\ncommodities that it delivers, including all such commodities sold to\nend-use customers by third parties, in such manner as to assure that all\nend-use delivery customers, regardless of the entity from which they\npurchase their electric and/or natural gas commodities, bear a fair and\nproportionate share of the assessment imposed herein, as the commission\nmay determine.\n (c) The minimum assessment for any utility company, as well as the\nLong Island power authority, whose gross revenues from intrastate\nutility operations are in excess of five hundred thousand dollars in the\npreceding calendar year shall be two hundred dollars.\n (d) The amount of such bill for fiscal years beginning on or after\nApril first, nineteen hundred eighty-three so rendered shall be paid by\nsuch public utility company and such authority to the department on or\nbefore April first; provided, however, that any such utility company or\nsuch authority may elect to make partial payments for such costs and\nexpenses on March tenth of the preceding fiscal year and on September\ntenth of such fiscal year. Each such partial payment shall be a sum\nequal to fifty percentum of the estimate of costs and expenses to be\nassessed against such utility company or authority under the provisions\nof this subdivision and shall not be less than two hundred dollars.\n (e) During the course of any state fiscal year, the chairman may\nincrease or decrease the estimate of costs and expenses. In such case,\nrevised bills shall be sent to each public utility company and such\nauthority, and such increase or decrease shall be equally apportioned\nagainst the remaining payments for such fiscal year.\n (f) On or before October tenth of each year, the chairman shall\ncompute the actual costs and expenses of the department and the\ncommission and adjustments or other corrections as needed for the\npreceding state fiscal year and, after deducting the amounts recovered\npursuant to subdivisions three and four of this section, shall, on or\nbefore October twentieth, send to each public utility company and/or the\nauthority affected thereby a statement setting forth the amount due and\npayable by, or the amount standing to the credit of, such public utility\ncompany and/or the authority. Any amount owing by any public utility\ncompany and/or the authority shall be paid not later than thirty days\nfollowing the date such statement is received. Any such amount standing\nto the credit of any public utility company shall be refunded by the\ncommission or, at the option of such utility company, shall be applied\nas a credit against any succeeding payment due.\n (g) The total amount which may be charged to any public utility\ncompany and the Long Island power authority under authority of this\nsubdivision for any state fiscal year shall not exceed one per centum of\nsuch public utility company's or authority's gross operating revenues\nderived from intrastate utility operations in the last preceding\ncalendar year, or other twelve month period as determined by the\nchairman; provided, however, that no corporation or person that is\nsubject to the jurisdiction of the commission only with respect to\nsafety, or the power authority of the state of New York, shall be\nsubject to the general assessment provided for under this subdivision.\n Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section, for\ntelephone corporations as defined in subdivision seventeen of section\ntwo of this article, the total amount which may be charged such\ncorporations for department expenses under the authority of subdivision\none of this section for any state fiscal year shall not exceed one-third\nof one percentum of such corporation's gross operating revenue, over and\nabove five hundred thousand dollars, derived from intrastate utility\noperations in the last preceding calendar year, or other twelve month\nperiod as determined by the chairman.\n (h) On-bill recovery charges billed pursuant to section sixty-six-m of\nthis chapter shall be excluded from any determination of an entity's\ngross operating revenues derived from intrastate utility operations for\npurposes of this section.\n 3. In the case of corporations or persons subject to the jurisdiction\nof the commission only with respect to safety, the chairman of the\ndepartment shall ascertain from time to time, but not less than once in\neach fiscal year, all direct and indirect costs of investigating (a) the\nsafety of the pipelines conveying gas at pressures in excess of one\nhundred twenty-five pounds per square inch gauge or conveying liquid\npetroleum products of such corporations or persons and (b) the safety of\nany gas plant of corporations manufacturing pipeline quality gas and\nsubject to the safety jurisdiction of the commission by virtue of the\nproviso to exception (b) of subdivision eleven of section two of this\nchapter. The chairman shall for each investigation assess such costs\nagainst such corporations or persons whose pipelines or plants have been\ninvestigated. Bills for such an investigation may be rendered from time\nto time but not less than once in each fiscal year, and the amount of\nsuch bills shall be paid by the appropriate corporation or person to the\ndepartment within thirty days from the date of rendition. The total\namount which may be charged to any corporation or person for any state\nfiscal year as the cost of investigating the safety of pipelines shall\nnot exceed one hundred dollars times the sum of the products obtained by\nmultiplying the mileage (to the nearest tenth) of each section of any\nsuch pipeline in the state in use at the end of the preceding calendar\nyear by its nominal diameter in feet (to the nearest tenth). The total\namount which may be charged to any pipeline quality gas manufacturing\ncompany for any state fiscal year as the costs of investigating the\nsafety of the plant of such company shall not exceed one-third of one\nper centum of the estimate of the average annual gross revenues from the\nsales of manufactured gas over a three-year period of operation or\nanticipated operation, as determined by the chairman, of such pipeline\nquality gas manufacturing company.