§ 32 — Termination of service

§ 32. Termination of service. 1. Generally. Any termination of\nresidential utility service by utility corporations or municipalities\nshall be in accordance with all relevant provisions of this article.\n 2. Utility service may be terminated, except as otherwise provided in\nthis section, if any person supplied with electric or gas service to a\nresidence:\n (a) fails to pay charges for any service rendered during the preceding\ntwelve months, provided however that the commission by regulations may\npermit the termination of service for bills due for service rendered\nduring periods in excess of twelve months where (i) there was a dispute\nbetween such person and the utility corporation or municipality\nconcerning the bill during the twelve month period, (ii) delays in\ntermination are not the fault of the utility or were due to the culpable\nconduct of such person, or (iii) such bills are necessary to adjust\nestimated bills; or\n (b) fails to pay amounts due under a deferred payment plan; or\n (c) fails to pay or agree in writing to pay equipment and installation\ncharges relating to initiation of service; and\n (d) is sent a final notice of termination no less than fifteen days\nbefore the termination date shown on the notice. Any such notice shall,\nat a minimum, clearly state the reason for termination of service; how\ntermination may be avoided; that the utility corporation or municipality\nhas available procedures for handling complaints; a summary of the\nprotections available under this article; that any customer eligible for\nsuch protections should contact the utility corporation or municipality;\nand such other provisions as the commission may require. A utility\ncorporation or municipality may not issue a final notice of termination\nunless at least twenty days have elapsed from the date payment was due.\nThe commission may increase the number of days before which a final\nnotice of termination may be sent.\n 3. The commission shall safeguard from termination, or require\nrestoration of service to, those residents who will suffer serious\nimpairments to health or safety as a result of such termination or\nfailure to restore services. The regulations shall include, but not be\nlimited to:\n (a) Medical emergencies. The commission shall require the continuation\nor restoration of utility service to a customer's residence where a\nmedical emergency exists. The commission shall provide for written\ncertification by a medical doctor, nurse practitioner or local board of\nhealth that termination of service or failure to restore service will\naggravate an existing medical emergency at a customer's residence,\nprovided that the commission may authorize an initial certification by\ntelephone if written certification is provided within five business\ndays. The commission shall provide for the duration, form, content and\nrenewal of written certificates. With respect to the renewal of written\ncertificates, the commission may require the customer to demonstrate an\ninability to pay charges for service. The commission shall, in\nconsultation with the departments of health and social services and the\noffice for the aging, establish criteria to be used by a medical doctor,\nnurse practitioner or local board of health in making a determination\nthat a medical emergency exists or that the absence of service will\naggravate an existing medical emergency.\n (b) Customers who are elderly, blind, or disabled. The commission\nshall provide special procedures to be followed by a utility or\nmunicipality with respect to the termination or restoration of service\nto a residence where the customer is known to or identified to the\nutility to be blind, disabled, or sixty-two years of age or older;\nprovided that all the remaining residents of the household are sixty-two\nyears of age or older, eighteen years of age or under, or blind or\ndisabled. The commission shall afford reasonable protections to elderly,\nblind or disabled customers, including a requirement that the utility\ncorporation or municipality make a diligent effort to contact by\ntelephone or in person an adult resident at the customer's premises at\nleast seventy-two hours prior to termination of service. The commission\nshall also establish reasonable procedures for identifying customers\neligible for the protections of this section.\n (c) Special procedures for cold weather periods. (i) The commission\nshall establish procedures to be followed by a utility or municipality\nsupplying heat related service in cold weather periods. Such procedures\nshall be designed to identify and assist, prior to termination of\nservice, those residents who may suffer serious impairment to health or\nsafety as a result of any such termination. The commission shall\nestablish the applicable cold weather periods; specify criteria for\nidentifying residents who are likely to suffer serious impairments, and\nrequire that such service not be terminated unless a representative of\nthe utility or municipality makes a diligent effort to contact by\ntelephone or in person an adult resident of the customer's premises at\nleast seventy-two hours prior to termination, makes a personal visit at\nthe time of termination