Permits the rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or municipality under certain circumstances

Latest action Dec 5, 2025

Permits the rendering of an estimated bill from a utility corporation or municipality under certain circumstances; requires each utility corporation and municipality within six months to submit to the commission a model for the calculation of and procedures for estimated bills that incorporates best practices and technology and accounts for any barriers to the use of actual meter readings.

Not chosen yet

Where it stands

Rejected by the executive.

Introduced
In committee
Up for a vote
Passed one chamber
Passed
Enacted

Vetoed

New York State Senate

Same as A5969, the matching bill in the Assembly.

Amends the Public Service Law.

Committee

Corporations, Authorities and Commissions · New York State Assembly

Also referred to Corporations, Authorities And Commissions · New York State Senate, Energy And Telecommunications · New York State Senate, Ways and Means · New York State Assembly.

Purpose, from the sponsor's memo

To protect ratepayers from excessive fluctuations by requiring actual meter readings in most instances in utility bills from month-to-month and requiring the Public Service Commission (PSC) to institute a best practices estimation formula that can be used as a utility industry standard in New York State for statutorily accepted instances of bill estimation.

Filed with the bill. Read it on nysenate.gov (opens in a new tab)

Recorded votes

Vote: Floor vote
NY SenateMay 14, 2025Result: passed
(56) (1) (0) (5)
Vote: Floor vote
NY SenateJan 27, 2025Result: passed
(60) (0) (0) (3)
Vote: Committee vote · Rules
Senate RulesJan 27, 2025Result: passed
(20) (0) (0) (1)
Vote: Committee vote · Energy And Telecommunications
Senate Energy And TelecommunicationsJan 21, 2025Result: passed
(9) (0) (0) (0)

Cosponsors

Angelo Santabarbara, Christopher Eachus and 6 more on Agora

Democratic5
Republican3

See the full list on nysenate.gov

The sponsor's argument

Why Michelle Hinchey says this is needed

As home heating and cooling costs continue to increase, and while many are still facing the financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandem- ic, it is imperative that we give ratepayers as much stability as possi- ble in their month-over-month utility bills. There are widespread reports that utility companies are relying heavily on estimated billing practices causing excessively high swings in bills month to month, often to the difference of hundreds of dollars in additional unforeseen, and regularly inaccurate, costs: The fact is, many ratepayers can't afford such high estimations, especially when they're not based on previous usage data and when utility prices are already rising. For many house- holds, these bills far exceed their monthly budgets, causing people to choose between paying their utility bills and other important expenses, with the underlying issue that these ratepayers don't even end up owing these significantly higher bills. This legislation seeks to protect ratepayers from excessive fluctuations by requiring utility bills to reflect actual month-over-month meter readings, and requires the Public Service Commission (PSC) to institute a best practices estimation formula that can be used as a utility indus- try standard in New York State for statutorily accepted instances of bill estimation. This is an opportunity to create long-term employment opportunities that would be required to collect accurate monthly energy usage now, with an eye towards retraining this workforce for future jobs in the energy delivery sector, as needed. This is a win for ratepayers and an invest- ment in our local economies by creating more reliable, good-paying jobs.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.

Full history

Dec 5, 2025
Vetoed
VETOED MEMO.83
NY Senate
Dec 1, 2025
Sent to the executive
DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
NY Senate
Jun 5, 2025
Passed a chamber
PASSED ASSEMBLY
NY Assembly
Jun 5, 2025
Returned to Senate
RETURNED TO SENATE
NY Assembly
May 29, 2025
Ordered to Third Reading Rules CAL.324
ORDERED TO THIRD READING RULES CAL.324
NY Assembly

Show full history (18 earlier events)

May 29, 2025
Reported out of committee
REPORTED
NY Assembly
May 29, 2025
Substituted
SUBSTITUTED FOR A5969A
NY Assembly
May 27, 2025
Reported out of committee
REPORTED REFERRED TO RULES
NY Assembly
May 14, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS
NY Assembly
May 14, 2025
Passed a chamber
REPASSED SENATE
NY Senate
May 14, 2025
Returned to Assembly
RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Apr 29, 2025
Reported out of committee
REPORTED REFERRED TO WAYS AND MEANS
NY Assembly
Apr 28, 2025
Amended
AMENDED ON THIRD READING 2182A
NY Senate
Apr 28, 2025
Recalled From Assembly
RECALLED FROM ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Apr 28, 2025
Returned to Senate
RETURNED TO SENATE
NY Assembly
Apr 24, 2025
Amend and Recommit to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS
NY Assembly
Feb 25, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS
NY Assembly
Jan 27, 2025
Sent to the executive
DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
NY Senate
Jan 27, 2025
Ordered to Third Reading CAL.150
ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.150
NY Senate
Jan 27, 2025
Passed a chamber
PASSED SENATE
NY Senate
Jan 27, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS
NY Assembly
Jan 21, 2025
Reported out of committee
REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
NY Senate
Jan 15, 2025
Referred to committee
REFERRED TO ENERGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
NY Senate

About this record

Summary: The summary comes from NY Open Legislation, the New York State Senate's public record. For more, see How we handle summaries.
Cosponsors: The list shows the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.
Party colors: Parties are shown in the same neutral colors.
Source: From NY Open Legislation, the NY Senate and Assembly, and official rosters. This record was last updated Oct 21, 2026. About our data

Read the record

Read on NY Senate (opens in a new tab) The official record on nysenate.gov.

Your position