\n * 4. In the case of the power authority of the state of New York, the\nchairperson of the department shall ascertain from time to time, but not\nless than once in each fiscal year, all direct and indirect costs of\ninvestigating requests by the power authority of the state of New York\nto establish new, major electric transmission facilities and major\nrenewable energy facilities or to establish new, major electric\ngenerating facilities. The chairperson shall for each such investigation\nassess such costs against the power authority of the state of New York.\nBills for such an investigation may be rendered from time to time, but\nnot less than once in each fiscal year, and the amount of such bills\nshall be paid by the power authority of the state of New York to the\ndepartment within thirty days from the date of rendition.\n * NB Effective until December 31, 2040\n * 4. In the case of the power authority of the state of New York, the\nchairman of the department shall ascertain from time to time, but not\nless than once in each fiscal year, all direct and indirect costs of\ninvestigating requests by the power authority of the state of New York\nto establish new, major utility transmission facilities as defined in\narticle seven of this chapter or to establish new, major steam electric\ngenerating facilities as defined in article eight of this chapter. The\nchairman shall for each such investigation assess such costs against the\npower authority of the state of New York. Bills for such an\ninvestigation may be rendered from time to time, but not less than once\nin each fiscal year, and the amount of such bills shall be paid by the\npower authority of the state of New York to the department within thirty\ndays from the date of rendition.\n * NB Effective December 31, 2040\n 4-a. In the case of research, development and demonstration of new\nenergy technologies, the director of the budget may enter into\ncontracts, subject to the availability of appropriations, with the New\nYork state energy research and development authority for the costs of\nsuch research, development and demonstration beyond such amounts as may\nbe available to the New York state energy research and development\nauthority for such purposes from bonds, grants or other sources. On or\nbefore February first preceding each fiscal year, the chairman of the\nauthority shall estimate and transmit to the chairman of the department\nof public service the total costs of authority research, development and\ndemonstration projected to be authorized by contracts with the director\nof the budget for such fiscal year. The chairman of the department shall\napportion the costs of such research, development and demonstration in\naccordance with the billing procedures of this section among gas\ncorporations and electric corporations as defined in section two of this\nchapter. Such apportionment shall be excluded from the general\nassessment provided for under subdivision two of this section. The total\namount which may be charged to any gas corporation and electric\ncorporation for any state fiscal year shall be .6 cents per one thousand\ncubic feet for gas sold and .006 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity\nsold by such corporations in their intrastate utility operations the\nlast preceding calendar year.\n 4-b. In the case of research, development and demonstration of new\nenergy technologies, the director of the budget may enter into\ncontracts, subject to the availability of appropriations, with the New\nYork state energy research and development authority for the costs of\nsuch research, development and demonstration beyond such amounts as may\nbe available to the New York state energy research and development\nauthority for such purposes from bonds, grants or other sources,\nincluding the power authority of the state of New York. Not later than\nNovember first preceding each fiscal year, the energy research and\ndevelopment authority and the power authority of the state of New York\nshall agree as to a specific level of financial support to be provided\nby the power authority of the state of New York for the energy research\nand development authority's energy research development and\ndemonstration activities for such fiscal year. Such level of financial\nsupport shall be incorporated in the annual budget request submitted by\nthe energy research and development authority and shall be reflected as\nan offset to recommended appropriations for research, development and\ndemonstration of new energy technologies; provided, however, that the\nsum of such recommended appropriations and such offset shall not exceed\ntwelve million dollars. One hundred per centum of the costs of such\nresearch, development and demonstration not supplemented by bonds,\ngrants or other sources, not to exceed nine million six hundred thousand\ndollars, shall be apportioned in accordance with the billing procedures\nof this section, provided, that such costs shall be apportioned among\ngas corporations and electric corporations as defined in section two of\nthis chapter and shall be excluded from the general assessment provided\nfor under subdivision two of this section. The total amount which may be\ncharged to any gas corporation and electric corporation for any state\nfiscal year shall be .6 cents per one thousand cubic feet for gas sold\nand .006 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity sold by such\ncorporations in their intrastate utility operations the last preceding\ncalendar year.\n 5. On demand made within thirty days of the rendition of any bill\npursuant to subdivision two, three or four of this section, the party so\ncharged shall be afforded an opportunity to be heard as to the amount\nthereof. Any amounts of such bills not paid within thirty days from the\ndate of determination upon such hearings, or, if none shall be demanded,\non the date upon which such payment is due, shall bear interest at a\nrate to be prescribed by regulation of the commission. Such rate shall\nbe not less than six percentum per annum nor more than the rate of\ninterest prescribed by the superintendent of financial services pursuant\nto the provisions of section fourteen-a of the banking law in effect on\nthe day immediately preceeding the date on which the provisions of this\nsubdivision as amended become effective, but if the commission has not\nset such rate, interest at six percentum per annum shall apply. Any\ninterest rate set by the commission shall become effective not less than\nsixty days after such rate is promulgated.\n