and provides the customer with information\nregarding the protections available under this article. The commission\nshall provide for the manner in which such contacts and personal visits\nare made. (ii) The commission shall also require a utility or\nmunicipality supplying service to continue service to customers where a\nserious impairment to health or safety is likely to result from\ntermination of service and the person supplied is unable because of\nmental or physical problems to manage his or her own resources or to\nprotect himself or herself from neglect or hazardous situations without\nthe assistance of others. Doubts shall be resolved in favor of continued\nservice. Continuations of service shall be for a period of time to be\nestablished by the commission. The commission shall consult with the\ndepartment of social services and the state office for the aging in\nimplementing the provisions of this paragraph.\n 4. The commission shall preclude terminations for nonpayment other\nthan between the hours of eight a.m. and four p.m., Monday through\nThursday, provided that such day or the following day is not a public\nholiday as defined in the general construction law.\n 5. (a) In the event the service to a residential customer terminated\npursuant to this section or the service to a multiple-family dwelling\npursuant to section thirty-three of this article or a two-family\ndwelling pursuant to section thirty-four of this article consists of the\nprovision of gas or electricity commodity only, the utility providing\ndistribution services to such customer shall suspend the provision of\nsuch distribution services and the provision of any other related\nservices to such customer if:\n (i) The utility providing distribution services to such customer is\nnotified of the termination in such manner and form as the commission\nshall, by regulation, prescribe; which notification shall include\ndocumentation sufficient to confirm that such termination was, in all\nrespects, in compliance with this article and that the conditions set\nforth in this subdivision have been met;\n (ii) Except in the case of a service to a multiple dwelling pursuant\nto section thirty-three of this article, such customer was billed using\na billing system in which all charges for service were present on a\nsingle bill;\n (iii) Such utility providing distribution services provided such\nservices to the customer at the time of the termination;\n (iv) The utility implementing the termination confirms that it is able\nto and will take all actions within its control necessary to resume the\nprovision of electric or gas commodity to such customer in accordance\nwith the agreement for such service between such utility and such\ncustomer, if the customer makes full payment of the amount of arrears\nthat were the basis for the termination of service;\n (v) The utility implementing the termination has not assigned its\nright to obtain payment of the arrears to an entity that is not a\nutility for purposes of this article; and\n (vi) Less than one year has elapsed since such termination of\ncommodity service has occurred.\n (b) All notices provided pursuant to this article in connection with\nsuch termination shall include notice of the suspension of services\nthat, pursuant to this subdivision, can occur coincidental with such\ntermination and shall state the amount which must be paid to the utility\nmaking the termination in order to obtain the resumption of service from\nsuch terminating utility and, if different, the amount which must be\npaid to the utility making the termination to end such suspension of\nservices.\n (c) The utility shall make its best efforts to institute such\nsuspension of distribution service promptly and shall receive reasonable\ncompensation from the terminating utility, as determined by the\ncommission, for any costs associated with such suspension of\ndistribution services. Any payments for arrears made by a customer after\nthe termination of service shall be allocated equitably on a pro rata\nbasis between the terminating utility and the utility that provided\ndistribution services, to the extent arrears are owed to both such\nutilities.\n (d) Such suspension shall end upon the occurrence of any of the\nconditions identified in paragraphs (a) through (e) of subdivision one\nof section thirty-five of this article, upon the expiration of one year\nafter such termination of commodity service, or upon the receipt of\npayments by or on behalf of the customer to the terminating utility such\nthat the amount paid by such customer to the terminating utility plus\nthe amount previously paid the terminating utility plus any other\ncharges paid to the utility providing distribution service during the\nperiod when such customer's arrears accrued is equal to or greater than\nthe amount such customer would have paid if the entire utility service\nhad been obtained from the utility providing distribution services\nduring such period.\n 6. Implementation of the provisions of this section shall not limit\nthe contractual remedies for damages which might be available to the\nterminating utility provided that an award of such damages is not\ninconsistent with any of the provisions of this article.\n